Overheard...

"Don't worry, you are good on your side of the house." - praise given by a Project Manager to my co-worker

I have been working here for just over 3 weeks now. I can count the minutes on one hand for the amount of training I have had. I have written many emails and IM's to my 'trainer', with hardly any response. I was informed today of the process for completing my tasks. And yet, my side of the house is not in order.

This place sucks in so many ways. Besides not receiving training, I am not feeling welcome at all from my 'trainer' who just happens to be another QA tester. Whenever I go to ask questions, I am met with a person that is continuously annoyed.

I do not feel that I deserve any of the way that I am being treated here. I have discussed this with the QA Manager, and it seems like it is part of the normal here. She just keeps telling me to 'hang in there' and push for reform within our team.

New job

I started a new contracting position yesterday and am trying to work out my thoughts. This place is extremely large and very corporate feeling. The office is very quiet, which is nice in some ways, but also unsettling. The people are cordial, not extremely nice, but professional. The applications look large are formidable.

I just got back from a stand-up and it has left a really bad opinion of the group.

My last team had an excellent Scrum Master. He made sure that our meetings stayed on track and were held within the allotted time. For example, in our stand-ups all team members were: required to be to the meeting on time the time, (literally) stand up during the meeting, duration was 15 minutes, and all discussions were held for after the meeting Each person was asked to concisely describe what they did yesterday, what they are doing today, and if there was anything that was blocking them with their work.

I am a strong proponent for a separate person taking on the Scrum Master role. This team does not have the same idea, as a Senior Developer took the role of running this morning's stand-up. The meeting started late, 1/3 of the people showed up even later than the start of the meeting, there was no direction to the meeting by the 'Scrum Master', all the 'updates' were very confusing, and it seemed like the team is overall confused on the expectations and deliverables needed in the next few months. I have a grooming session later this afternoon with them, hopefully this will be better, but I'm not really holding my breath.....

My head is going to a'splode!!!

Last week a friend of mine tragically lost her dog to a heart attack. I have been hugging my dogs a little tighter since.

I am having a hysterectomy on Feb 5th. I am extremely terrified of what the recovery will be. I am not too worried about the actual procedure, yet....I think that will come more the day before. I just want the recovery to be not as burdensome on Matt as my sinus surgery was.

I just got fingerprinted for a new job and am still waiting on an actual start date, which means that I can't tell here that I am done. I hope that this gets cleared up within the next couple of days.

Grandma S had a stroke and it affected 3 parts of her brain. Even with all of the previously mentioned items, I am focusing strongly on this as I am not there. I wish I could do something for her and my family. It seems all I can do is wait....

Tidbits for today....

Tidbits from this TED talk:

Cognitive traps of happiness:

• Reluctance to admit to complexity: the word happiness is too general and applied to too many things.
• Confusion between experience and memory: being happy in your life vs being happy about/with your life.
• Focusing illusion: we cannot think about any circumstance that affects well being, without distorting its importance.

Daniel Kahneman suggests we entertain this thought experiment:
At the end of a vacation all your pictures are going to be destroyed. Would you choose the same activities?


I watched this TED talk awhile ago and it is really great. I suggest you take a look: 
http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_experience_vs_memory.html

Life of a Tester...tool evaluation pt. 3: Ranorex Studio

Ranorex Studio Evaluation

Released by Ranorex GmbH

Installation of Ranorex Studio was easy, smooth, and very professional looking.

After installation, I created a project named “ranorex_test1”.

Opening the project, I was able to see three different views: project window displays the hierarchy of the entire project, the module browser window displays the modules that the project contains, and the test suite window defines and organizes test cases.

Ranorex displays a screenshot of the step that was created in the recorded script.

Web testing, including cross browser

I was able to easily record and execute scripts for Admin and Enterprise Search sites via Chrome. Changing a test case to utilize a different browser is very easy. Within the Open Browser Recording Module I created a variable named “Browser” on the line with the Open Browser Action. Then, I went into the test case properties and added a SimpleDataConnector on the Data Source tab, and added each browser name to a row within the table. Finally on the Data Binding tab, I bound the newly added Browser Data Column to the Module Variable. The test case properties give me the ability to cycle through all of the listed browsers, or specify a certain number to test with.

Desktop testing

I was able to utilize Ranorex Studio to record and execute scripts for Workgroup Search.

Scripting

Ranorex Studio scripts are written in C# or VB.NET.

According to the documentation, project files are compatible with Visual Studio.

http://www.ranorex.com/test-automation-tools/ranorex-studio-automated-testing-software.html

Documentation and training; (somewhat) short learning curve

I downloaded the free trial and started using Ranorex Studio immediately as the layout is clear and concise, and the basic functionality is straight forward. I utilized the many online videos, help files, and expert forums on their site to help figure out most of my issues. I am not sure if they have any other kind of training.

Maintenance, longevity, reliability and support

The Ranorex community seems to have a lot of company support.

Error recovery

The logs are viewable within the Reports section. When I hover over a line I am able to either jump to the item within the script or open it with their add on tool named Spy. I do not know very much about Spy at this point, but will research this further.

Reporting

The reports look very professional and it is very clear to see where an error occurs.

Cost

The PREMIUM node-locked license version is $1980.00.

The PREMIUM floating license version is $3980.00.

