As a society, we tend to focus on the biggest winners – i.e. those who defy all the odds and manage to overcome unbelievable obstacles. This tendency is especially pronounced in sports, with champions and home runs dominating the headlines. But what about all the guys who make it to the Top 100 without [...]
Way back in 2008, we wrote an article about the growing popularity of software-as-a-service (SaaS) business models. At the time, cloud-based storage was relatively new. And many businesses had legitimate security concerns about handing valuable data over to virtual servers. But more than 8 years later, the SaaS model is firmly established, with “cloud-resistant” businesses [...]
We frequently survey our users to better understand what tools they use and why. And we’ve noticed an interesting trend unfold. Software testing teams increasingly prefer using premium (i.e. “paid”) bug trackers in favor of open source solutions, email, or no bug tracker at all. And this trend seems to be accelerating. Back in [...]
On the back of our company T-shirts are the words “Software Testing Can Be Fun.” We always thought it was not just a cool slogan, but it is also something we believe in. A few days ago, someone asked me - after seeing it - if we really believe that software testing can actually be [...]
Data breaches are nothing new. As Digital Guardian points out, they’ve “existed for as long as individuals and companies have maintained records and stored private information.” But with the rise of computer technology, both the frequency and severity of data breaches have increased. Target and Home Depot are prime examples. But for every high profile [...]
In the past, we’ve talked about what constitutes an effective software testing team. These earlier posts explain the ideal mix of traits, experience levels, and thinking styles you want to have moving forward. But they don’t explain how to actually build your team from the ground up. In other words, how can you best [...]
Why the Global War on Terrorism Needs Software Testers We used to live in an analog world where you could: Repair broken toasters with a simple screwdriver. Tinker with cars using a few garage tools. But those days are quickly fading. In fact, they’re all but over. Now everything is digital, powered by software, satellites, [...]
I used to work for a company which had a few groups of testers, each of them used on a separate mission on a need-basis. You would see a project manager go about asking “where’s my testing group?", trying to figure which of the groups was assigned for his project. There were arguments of course [...]
Improper diagnoses are bad for business. This is most apparent in healthcare where "false positives" result in hundreds of billions in wasted dollars every year. Worse still are the complications that emerge when real problems go untreated. Patients become sicker and sometimes die because physicians fail to address the true reasons why those individuals [...]
In many ways, the contrast between Olympic athletes and software testers couldn't be starker: One class of professionals symbolizes the ultimate in human form, strength, and grace. They are paragons of physical perfection. The other category is the exact opposite. QA professionals are often depicted as skinny or fat (but never in between). And it’s [...]
