Software Testing Blog

Today I read a story about a woman who, while following Google Maps’ directions, was run over and is now suing Google for damages. So, my question to you is: Who are you following — and why?

At uTest, we’re just scratching the surface of  what’s possible in our “social media” efforts, but we’re excited that this past weekend we passed 1,000 Twitter Followers and 500 Facebook Likes!

So this post is simply to ask YOU — our terrific community, friends and readers — a few questions about what makes a company worth following or more interesting to you in the realm of social media:

1. What type of content do you like most? Is it breaking news; thoughts from industry gurus; inside info from the company; jokes and funny stories; special promotions; or other?
2. What makes you want to follow or “like” a company — particularly a B2B brand?
3. Are there other B2B or SaaS companies who are doing cool stuff and making all the right moves?  Give ‘em some love and tell the world about them in the comments!

We would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and insights around this topic. And if you have a moment, please follow us (we promise we won’t run you over!).

Depending upon who you ask, crowdsourcing is either evil, revolutionary, or a next gen of internships.

But one thing that ALL crowdsourcing companies like to preach is how loyal and trustworthy and professional their community is. I know because I’ve read it in 100 different sites. Hell, I’ve written it a 100 different times here at uTest. So why do crowdsourcing companies insist upon telling the world how loyal and earnest their community is?  Maybe it’s to assuage the fears of prospective customers about entrusting their logo design, app development, content production or marketing to a community of strangers. Maybe it’s because if marketers say it enough times, we hope it’ll come true.

The more pessimistic view is that people — cloaked in the anonymity of the web — often act in greedy, selfish, mean-spirited ways (this perspective didn’t make it into the crowdsourcing brochure, by the way). Such dark behavior is well-documented and takes the form of flame wars on message boards, bullying via social media and online fraud.

So which is it — are people good-natured and honest?  Or are they money-hungry malcontents who will do anything to get ahead, as long as they don’t get caught?  Obviously it depends on the people, but I learned the truth about our community this week — and it was a lesson we learned the hard way.

A little background:  At uTest, we pay our testers twice per month via PayPal or Payoneer. And at this point in our growth, each pay cycle involves a non-trivial amount of cash — pretty deep into the five-figure range.  Now, it’s not easy or flattering to admit this, but in our most recent pay cycle, we experienced a glitch that caused us to pay our testers twice. That’s right folks, it was double payday here at uTest!

Read more…

We’re about half way through the Q2 Bug Battle, which is comparing three of the most popular “check-in” applications. That would be Foursquare, Gowalla and Brightkite.

So how’s it going so far? Well, with less than five days remaining, we’ve already had more than 350 testers participate and a combined total of  650+ reported bugs!  The depth and quality of the defects is nothing short of amazing, but we’ve come to expect no less from our tester community.

Of course, there’s still a long way to go – and nearly $4,000 in prize money still up for grabs. Remember, the Bug Battle ends Monday, May 24th at noon ET, so be sure to log in to your uTest account and start submitting bugs before it’s too late.

As with previous competitions, it’s all about quality and not quantity. If you want more specific tips on how to win the Bug Battle – by focusing on mobile bugs, social media integration, etc. – then check out this dedicated thread in the uTest Forums.

Happy bug-hunting and good luck!

Santhosh Tuppad has high hopes for the software testing industry – and he’s here to tell you all about them as this month’s featured guest blogger. Over the last year or so, Santhosh has proven to be one of the top testers in our global community: He is an active member of the uTest forums, Bug Battles and, of course, numerous customer test cycles. His rise through the ranks of the uTest community was highlighted as part of our Tester Spotlight series.

Aside from uTest, Santhosh is a member of the Weekend Testing, and received his formal training from fellow guest blogger Pradeep Soundararajan. For more on his background, go check out his blog or follow him on Twitter.

As you could have guessed from the title, this post is about my wishful thinking of software testing. Of course, I can’t be expected to cover all of my wishes in a single blog post, but I have done my best to highlight a few areas of great potential – and here they are:

More active software testing communities
As many of you know from being a member of uTest, software communities will play a big part in the future of testing. Although uTest is a global community, I envision similar communities popping up in every city, state and country. The Weekend Testing group, of which I’m also a member, is another great example of this.

