Better Software Magazine Articles

A Look at TestTrack Pro by Seapine Software

Michele Rigney finds that Seapine's TestTrack Pro has added value to her company's products by providing a centralized system that captures the wants and needs of clients. Issues are tracked from initial report through resolution and release, and all the steps along the way are documented.

Michele D. Rigney
A Look at T-VEC's Test Vector Generation System

Before they started using T-VEC, David Statezni's group was manually creating and running requirements tests and separately creating and running code coverage tests. T-VEC's features allowed them to save time.

David Statezni
Learning Web Performance Testing

Sue Bartlett and Meenakshi Rao highlight some common mistakes to avoid when starting Web performance testing, including trying to select a load-testing tool before evaluating your needs, and trying to outsource performance testing for a complex eBusiness application. They convey two important lessons: First, it's vital that you understand your architecture and your Web site's purpose; second, that kind of understanding is difficult to transfer to a third party.

A Look at Testing Web Applications with eValid

When Robert Sabourin set up a testing lab for a major e-commerce Web-based application, he chose eValid from Software Research, Inc., as the tool for use in functional, performance, and load testing of the application. The product did the job at a very reasonable price, and they were able to find some very important bugs well ahead of their target delivery dates.

Robert Sabourin's picture Robert Sabourin
Why Testers Should Participate in Early Reviews

Do testers really belong in early reviews? For Michael Dedolph, the answer is yes! For that matter, he thinks more installers should be involved as well. Why? Testers and installers are usually involved in the "end game," so they add value by bringing that very different point of view to the review process.

F. Michael Dedolph
Network Testing with Shunra's STORM

STORM is a software-driven combination of hardware and software that recreates multiple, real-life, WAN links in terms of bandwidth limitations, packet loss, latency, jitter, and more–all in a local area network (LAN) lab. By providing a test bed that brings the WAN into a controlled and repeatable LAN environment, we can test and evaluate the performance and robustness of IP applications or devices before wide-scale deployment, or compare new technologies before field testing.

Ron Ioszpe
The Power Loss Trap

In order to be effective, Testing must co-exist on a level playing field with Development and Project Management. It cannot be subservient to them. A test lead's authority on a project springs from his or her projected sense of self-confidence in the role, and the Power Loss Trap undermines this authority. Here are a few commonsense ways to protect yourself.

Matt Leahy
A Detour Around Dead-end Bugs

Show-stopping failures in Web applications are all too common. One serious but easily avoidable failure is the "dead-end" bug, where a user is left staring at a blank screen without any clue about what went wrong. Derek Sisson describes different types of "dead-end" bugs and shows how to avoid them.

Derek Sisson
My Next Mission (And How You Might Benefit from It)

Technical Editor Brian Marick proposes organizing a public effort to test a real software product.

Brian Marick
A Look at Rational SQA Robot

Noel Nyman continues sharing his experiences of working in the Microsoft WindowsNT Group, where he evaluated several automation tools for the Applications Test team. This is the second installment in a series.

Noel Nyman

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