_Many types of tests exist, such as manual, UI, E2E (end to end), unit, acceptance, and Integration Where do you start though, and what importance should be placed on each? Enter the testing pyramid, the pyramid provides a visual representation of test type importance. It was developed to work with the agile methodology and is used industry wide. The bottom of the pyramid represents the most importance, while obviously the top represents the least. All are important but with time constraints this provides a clearer focus. Continue reading...

_Selenium is the leading framework of test automation if you’re already familiar with test automation you’ve at least heard the name before. If you haven’t, Selenium is a free and open source testing framework for web applications. In their own words ‘Selenium automates browsers”. It has the backing of the major players in the browser market such as Firefox and Chrome. A great feature of Selenium is that it is not limited to a specific language. Officially they support Java, C#, Ruby, Python, and Node. Although being open source many more languages can unofficially be used to create your automated tests.

Now as you may know software and programming languages are rapidly evolving. There’s a large competition between many of these, to become a new industry standard and or dethrone the current standard. Selenium is no exception to this and that’s what I'd like to talk about. Continue reading...

_So what is a test case? In simplest terms, it’s a single executable test whose purpose is to achieve a specific testing objective. They bring a methodical approach to what would otherwise be a haphazard approach. A test case contains a set of conditions or variables and can be thought of as a set of step-by-step instructions. These are used by a tester to determine whether the software satisfies requirements and functions properly. They are written during the test design phase and executed during the test execution phase. Continue reading...

_The Software Design Life Cycle (SDLC) is an important process for a tester to know. It’s similar to a subcontractor needing to know the status of the project so they know when and where they will be needed.


The SDLC describes how software is built from start to finish. It’s a systemic process for building software. It describes the activities performed at each stage of the development process. Just like software testing, software development needs to follow a set of rules and methods. Continue reading...

_Ithink everyone can agree thorough testing can make or break a new software release. However, anyone with experience in development knows this is not an easy task. Especially within an agile environment when time can be limited. Testing is time-consuming, it can be expensive, and sometimes it can be subject to human error. Here’s the truth bugs will slip through despite the best manual testing process.


Enter automated testing, implemented correctly it’s the best way to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and coverage of your software testing. Automation translates the manual steps taken by a tester and creates repeatable scripts. This provides more time and energy to focus on other tasks and reduce the time of your test cycle. Beyond that using the best practices in this article can get you the best return on investment. It will shorten your test cycles, and freedom from repeatable tasks all while improving software quality. Continue reading...

_At a high level, you break down testing into two significant categories: Black Box Testing, and White Box Testing. The difference and importance of these two types of testing is something you must know when entering the QA field. It should be common knowledge, and here we'll be going over these. Continue reading...