Software testing in schools and colleges

Pradeep Soundararajan – my testing coach – said that kids sometimes ask better questions about a product than what many so-called experienced testers ask. He talked to me about how questions from school kids would lead them to solutions in their own software and products. They asked some very intelligent questions and I was amazed by the perspective they showed. It made me wonder, “Why are students  not taught about thinking (example: lateral thinking) as a skill in most schools and colleges?”

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Where are you going, where have you been? Yes it’s the title of a creepy short story, but it also happens to characterize the  fastest-growing segment of consumer applications.

Location-based apps like Foursquare, Gowalla and Brightkite – apps that let you check in, find hot spots and get rewarded with prizes & accolades – are attracting thousands of new users every day. Just how popular have they become? They’re sooo popular, even uTest CEO and co-founder Doron Reuveni has attained ‘Mayor’ status (see if you can guess where).

Why am I telling you all this? Because these  geo-based apps are the subject of our latest uTest Bug Battle. We figured that since Foursquare, Gowalla and Brightkite are all global in scope, that they would provide our global tester community with a challenge unlike any of our previous bug-hunting competitions.

The Bug Battle gets started this Friday, May 14 at Noon (ET). Testers will be given ten days to search these applications (both web and mobile) for the most compelling bugs, and to report them through our online platform. We’ll be dishing out nearly $4,000 in prize money for Top Tester, Best Bug, Best Survey Feedback, Best Mobile Bug and a bunch of other categories.

More details on this Bug Battle – as well the rules, prizes and deadlines –can be found in this uTest Forums thread. Of course, we’ll be providing frequent updates via our blog, forums and newsletters.

Special note: This competition is available ONLY to members of the uTest community. Not a member yet? Find out more about the benefits of joining uTest.

Whenever a major crime has been committed – or whenever foul play is involved – a software bug is sure to be one of the usual suspects.

Without the right to a fair trial however, many of these bugs are  found guilty of crimes they did not commit. Perhaps a witness confused them with a similar looking feature, or maybe they were framed by a developer…

In any event, when they are to blame, software bugs hardly ever face the cruel and unusual punishment they deserve. Most of the time, they are back on the streets web the very next day. Where’s the outrage? Won’t somebody think of the user!

So just how lawless have software bugs become? Here’s a list of recent crimes for which they are suspects:

Market Manipulation
“The House Financial Services securities subcommittee plans to hold a hearing to examine what caused the US stock market to plunge almost 1,000 points in a half hour Thursday, and it called on the SEC to investigate possible problems with computer algorithms that may have exacerbated a human order-entry error and led to the precipitous drop. ‘Reports have surfaced that much of this movement was potentially as a result of a computer glitch,’ Committee Chairman Kanjorski said. ‘We cannot allow a technological error to spook the markets and cause panic. This is unacceptable. In this day and age and with the use of such complex technology, we should be able to make sure that our financial markets are effectively monitored and investors are protected.’” (From Slashdot)

Read more…

According to Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Twitter now has 105,779,710 registered users—and is adding 300,000 new users a day. Attempting to weed through all of the fluff can be daunting! So, if you’re interested in jumping into the Twittersphere or are just looking to follow the leading journalists and thinkers in software testing today, check out our “Top 20 Software Testing Tweeps” list below (in no particular order)!

