vodqa Pune (17th Mar '12) videos, pictures, slides, feedback ...

Dear Testing enthusiasts,

Our recently concluded vodQA organized by ThoughtWorks Pune, on 17th March 2012 (http://testing.thoughtworks.com/events/testing-and-beyond), was a huge success. Your participation, energy, questions, thoughts, comments and feedback raised the level of this event to great heights! We thank you for that.

You can join the following groups to keep up-to-date with what’s happening in vodQA, to know when the next vodQA is happening, to connect with fellow testing enthusiasts, share thoughts related with testing, etc.

LinkedIn group: vodQA (http://linkd.in/IaHcFG)
Facebook group: vodQA (http://on.fb.me/HUPAX9)
Twitter: @vodqa

Here is what happened in this 7th edition of vodQA (4th in Pune):

Statistics:
375+ attendee registrations
35+ speaker registrations
130+ attendees

All videos from this edition of vodQA are available here: http://bit.ly/JRRTtH, and pictures are available here: http://on.fb.me/Jq4Qyh

Based on feedback received, here are the topics that attendees found most useful:
- Open Space
- Mobile Testing
- BDT  [ Behavior Driven Testing ]

Summary of feedbacks received:- video feedbacks (http://bit.ly/Jm88Qd)
- Impressive, please continue conducting such events
- I have attended vodQA for first time, it is an amazing experience
- Nice initiative taken by ThoughtWorks
- Have this event once in Quarter
- Parallel tracks (Participants found it difficult to choose one session over the other)
- Each speaker should have a Slide with email and contact details
- Should have more experienced speakers
- More time for Open Space
- Make arrangements for Parking
- Food can be improved

Want to hear more of:
- Cloud Computing, Security Testing, Malware, Ethical Hacking, Agile methodologies, mobile tech
- Current industry trends and topics

Suggestions given by attendees for next vodQA: http://bit.ly/HXGZ9I


External blogs by:
Anand Bagmar: http://bit.ly/HU78r5
Savita Munde: http://bit.ly/FOS6ll
Srinivas Chillara: http://bit.ly/IaVRAB
Sessions/Topics details:
- vodQA opening
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jb3MPl

- Opening note by Chaitanya Nadkarny
YouTube: http://bit.ly/JckWcR

- Quiz
YouTube: http://bit.ly/I8o5sv

- Testing is Dead. Long Live Testing - Shrinivas Kulkarni
Synopsis: Last year, three leading software doctors pronounced testing dead. As we mourn the alleged demise of our craft - questions raise as what to do next? This talk analyses the meaning and impact of death of testing. The talk then deliberates on potential next steps and challenges ahead of us.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/JpXI4O
Slides: http://slidesha.re/IrBL4o

- Testing a Massively Multi-player Online Game Server - Nirmalya Sengupta, Srinivas Chilllara
Synopsis: An online game server's functional and non-functional features lead to non-standard challenges for both architecting as well as testing. This talk starts with an overview and then discusses one testing scenario in depth. We stress particularly on testing the asynchronous nature of the application's method calls. A few general approaches of testing such applications terms are alluded to at the end.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/HWO1NP
Slides: http://slidesha.re/JRZKHQ

- Virtualization Impact on Software Testing - Parthasarthi T
Synopsis: Virtualization Impact on Software Testing
YouTube: http://bit.ly/HWjFrj
Slides: http://slidesha.re/Jq4bNe

- Mobile Testing: Challenges and Solutions - Ashwini Phalle
Synopsis: Different testing requirements that mobile applications have, challenges and solutions.
Challenges:
1. Complex mobile testing matrix, Expensive test environment
2. Repetitive testing
3. Mobile testing for devices located at various locations
Solutions:
1. Risk Based Testing approach
2. Using Mobile device emulators
3. Use of Automation tools
4. Leveraging external services
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jb4hZw
Slides: http://slidesha.re/Jb9Rer

- Open Space discussions
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jb4k7O

- The Marshmallow Challenge - Sneha Kadam
Synposis: This is a fun and instructive design exercise that encourages teams to experience simple but profound lessons in collaboration, innovation & creativity. It challenges you to find hidden assumptions in business requirements & learn to Fail-Fast-Fail-Often! In 18 minutes, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of spaghetti, tape, string and one marshmallow which must be on top.
YouTube: Part 1: http://bit.ly/HR4XiX
YouTube: Part 2: http://bit.ly/J7t8zJ

