Large System Integration Testing Projects - What to watch out for...

Testing was looked down (even in some corners it is still prevalent). But let me take a lead and proudly say, that after seeing the IT world from all sides - Dev,Testing,Maintenance - Product and Services as well...I feel Testing is a REAL intellectual challenge and process. It gains its enormity from the point that No other process except testing can give a solace(or sleepless nights) when it comes to credibility of a release. It also is infact one of the most THORNY activity in any software Life cycle.

Various factors make it critical - Type of bid (Fixed, T&M, Size of project,Domain etc etc)

Anyhow i thought of putting my thoughts togather on What are the key characteristics and challenges when there is a testing planned for a LARGE System Integration projects

Tighten your seat belts ...Here you go..

•Large systems integration projects usually are mission critical and have high quality goals not only in terms of providing functionality but also towards high availability, performance, resilience and robustness of the system.

•These projects span over multiple years and business dynamics tend to change during this period.

•More often than not, these are developed in multiple releases having parallel development and testing phases of overlapping releases to maintain the schedule of the project.This increases the complexity of managing large projects.

•These have very typical characteristics of having many possibilities of getting under estimated due to the uncertainties and large number of independent variables that leads to schedule slippage and effort over run.

•Generally significant number of stakeholders and big team size of large programme leads to issues related to communication and coordination.

•Typically in such projects, project team can never be sure that the functionality that is being designed is the one will be deployed finally into the production. There is high possibility of the scope creep that is initiated by the customer, from technical point of view initiated by the vendor and from risk point of view that is decided by the need of the project.

•Usually large projects executed by multiple vendors from multiple locations in different countries having diverse culture and exploit multiple technologies.


Can you collaborate more.,...

~ Manav Ahuja

Newly coined phrase for the current phase of my life

Today while chating with some near dears of mine, i accidently coined something which is giving a new meaning to my life.

Without keeping it a secret any more here it is:

"Be optimistic to the last iota of the breath, even if you are the ONLY one to be so".
..... Manav

What IT Vendors SHOULD provide

I know surveys are the most crudest things to proclaim anything.They are the best means to corrupt the thought process as well.

BUT...

Recently i was reading one of the blogs and found this intrested piece (a survey report) and felt its so very relevant to us. So thought of sharing through my blog as well.




Keep strategizing...

~Manav Ahuja

GUI Testing - "Most Common Bug Patterns" - Part -1

Being a long timer Web developer and thereafter Web Tester i think it has been long due that i start recollecting my experience and share it here for the entire community to leverage / synergize and take a note of for future. I have just finished collating a few so thought of penning at these early hours of Sunday morning (BTW its 05:18 AM) and haen't taken the nap yet whole night. Well i believe Make hay when sun Shines...so weekends are for me and me alone.

Ok enuf...back to business...The moment we think portal / website, the first few things come to mind are the - Promptness,Lesser the number of mouse clicks better the site,Ease of navigation, less text and not to crumpled Home page.

Well to further my thought process here are some of the bug patterns in standard GUI Implementations:

- In case of combo box, we should check the functionality of arrow keys. Most of the time, we checked up / down keys, we should check right / left keys also.
- Bit map should be provided for all the tool buttons.
- CTRL+ shortcut for the various options doesn’t work consistently.
- If two / three dialog boxes are opened at the same time, then the dialog boxes shouldn’t overlap one another. They should cascade.
- CTRL+tab key should result in to flipping among the open windows.
- Arrow keys should also be mapped with spin control buttons.
- Whenever there is some activity going on, some way of notification to the user should be there. It may be Hourglass mouse pointer, display on status bar, an animated GIF, or use of a progress bar. The point is that the user should be aware that something is going on in background.
- Menus should follow the standard conventions, e.g. “About” submenu should be under Help menu and so on.
- Tool tips should be displayed for all the tool buttons.
- Floating toolbars should not be another task bar window, but should be positioned inside the GUI window.
- Any additional user created toolbars or menus should not distort the GUI.
- Change in Font should reflect at all intended places. Also, the views should not get distorted.
- Tiling and Cascading should be tested thoroughly along with Minimize and maximize options. Windows should not get lost at any point of time.
- Check box should get checked/unchecked with SPACE bar, when in focus.
- Option buttons should get set/reset with SPACE bar, when in focus.
- Whenever a “Select ALL” facility is given, a “Clear All” should be provided and vice versa.
- All the Control buttons and Menu bars that launch another dialog should have three trailing DOTs (…) in the name. E.g. Browse…


Whoo hoo...this has come out good. I will put more pressure on my "medula oblongata" and try to make this a series. to complete most of the critical GUI components.

Should we not say this...GUI Testing Bug Patterns - Part 1.

Have a good one...

~ Manav Ahuja

Entreprenurship - Ignite the passion within

Who and what defines Entre...

Noun : Entrepreneur – An entrepreneur (a loanword from French introduced and first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon) is a person who undertakes and operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. A female entrepreneur is sometimes referred to as an entrepreneuse. …… From Wikipedia

Simple...uhh. Its more beneath than out. These nerds cannot be a part of herd (except the herd of achievers/loosers). They really are people who feel fear is just another word, Loss is an oppurtunity and success is just a milestone not destination.....Wow i am turning and playing with words. :-)

But is it that easy to be an entrepreneur. I thought of sewing my thoughts and come up with my kinda insights on the game - Entrepreneurship.

I feel Entreprenurs are crazy souls for whom life is all about passion. And they donot rely on any source of inspiration. The catalyst for the ignition of their passion comes from within.

...now what abt the characteristics of these buffoons..Let me try

- Work-a-holics
- Die hard optimists
- Least emotional (this is subjective but i would still list this among the prominents)
- Risk takers (Both calculated and un-calculated)
- Self driven and believers
- Problem conquerers
- Hands on - Not Task delegators
- Unstoppable
- Donot take but provide Inspiration
- They are the change and real innovators

I may have missed some key ones (but they might be your perception/perspective) :-). Mine - i have listed all. But one thing for sure We all are entreprenurs in our respect isn't it? Its just that some of us take the plunge and rest sit back in cubicles(cozy spaces within our organizations) and see the other quarter making history everyday.

Before saluting a "Bye" ...let me leave you soaked with famous quotes from REAL Entrepreneurs of the era:

It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer."- Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's

"I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others... I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent."- Thomas Edison

"Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you're generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you don't make."- Donald Trump, real estate and entertainment mogul

"I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them!"- Madam C.J. Walker, creator of a popular line of African-American hair care products and America's first black female millionaire


O-la-la...thats real thoughtful stuff....i have enough Food for thought ...for my coming week(s) :-)

In my son's words let me move off in true US style --- "Have a good one" -

~ Manav Ahuja