1. James Bach – @jamesmarcusbach
2. Michael Bolton – @michaelbolton
3. Testing At The Edge Of Chaos (Matt Heusser) — @mheusser
4. Tester Tested! (Pradeep Soundararajan) – @testertested
5. StickyMinds.com (Better Software Mag) — @StickyMinds
6. SearchSoftwareQuality.com (Yvette Francino) — @yvettef or @SoftwareTestTT
7. Google Testing Blog (Copeland/Whittaker) – @copelandpatrick or @googletesting
8. Testy Redhead (Lanette  Creamer) – @lanettecream
9. Test Obsessed (Elizabeth Hendrickson) — @testobsessed
10. SD Times — @sdtimes
11. Jon Bach – @jbtestpilot
12. Software Test & Performance Mag –- @STPCollab
13. Software Testing Club (Rosie Sherry) — @rosiesherry or @testingclub
14. Lisa Crispin — @lisacrispin
15. Fred Beringer — @fredberinger
16. uTest (shameless plug! ) — @uTest
17. Weekend Testing (Santhosh/Parimala/Ajay) – @weekendtesting or
18. Santhosh Tuppad — @santhoshst
19. Ajay Balamurugadas — @ajay184f
20. Parimala Shankariah — @curioustester

Update! Thanks for everyone’s recommendations. Here are a few we missed: @sbarber, @QualityFrog, @dailytestingtip, @sdelesie, @Rob_Lambert, @chris_mcmahon, @hexawise, @marlenac, @shrinik, @sbharath1012, @sellib, @TestingNews.

Please feel free to add any active Tweeps you think we may have missed in the comments! We welcome your recommendations.

According to a recent survey conducted at TestExpo Spring 2010, a whopping 55% of testers believe that senior management sees their role as a “costly necessity.” Before I get to the implications of the survey – both the good and the bad – here are a few highlights for the quant jocks among us:

* 66% of testers said they used automated testing

* 33% of testers who did NOT use automated testing said it was due to a lack of resources

* 14% of testers preferred manual testing

* 59% of testers were familiar with code-driven testing

Here’s the big takeaway: It’s clear from the pie chart above that testers (at least these particular testers whose companies sent them to a conference in London) are confident in their job security, as only 9% felt that management did not regard them as a necessity. Everyone else believes that management sees their role as either critically important or as a competitive differentiator.

Read more…

Okay, so you beat Zelda blindfolded, reached the Donkey Kong kill screen on your first try and played Tetris for 14 consecutive hours. Big deal! If you really wanted to impress us, you’d have spent that time finding some bugs on level 1 instead.

As GamingUnion.com recently discussed, hard-core gamers do not necessarily make the best gaming testers. In light of  the “bugs, glitches and crashes” currently damaging the reputation of  Call of Duty, Battlefield and others popular titles, the article seeks to explain why gaming gurus are apparently “asleep at the wheel.”

There’s a lot of relevant content for software testers of all industries and verticals – so you should check out the article – but if you just want the gist of it, allow me to summarize their top findings:

Gamers Lack the Creativity of Testers
Of course, an expert gamer will be able to stroll through one level after another. That’s what expert gamers do. But what about novice players (like @matjohnston) who fumble around with the controller, claim that it’s broken, and can barely get past the title screen without dying? [Matt's rebuttal: first of all, that's not true... second, the computer cheats!]. A good tester will always keep the end user in mind, whether they’re a beginner or expert. They will test for actions that to them seem absurd (because they would never do such a thing), but that could in fact occur. Testers try to envision as many of these scenarios as possible. Apparently, many gamers do not.

Read more…

Between our office March Madness bracketology and the Bug Battle of the TV Networks rocking the headlines, it’s been an exciting week here at uTest! The Q1 Bug Battle peaked the interest of several leading pundits and bloggers, including TechCrunch’s Robin Wauters (@robinwauters), VentureBeat’s Robert Mullins (@SiliconMoon) and BostInnovation’s Kyle Psaty (@bostinnovation):

• uTest Finds 908 Bugs In Web Apps Of Major U.S. TV Networks

• uTest Rates Best TV Network Web Sites, And Catches Bugs

• uTest Finds 1,000 Bugs in Web Properties of TV Networks

• “Battle of the TV Networks” Uncovers Nearly 1,000 Bugs

Additional press coverage includes Radio Business Report, NewTeeVee, Broadcast Newsroom and VentureFizz.

Thanks again to all of our cunning uTesters for exploring these web and mobile apps voraciously and hunting down some very crafty bugs. And congratulations to all the winners of the Bug Battle of the TV Networks!

Until the next Bug Battle, happy bug hunting!