In god we trust - The rest we test

Alone in battle - How to survive being the only tester in a startup Congratulations! you have joined a startup as the only tester. Now, take a cold glass of water and let's talk about the challenges you will face and how to survive to tell about them. When I first joined a startup as the only tester I had no idea what I was getting into. Yeh sure, you hear about the long hours, the technological challenge, the fast pace and the lack of clear requirements (And sometimes consistent agenda) but the truth is that nothing can prep you to the real deal. When I got into it I could sure use some advice or an article like this one, so consider this my two cents to the future generation of frontline testers. 1. Get to know your surrounding and the way things work  - I remember the first few weeks, you come into these guys greenhouse with an Idea of how things should work (or how they worked just fine in the last mega company/ corporate you worked in). There were...

Time is money. How many times have you heard that? We are truly a “Startup nation” constantly racing against the clock to deliver multiple features and execute sprint content, to meet our customer’s demands. This intense pace is an everyday reality. As a QA Engineer that has worked with and in different organizations, I have experienced it up-close and personal. On one side there are owners and investors – they want to see growth. On the other side, there are customers – they want features and capabilities that work. And then there is us, Testers – we want to deliver quality. But, how do we fit in this never-ending race? Let’s start by defining software quality and how would you measure it? Well, how would you define a high-quality watch, car, or a clothing item? Could it be that from using the product you can feel that its creator/maker used good materials (even if it means that the price would be higher)? If you use it for a long time, would it still be...

A few years ago I had the great pleasure and challenge to be remotely employed as a QA engineer in a startup company, and it has its fair share of challenges. Try to imagine: The center of activity is miles away, you are short of information, mostly you don't get updated online when a change in requirements is made. You can't give your input in design reviews and at times you will be updated last on a change that in your opinion doesn't make any sense. In fact, you will probably have no say in most of the design issues. As a QA Engineer, I can tell you that pressing the "Off button" on your criticism is not as simple as changing a channel.  You are updated last about changes in deadline and priority.  At times you can spend an hour testing a module, while the developers are working on changing it. Sometimes you receive a short message to deliver X result in Y time, change your testing priorities or switch to testing another module ASAP, ...

After reading our President's article about why he joined Testim.io, I was so inspired that I have decided to continue this tradition! Today, I'm joining Testim.io as a QA Automation engineer. Testim.io applies a high accent to “The human material”. They are very picky about who joins the team, and I can understand why. Dedication, professionalism, and productiveness are highly important for a fast-growing, cutting-edge technological company. How I met Oren Rubin For as far as I can remember, I always tried to be active in QA and Automation forums. It is a good opportunity to acquire knowledge for myself and to advise those who need help. As a highly experienced professional Oren always stood out in these forums with his helpful tips and advice, it was fascinating to see how much knowledge he has. Fast enough we started having long discussions and became friends. We finally met in person at a conference and he seemed to be one of the nicest and talented guys I...

Recently I had the great pleasure of teaching and lecturing to QA students. It was an amazing chance to challenge myself, learn about myself and get a positive sense of meaningful activity. The First few minutes I have to admit that teaching is harder than it seems. It has its fair share of challenges that I will try to cover in this article, and it all starts with the first minute you enter the classroom. “There is no second chance to make a first impression” applies here because as you enter the room, the first few minutes are critical for the student’s perception of you. Imagine, you enter a room with 20-30 strangers, they are staring at you and examining you. They try to understand, do they like you? Can they connect with you? Are you clear and accessible to them? At this point, it is best to just take a deep breath, smile and start talking to break the ice. The great challenge of capturing their attention Keeping 20 young students focused on you and atten...

A bug in comprehension reviews as a part of the testing process "It's not a bug, it's a bug in comprehension..." A perfectly amusing phrase from the head of the development team in an organization I worked in during a discussion with the project manager. But, what it's all about? The organizational culture varies from company to company, as are the types of tests required by the QA team. There are quite a few companies in which the tester is required to examine the quality of the characterization documents (Specs, FD's and User stories) prior to transferring it to development. In the organizations in which I have worked, no Change Request, User Story, is being transferred to development without the approval of the tester assigned to the project, who is a key figure in the "life cycle" of the product. Lack of coordination and Inadequate characteristics, means that the final product may be different from the poet's intention, ...