Better Software Magazine Articles

Three Kinds of Measurement and Two Ways to Use Them

Are software development and testing sciences subject to the same kind of numerical measurement that we use in physics? If not, what kinds of measurements should we use? How could we think more usefully about measurement?

Michael Bolton's picture Michael Bolton
That's No Reason to Automate!

Automating test execution is supposed to give tremendous benefits, but often gives disappointing results—because it hasn’t met the objectives set for it. The fault may not lie with the automation itself, but with the objectives you are attempting to achieve. Aiming at the wrong target does not bring success! For example, objectives for automation are often confused with objectives for testing, but they should be different. In this article, learn how to avoid the most insidious traps and how to recognize good objectives for automation.

What to Expect When You're Automating Testing

After learning the basics of testing frameworks, writing tests for your existing codebase can be a daunting challenge. Where should you start testing, and what kind of tests will be the most effective? Learn how to kick-start your testing and some solutions to problems teams frequently encounter.

Daniel Wellman's picture Daniel Wellman
Virtual Realities: Best Practices and Common Pitfalls of Adopting Virtual Lab Automation

Virtual Lab Automation (VLA) is a ground-breaking technology that promises quantifiable benefits for application development and test organizations, including faster lab deployment, less manual setup work, greater resource flexibility and utilization, and easier reproduction of defects. In this article, Skytap's Ian Knox discusses the best practices and common pitfalls associated with adopting a VLA solution. In addition, he outlines the steps to evaluate a virtualization solution for your test organization and provides further resources to help you get started.

Ian Knox's picture Ian Knox
Reloadable Test Data-O-Matic

Reloadable test data takes more time up front (as compared to on-the-fly data creation), but saves blood, sweat, and tears in the long term. It also virtually eliminates "works on my machine" bugs, creates a more intricate and realistic environment, and is the first step on the road to test automation.

Tanya Dumaresq
Lessons Learned in Close Quarters Combat

Few would think that the tactics employed by military and law-enforcement Special Forces to breach buildings under siege bears any relation to software project teams. After a number of weekends training with ex-military and ex-law-enforcement Special Forces—just for fun—Antony Marcano draws a surprising parallel between the dynamics of modern Special Forces "room-clearing" methods and the dynamics of modern software development teams.

Antony Marcano's picture Antony Marcano
It's in the Way That You Use It

Rapid testers don't think of test automation merely as something that controls a program and checks for some expected result. Instead, we think of test automation as any use of tools to support testing. With that definition in mind, it may not be the most obvious automation tool that is the most useful.

Michael Bolton's picture Michael Bolton
Give Your Defects Some Static

Computer security has raised the demand for automated tools that can analyze source code for vulnerabilities and defects. Find out how you can put automated static analyzers to work for you.

The Other Side of Complexity

Software development has always been an exercise in managing complexity because there appears to be no end to the problems to which we can apply automatic computation. It has progressed as a discipline as good minds have created abstractions that transform that complexity into simplicity.

Chuck Allison's picture Chuck Allison
Man and Machine: Combine the Human Mind with Test Automation Tools

Instead of viewing software test automation as an effort to replace manual tests think of it as a means to extend the abilities of the tester. Combining the power of the human mind with automation tools helps fuel observation and discovery and provides a different perspective of the software under test.

Jonathan Kohl's picture Jonathan Kohl

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