- Mobile Testing: In and Out - Sudeep Somani
YouTube: http://bit.ly/JifEQH

- BDT (Behaviour Driven Testing) - Anand Bagmar
Synopsis: What is Behavior Driven Testing (BDT)? How does it differ from Behavior Driven Development? What tools support this kind of testing? The value proposition BDT offers.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/HUSuuY
Slides: http://slidesha.re/I69BNK

- Code Coverage of Function Testing Automation Scripts - Aakash Tyagi
Synopsis: Challenge As the product is a vast product that provides so regression suite of this was very big. It was taking about 14 days to execute and with every release it was increasing. The main challenge was to keep regression suite comprehensive as well small so that it can be executed many time. Solution Emma was used to find code coverage of product code then redesign the regression suite.
Slides: http://slidesha.re/HWQJCQ

- Negative Testing, in a positive vein - Srinivas Chillara
Synopsis: How to think about "negative testing", and why it may not be truly negative.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/IaKOr4

- Virtual Communication and Testers - Archana Dhingra
Synopsis: What is Virtual communication and its importance in IT industry. - The common mistakes we all commit while communicating in a Virtual environment - How to effectively manage and communicate with virtual teams. - Conflict resolution in a Virtual setup.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jq3uUc

- Automation Reusable Framework based on QC - Vysali Alaparthi
Synopsis: About ART:A hybrid framework named as ART (Automation Reusable Test) is used for end-to-end automation as ART framework supports automation of web, windows, and AS/400 applications. ART framework uses automation tool owned by HP i.e. Quick Test Professional (QTP) for execution of automated keyword-driven test scripts.Key Achievements: Efforts involved in test cases/scripts integration has reduced.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jlb8MH
Slides: http://slidesha.re/IrBtua

Closing note: Shalabh Varma
YouTube: http://bit.ly/Jb9fFO

Looking forward for your continued comments, feedback, thoughts and support to make vodQA more successful, and the QA community more vibrant and connected!

See you in the next vodQA.

Thank you.

vodQA Team.
vodqa-pune@thoughtworks.com

vodQA Pune - another big success

Thoughtworks Pune organized another successful vodQA on 17th March 2012

Statistics:

375+ attendee registrations

35+ speaker registrations

100+ external attendees

20+ Thoughtworkers

Sessions/Topics covered:

- Code Coverage of Function Testing Automation Scripts - Aakash Tyagi
- Mobile Testing: Challenges and Solutions - Ashwini Phalle
- Business Analysis - Beyond Technical & Communication Skills - Anil Dagia
- Testing is Dead. Long Live Testing - Shrinivas Kulkarni
- Testing a Massively Multi-player Online Game Server - Nirmalya Sengupta, Srinivas Chilllara
- Behaviour Driven Testing - Anand Bagmar
- Virtualisation Impact on Software Testing - Parthasarthi T

- Negative Testing, in a positive vein - Srinivas Chillara
- Virtual Communication and Testers - Archana Dhingra
- Automation Reusable Framework based on QC - Vysali Alaparthi

Workshops:

- Mobile Testing: In and Out - Sudeep Somani
- The Marshmallow Challenge - Sneha Kadam

Some feedbacks received:

• Impressive, please continue conducting such events
• I have attended vodQa for first time, its Amazing experince
• Some forum about Innovation & "Testing process"
• Nice initiative taken by Thoughtworks
• Have this event once in Quarter

External blog: http://savitamunde.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/thought-provoking-vodqa-pune-a-testing-conference/

Please join our LinkedIn Group - vodQA and our FaceBook group - vodQA..

We will be uploading the pictures, videos and slides to a common place soon for everyone to see.

Thank you all who attended for making this a successful event.

vodQA Pune - registrations open

The registrations for attendee and speakers for vodQA Pune on 17th March 2012 is now open. Looking forward to see you there :)

vodQA Chennai starts off with a century!

I attended vodQA in Chennai on 21st Jan 2012. The event was great. Over 100 passionate testers from Chennai testing community turned up and made sure people presenting were on their toes with excellent questions and great interactions.


One of the participants already blogged about it here. She raises valid observations - and I wish I had the opportunity to speak with her directly to address some of the questions / concerns she raised. 


In this session, I presented a topic - "What is WAAT?" based on my open-source project - WAAT. The slides used in this session are available here.


I am already looking forward to the next vodQA in Chennai. For now, I am preparing for vodQA Bangalore - "Agile Testing for Teams and Enterprises". on Feb 11, and then vodQA Pune on Mar 17.

