daily post

Intros:

Jenkins – A Continuous Integration tool – move from code build to running checks to deployment

Pipeline – A process in introduced in Jenkins v2.0 to schedule tasks one after the other

Groovy – A n Object oriented language built for the Java platform – can be used as a scripting language (like in Jenkins)

What’s amazing about this?

I feel it gives you lots of control over configuration

The syntax is very clear and straight (for the most part),

And things get ‘dead’ easy with the ‘pipeline syntax’ help Jenkins provides which generates snippets of codes for you based on selected options

Can your brain focus on multiple things at the same time?

In the information economy the people to thrive are who invent

The terms knowledge worker(Peter drucker) and smart creatives (google founders) are common

Yet how much of our time do we spend on thinking deeply?

Shallow activities, just passing the buck around does not create the needed value

At the minimum work with focus and precisely on one thing only

More on the subject: “Deep Work” by Cal Newport

Is there any tool that can go well to the last mile? I think not..

After all software products are developed using many frameworks right?

I feel the biggest challenge tools face these days are integrations

Firstly – the automation pyramid right – test on all layers (UI, API and DB)

I don’t know of any one tool that can hit all these levels effectively

Secondly tools are usually great at few things, not at everything

You might want to use different libraries for different purposes

A tool might be great at object recognition, but has a not so good reporting structure

To bring a full circle, you would eventually need CI support as well

Definitely use more than one tool, in fact plan to use multiple tools from the get go

More at:
https://lnkd.in/fahFtQq

Use tools which provide a resultant benefit – Need of the hour for automation folks

After every few months a new shiny tool comes along demanding our attention

In a frenzy of not to be left behind in the ‘next big thing’ everyone rushes to it Cucumber (used just for automation only) is a good case in point

Cal Newport in Deep Work suggests weighing benefits vs cost for using social media tools

Use the tool only if the benefit outweighs Identify the main goal and key few activities that support this goal

How beneficial is this tool towards that?

Now apply this to automation, will using cucumber just within the automation team generate a resultant benefit

I have a strong feeling it will not

Take Away: Stop running towards implementing the next shiny thing, unless it supports your project objectives

How was it born and what concepts were adopted from the start?

From my study seems we took a lot from TQM

Which I feel might have worked then, but not applicable today

I find hardly any synergies between software and physical products quality measurement

Until recently you would hear people from testing talking about six sigma

What does that have to do with software testing?

The Quality gurus like Edward Deming’s had great findings

But could not be taken ‘as is’ for software testing without any enhancement or even changes

Here we would run into a distinction between Quality and Testing

And I’m not super certain if I want to go there

The question I am trying to figure out:

Is software testing and / or quality built on concepts suited for today’s software?

JIRA or TFS or other tools?

To be honest, there hardly is any one tool that does all those things best

Either you compromise synergies and ease by using multiple tools

Or settle with one that does most things reasonable well

My vote is surely for JIRA in with that criteria.

Works great with issue tracing, decent agile management and lots of integrations supported

Back in the day TFS never had a great issue tracking mechanism

Agile management was not there probably

For Agile management there are other tools which might be better than JIRA

But then deciding between multiple licences and using synergies plays an important role in decision making.

More here:
https://lnkd.in/fGkJks9

Unconscious Thought Theory (UTT) – Complex problems are better solved by the subconscious

We are often faced with problems involving lots of variables, in other words complex tasks

Spending hours pondering over the data, which is a good thing

But to leave it to our subconscious to solve the problem is more effective rather than trying to get an answer from deliberate thought

Ever worked on a problem for days returning home in dismay

And surprised how one fine morning the solution is boiling out of your head just after a good night sleep?

What I learned:
Get the facts and data, go over it, but let the details to ‘mull over’ your subconscious for some time and wait for ‘the best computer ever’ to bring back a solution.

Are they good, bad, a necessary evil?

The good:
“Talk is cheap”, the employer has a right to know if a candidate actually can spur that coding magic

The Bad:
Most tests have nothing to do with practicality. Solving mathematical equations is useless IMHO

How to make it all good:

1. Give ACTUAL problems RELATED to the job allowing a demonstration of technical depth, problem solving skills and forming an algorithm for the solution

2. Walk through with them how they solve the problem, do they enjoy the process?

If you are looking for an automation engineer, the only constant should be new challenges.

The ‘technical’ skills I look for to deal with this:
– Apptitude for designing algorithms
– “Testing Acumen”

More here:
https://lnkd.in/fdzfjy2

Specially is ‘automation in test’ going to fall under the AI realm?

From what I read and see AI is still in its infancy

It might be a while before we start seeing tangible results

Moreover on automation, I think automation itself is not mature enough yet

As a community we are still figuring out how to do it well

Since we are ourselves are not 100% clear on how to do it

It’s going to be hard to teach a machine, or for a machine to learn iteslf..

A better question would be how to help testing of AI products at this point, not the other way around

Lesson – Let’s get mature in testing and automation, I feel we still have a long way to go

#RedefiningSoftwareQuality

positivity attracts positivity, just like negativity attracts negativity

Unfortunately the world is filled with more negative than positive

We trick ourselves into thinking being negative is being practical

The truth is 90% of the things we worry about never happen

According to this study, Susan Jeffers argues in the book “feel the great and do it anyway”, being positive is far more practical

Stay positive, you will attract positive towards you

As a tester too, stay positive,

Finding an issue is not negative,

Letting it slip and getting it back from a customer is the real negative..

#RedefingSoftwareQuality