Linda G. Hayes

One of the most widely recognized models for conducting software testing is the V-model, which tracks the development life cycle and associated testing tasks at each phase. Unfortunately, this model does not serve independent test groups that are not part of development, especially those groups that represent the customer. Said another way, the V-model is […]

We’ve all been there. We receive a software drop from development that is ostensibly ready for testing… then we spend the next three weeks trying to install that software and run it. The reasons why we can’t install, let alone run, the software cover the gamut from missing files and rogue DLLs to database structure […]

We’ve all been there. We receive a software drop from development that is ostensibly ready for testing then we spend the next three weeks trying to install that software and run it. The reasons why we can’t install, let alone run, the software cover the gamut from missing files and rogue DLLs to database structure […]

Linda G. Hayes Application development is changing from a process of crafting individual lines of code to one of assembling pre-built components, which poses interesting questions about its potential impact on testing. The hope, of course, is that if each component is individually tested, then the final aggregation requires less testing. In fact, one reputable […]

Linda G. Hayes I was rendered speechless when a fellow professional said, in all seriousness, she was going to discard the majority of her regression tests because they had failed to find errors. After I recovered my composure–and my voice–I asked why she was considering such a thing, to which she confidently replied, Well, so-and-so […]

Linda G. Hayes You’re trying to automate application testing. Unfortunately, nonstandard objects that your test tool can’t recognize are torturing you. And don’t forget the objects that the test tool can’t remember. If you have ever found yourself in this situation, I want to challenge your thinking. The test tool–the obvious culprit–is actually not the […]

Linda G. Hayes Friendly code fixes are corrections or enhancements that developers make for a particular customer, even an internal one, that are outside the normal release process. For example, an emergency fix might be needed if a customer system is down or severely crippled. Or, an emergency enhancement might be needed to close a […]

Linda G. Hayes In last month’s column, I railed against writing programs to test programs in an attempt to cope with an unpredictable automated test environment. If you proceed along these lines, the only thing that lies ahead is madness. The first step to successful test automation, as I explained, is to get a grip […]

Higher-level languages and component-assembly approaches are compressing the software-development cycle. As a result, it’s becoming more difficult to accomplish manual program testing. Internet-time delivery schedules demand rapid turnaround at every phase, while visibility makes quality more important than ever. This trend is fueling continued growth in test automation: What was built by new technology can’t […]

“Not that I don’t think perfect software is a worthy goal, only that it is economically impractical to achieve. “ I always cringe when I hear about “bugs” in software. I know that the term refers to an early computer problem that was traced to a moth trapped between two electrical relays, but it still […]