[Date Updated] Announcing the next vodQA event in Pune

[Date updated to 17th March 2012]


After a long delay, ThoughtWorks is happy to announce the next edition of vodQA - THE TESTING SPIRIT! on 17th March, 2012 in ThoughtWorks Pune office.


Watch this space for more details.


Contact me if you are interested in helping make this a great event!


Thanks.


Anand

Assertions and Validations in Page Objects

A colleague recently asked me a very nice set of questions - 

• "Have any of you designed tests with assertions happening in page objects and not in the tests? 
• If yes, have you faced any specific problem with this approach? 
• What would be the drawback in moving the assertions inside the page's methods."

Here are my thoughts on this.

Test Framework Design

I follow a few principles when designing my test framework:

• Test code should be of Production Quality!
• Since the test code should be of Production Quality, it means it needs to be designed and built using design patterns.
• This well-designed test framework should have proper abstraction layers. These abstraction layers help in many different ways:
• Decouple test specification from test implementation
• Provides greater level of re-usability
• Easier in re-factoring
• Easier to maintain and evolve the framework
• Easier for all team members to ramp-up and work in a collaborative way on specific abstraction layers.
• Evolve your framework functionality and implementation. Keeping the end goal in mind, develop the framework as per requirements at that point in time. Do not attempt to build all the functionality in a single shot. More likely than not, you will end up building something that is not going to satisfy the future requirement.

See the diagram below for reference on different possible layers of a Test Framework.

What is Page-Object pattern?

Page-Object pattern is one of the powerful ways of designing a good, reusable, extensible and maintainable test framework. 

This article as great explanation and examples of Page Objects (http://code.google.com/p/selenium/wiki/PageObjects)

Assertions and validations in Page Objects?

The page object is a code representation of the actual page. It has accessors and modifiers (getters and setters) for various objects in that page. It only knows how to perform actions on the page object, and retrieve data / values from the page. 


If there is any problem in the page under test, or the page object representing the page, then the test will fail automatically (in most cases) because of functionality mismatch. 


Assertions / verifications are essentially business rules for the product under test.


The page-object should not have assertions or verifications in them. The business rules of the product do not belong in the page object layer, but instead in the layer above it.

In many cases the business rules remain the same where as the underlying implementation evolves. If you have the changes isolated and decoupled, then updating the framework becomes easy and much quicker. this also makes more sense in larger and distributed projects where everyone may not be on the same page.



I refrain from having any form of assertions in the page's object. It mixes the pure implementation of visibility of the page's functionality with the business logic. This in turn makes both, the framework and the tests brittle.

The impact of having these rules and guidelines of how the test framework is structured is greatly seen as the framework matures and when new people come on the team, the learning curve is not as steep.

If the project is small, or if the test framework is going to be thrown away after some time,  then you can probably get away by building the framework any which way you want. 


Thinking that I will take the easy way out for now and then will come back to "do this right" is a trap!!! More often than not, you are never going to get time to come back and make things right. So might as well, spend a little extra effort in the beginning and build your test framework the right way! Remember - "A stitch in time saves nine"!

Poor motivation

Effective Strategies for Distributed Testing - slides available

I finally figured a way around the problem PowerPoint was giving me in converting the slides for this presentation to pdf format. 


The slides are now uploaded in slideshare.net  and available here.


The video recording of the webinar is available here.

vodQA - NCR

I am very happy and proud to share that vodQA conference is going national. 


ThoughtWorks will be hosting its first vodQA out of Pune ... this time in Gurgaon on 3rd December 2010.


I will be pairing with Manish Kumar on a topic "Distributed Agile Testing for Enterprises"


See this page for more information.

Effective Strategies of Distributed Testing - recording available

On 9th November, 2011, I presented my first webinar with my colleague - Manish Kumar, on the topic "Effective Strategies for Distributed Testing".


We spoke based on our experiences and shared tips and strategies on various different themes, like 
- agile testing principles that matter!
- need of distributed teams,
- testing challenges in distributed teams,
- mindset, 
- communication, 
- collaboration, 
- tools & technologies,
- ATDD,
- test automation,
- and many others ...


All distributed teams are working on the same product ... hence it is extremely important to treat all these distributed teams as ONE TEAM!


Watch the video recording of this webinar available here. 


(http://testing.thoughtworks.com/events/effective-strategies-distributed-testing).