Testing everything, and how the future might look

When we talk testing (we presume most of you are software testers) your mind would obviously jump to the last test case you ran or the last killer "bug" you detected and logged. 

But the word testing covers a wide gamut of possibilities, everything could  (some would say must) be tested. Including content for the web.

Now, how does one test content?

Of course there are spell checks and grammar checks, but apart from that what can be done to ensure that the content is optimised to deliver what it is supposed to?

Turns out there's a lot that can be done, if you have the right resources and if you are determined to approach digital marketing in a structured, result-oriented manner.

SAP for instance has set up a digital test lab to standardise the testing of all content to be published on the company's Web pages—including usability, design and registration forms—as well as on its mobile- enabled site launched recently.

In their own words:

“We take an idea [such as an offer] and look at all the things that lead up to a conversion—the process, Web pages, design, user experience, content, offer and actual registration process,” he said. “Then we do a blend of A/B and multivariate testing, and image testing [such as putting an image next to the offer], to see where we get the most significant lift.”

Similarly, HP is another company that is making content testing a priority.

“We have a publishing calendar every week, which looks at all the content we're pushing out to meet our corporate goals,we use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to see what topics resonate.”

We won't get into too many details here, as this post is not about content testing, but
imagine that, entire teams dedicated to testing content!

As our world becomes more digital,data-driven, cloud-hosted and mobile, and as software becomes ubiquitous, present everywhere from fridges to cars and household robots, the lines between different types of testing, analytics and strategy consulting might blur.
What we might have are large Independent "testing" Labs that test everything, from design, to content, products, software and everything else.They would not only test, but would predict future problems and suggest strategies to overcome them.

Is that another way of saying "Full Services IT Company", we don't know, but we don't think so.
What we see as the next generation of Independent Testing Labs, are teams that would offer hybrid services of testing, analytics and strategy, but not necessarily design and development.

The skills that will be in demand would be the ability to grasp concepts, new business models and consumer insights, and being able to put together information in different ways, create virtual proofs of concept through high-end predictive data analytics (or sheer intuition) and being able to foresee problems and point them out in advance.

Customers will pay a premium for this ability to predict scenarios and outcomes, not by crystal-gazing, but through a combination of intuition, testing and advanced analytics.

To Know more:

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20120409/WEB05/304099947/marketers-embrace-digital-content-testing
http://www.cisionwire.com/nelsonhall/r/nelsonhall-publishes-software-testing-market-analysis,c9237640

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About TCL:

TCL is a specialist consultancy in software testing.  As a company, our core purpose is to Develop and Deliver World Class Solutions in Software Testing that are Innovative, Structured and Professional.
The company exists to meet the needs of our clients who strive to ensure that their IT projects create value and demonstrate return for their investment.  We are geared to deliver services in all areas of software testing including functional, non functional and process improvement.
The first TCL company was based in the UK (Transition Consulting Limited) and the group has now expanded to include enterprises in the US and India.  A further expansion into Australia or New Zealand is expected within the next five years.
For more details visit: http://www.tcl-global.com/

Early Testing: Always Consumer Friendly

As a testing professional, it is up to us to deliver a quality product that will satisfy our customers and lead to a more successful and prosperous organization. To do this we must locate and correct defects efficiently, select processes and technology as well as lead others to apply them, and effectively communicate the results of your efforts to management.

A test scenario, a bug report deferred as-designed: According to Associate Press “Toyota is recalling 437,000 Prius and other hybrid vehicles worldwide to fix brake problem.” Toyota is the world’s largest automaker with impeccable quality reputation up to now.

As it turns out, the cause of the problem is a bug in the software that controls the brake system. “There have been about 200 complaints in Japan and the U.S. about a delay when the brakes in the Prius were pressed in cold conditions and on some bumpy roads. The delay doesn’t indicate a brake failure. The company says the problem can be fixed in 40 minutes with new software that oversees the controls of the antilock brakes.”

I don’t mean to wage in on Toyota disastrous situation. I just think that this is an essential software testing lesson and it illustrates some key issues that testers like us have experienced over the years. “After receiving a similar report from the U.S. in October, Toyota’s tests concluded that a glitch in the Prius antilock brake system software could reduce braking force when drivers traveled across bumpy surfaces.
The company wrote that “although this system was operating as intended,” it decided to make a change to its production line in January to address the problem,” Kareyama reported.

If I wrote a bug report, it would look like this:

• Bug Report Summary: Braking force is reduced (the problem) when driving across bumpy surface (the scenario).
• Reproducibility: Intermittent.
  

It seems that the Resolution can be treated as “As-designed” (although it does not work in certain scenarios, that was how Toyota designed it), or “Deferred” (the problem is acknowledged and will be fixed later), or “To-be-fixed” (but in the next release). We already know the outcome. So, what do we learn?

• Scenario-based and exploratory testing during system-test is essential—this requires skill and creativity in test design, not test-driven development (which is all good and an essential element to software development) or process-driven testing such as CMMi or ISO-9000 (which is good for quality control).

• Software testing is not quality assurance—testers can report bugs, but a decision for corrective action lies somewhere else. There is nothing wrong with that. Testing is an important information service provider. We find and report problems.
• Software is everywhere; and software is buggy—our job as testers is to find bug by breaking software in every possible way we can!
  

Last but not least, we, testers don’t create software or the product; we help improve software reliability through our defect finding skills. Buy breaking software, we are saving consumer and our company time and money (even contributing to public safety in this case). So, keep breaking software tester…Your job is much appreciated!

By Shri Vidhya
shri.vidhya@tcl-asia.com