Customizations (future proofness)

The documentation and videos available, state that Ranorex Studio has the capability to effortlessly find any elements that have been moved

Established in market

I am unable to find concrete information on how widely used Ranorex Studio is in the QA Testing field.

Integration with Rally

Unknown.

Distributed Testing

I have not evaluated this part of Ranorex Studio, but the documentation states that it can be utilized this way as long as the correct license is purchased.

Ability to run unit tests outside of environment

Unknown.

Life of a Tester....tool evaluation pt 2: TestComplete

TestComplete Evaluation

Released by SmartBear

Installation of TestComplete was easy, smooth, and very professional looking.

I installed and opened TestComplete. The start page directed me without a lot of clutter.

I was able to navigate through TestComplete without any training from documentation or tutorials. The two main areas are the Project Explorer and the Workspace.

 

The following Project Explorer snapshot displays the test types that I have evaluated in TestComplete. Under the Advanced tab is the script area where the code level test cases are held. The KeywordTests is the GUI point and click record and playback test cases. NOTE: there is also an area to house our  Manual test cases.

The KeywordTests displays the recorded Item, Operation conducted by me, Value given, Description, and if there is an Auto-wait timeout for the line item. I was able to double click on each of these fields which then displayed a popup to alter the chosen item.

A cool feature I found is in the Workspace area. After I recorded a test, Script or KeywordTest, a window pane appeared at the bottom of the right hand side of the screen, displaying captured screens. I was able to double click them to enlarge and see exactly where I had clicked during the test.

 

Web testing, including cross browser

TestComplete is able to effortlessly record and execute tests in all browsers. After recording the test, I was able to go into the Workspace window, click on the Navigate line of the Keyword test and the browser selection window is displayed. This is really useful as I am able to record a test in one browser and execute the test in the same, or a different, browser.

 

Desktop testing

I was able to utilize TestComplete to record and execute tests for desktop applications.

Scripting

TestComplete has separate area where low level code scripts are located. I recorded a script through movements on a mouse and TestComplete compiled the steps into script format. (a script can be written from scratch, also, if desired.) TestComplete allows for scripts to be written in C#, C++, Delphi, Jscript, and VBscript.

 

Documentation and training; (somewhat) short learning curve

I downloaded the free trial, and was contacted by an Account Manager via email. He introduced himself as well as sent a link to a tutorial on getting started. I have been receiving tips via email since. The SmartBear website, as well as the testing community, has a plethora of video tutorials, hints, documentation, and Q&A boards.

Maintenance, longevity, reliability and support

Although I do not know the level of support from SmartBear, the testing community is very active on TestComplete questions, issues, tips, and tricks.

Error recovery

The logs are displayed in the Project Explorer window pane. I was able to double click on a log item and retrieve the line item details.

Reporting

TestComplete comes with a tool named ReportGenerator.exe, which creates a zip file of all the memory dump files (.dmp) given by TestComplete and constructs an html page listing all of the events.

Cost

A TestComplete node locked license is $1999 and a Floating User License is $4499.

Customizations (future proofness)

SmartBear seems to be doing routine updates to keep up with technology.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/06/10/new-testcomplete-extends-smartbears-leadership-pos/

Established in market

TestComplete is very competitive in the test tool market.

Integration with Rally

Unknown.

Distributed Testing

The documentation states that TestComplete can execute distributed tests, but I did not evaluate this section.

http://support.smartbear.com/articles/testcomplete/distributed-testing-tutorial/

Ability to run unit tests outside of environment

Unknown.

Life of a QA Tester....tool evaluation: Sahi Pro

Sahi Pro Evaluation

Released by Tyto Software

Installation of Sahi Pro was easy. I did find it a bit strange that it did not automatically install in the Program Files folder. The program is kicked off by a .bat file which launches the Sahi dashboard.

After choosing the browser that will be used, a front Sahi Pro page displays instructed me how to bring up the Controller.

Although the controller is laid out fairly well, I did find it a bit “clunky”.  I also had some issues running a script that had both a function that had been created through the GUI and another that was created from scratch.

Web testing, including cross browser

I was able to test in IE, Firefox, and Chrome.

Desktop testing

Sahi Pro does not test desktop applications.

Scripting

The language is based on JavaScript.

Documentation and training; (somewhat) short learning curve

The Sahi Pro website contains many pages of training materials.

Maintenance, longevity, reliability and support

Unknown.

Error recovery

I was able to see the logs of the tests run and upon clicking on a log.

After clicking on a test name in the Suite Name column, I was brought to a page where I could see where the script had failed (if applicable). I can then double click on the error, highlighted in red below, and will be taken to the place in the script where the test had failed.

Reporting

Sahi Pro stores its reports in a H2 database by default. Custom reporting is possible, but it may be necessary to store it into a central MySQL or another database. There is a MySQL .jar that can be utilized to create and customize reports. Also, this process requires a manual update, MySQL does not do this automatically.

Cost

$495/user/year

Customizations (future proofness)

Sahi Pro does not have this capability.

Established in market

Sahi Pro is not widely used .

Integration with Rally

Sahi Pro does not have this capability.

Distributed Testing

Sahi Pro can be distributed and run tests on multiple machines as long as the Sahi Pro application is installed on each machine.

Ability to run unit tests outside of environment

Sahi Pro does not have this capability.

Conclusion: We have decided that Sahi Pro is not a strong contender in our search of automated test tools and has been withdrawn from the choices.

7/25/13: Edited title- added "Sahi Pro".