Defect Tracking and Issue Management Products

The tester’s job is truly chaotic in the sense that they not only have to test the software product to make sure that it conforms to the user requirements but also spend their precious time in sending status reports as to the defects filed. Most of these problems would not rise if they have the support of a good defect tracking management. Now there are advanced test management systems available with an inbuilt defect tracking system.

These systems would surely make the status reports a thing of the past, since it facilitates live tracking which updates the defects filed instantaneously in neat charts. These charts contain all the details like where the defects are, their priorities and where the backlogs are. This will speed up the process of fixing the bugs by the developers and the verification as well as the closing of the fixed bugs by the testers.

These defect tracking systems come with integration to Bugzilla thus reducing the testers’ job to half. So these kinds of test management systems are a good investment as it facilitates the shipping of software products on time.

Test Management

Quality plays a dominant role in the grading of software products. So the testing process should be carried out with great precision to make sure that the product conforms to the requirements of quality. This is possible if there are competent testers to carry out the testing process. Any qualified tester can work productively if he has the backing of advanced test management systems as it can mitigate, to a great extent, the problems faced by the testers during the testing process. Thus it will not only ease the pressure off from the testers but also save a lot of precious time.

Now let’s look at some of the features of these advanced test management systems.

1. It allows live tracking.
   This saves a lot of time because the testers need not spend their time in sending emails as every data is tracked live and organized in beautiful charts and tables.
   
2. It is role based.
   It is role based in the sense that the applications that are displayed for the Manager is different from that of the Test Leads or for that matter Testers.
   
3. It facilitates easy navigation.
   It allows the testers to navigate between various projects and releases.
   
4. Only minimal updating is needed.
   This is because almost all information comes from centralized data repositories.
   
5. Collaboration is instantaneous.
   It facilitates one-on-one conversation or multiple conversations at a time that too in real time.

Software Test Management Gets Easier

Software test management involves organization, planning, authoring, execution, and reporting of software testing process. This should be done with a lot of precision and accuracy, since the quality of the software product under testing is at stake. The testers can do their job effectively and productively, if they can concentrate more on their task and less on issues like tracking metrics, generating reports, filing defects etc.

Now there are software test management systems with advanced features like live tracking, live charts that update instantly the details about the creation or execution of any test case, addition or removal of any resource, any defect filed or changed, which helps the testers not only in solving these issues but also in ensuring the quality of the software, thereby delivering the software to the market in time.

Testing Metrics, a Scale for Software Quality

The success of the software testing process depends upon the quality and productivity of the testing effort. The test metrics help to measure these and thereby expose the errors in the testing process. The identification of these errors helps the QA testers in ensuring the quality of the software. So it’s very important to track these metrics and the advanced test management systems help the testers in accomplishing it effortlessly.

One of the significant features is that it facilitates live tracking so that the testers need not bend their back in collating information regarding test cases, defects or even resources. It will be updated instantaneously in interactive and animated charts and data tables. Thus it helps the testers in completing the testing of the software product on time.

Test Management Tools are Only Getting Better

The most common difficulties faced by QA testers are lack of time and resources, testing teams working in different geographic locations, problems in linking testing with requirements and development, and finally reporting the right information. Apart from these major challenges there are many other problems which may seem trivial to others but are enough to make the tester’s job chaotic.

For instance, in most cases the developing team take a lot of time in retrieving the defects filed by the testers which in turn delays the verification of the fixed bugs; the information related to the testing process are not updated instantly thereby wasting precious time in generating status reports. But now advanced test management tools are available with superior features that not only sort out these problems but also make the job of the testers less hectic.

Requirements and Testing – Key to Product Quality

There are a number of QA methodologies which software project teams could adopt. The choice is based on the work style that is followed. There is the waterfall methodology that can be adopted by teams that have a strong requirements elicitation and analysis base. There can be no tracing back in these models. Plan, Requirements collection, Finalize requirements, Develop, Test and Go-live are the sequential steps that are followed. 

For teams that work on requirements that keep changing constantly, the iterative model is the ideal one. It allows one set of requirements to be developed and implemented before the next is taken up. Here requirements may overlap and so development activity may get iterative. Whatever QA methodology is adopted, the prime focal points of any development is the requirements and test stage. When they are optimized to the maximum, best results can be achieved.

Successful Test Management through Effective Test Cycles

Test cycle time is a major feature that needs to be addressed with any test management cycle. Organizations nowadays try to lower the cost of existing test management effort by going in for automated processes. Speed and efficiency are the added benefits that these automated processes provide. 

Test automation that interfaces with multiple platforms and languages would be the most useful for the team. Support for parallel execution, user-defined granularity of execution control, support for nested test cases and importing modules at run time are some desirable features of any test management tool. This will go a long way in improving throughput and quality of the final product.

QA Methodologies

Advanced test management systems that are now available are truly beneficial for the testers compared to the test management systems of the recent past. These testing tools gel perfectly with various QA methodologies.

Nobody can argue against the fact that the main purpose of any kind of software testing is to ensure the quality of the software. So, that means the software product must be thoroughly tested to make sure it conforms to the requirements of quality. The smooth progress of any software testing process depends upon the kind of testing tool used. The task of the testers would become easier if they get the right kind of testing tool that fits well in the various QA methodologies like Waterfall, Hybrid, Agile, V-Model etc. Advanced test management systems have made the tester’s job easier with the flexible design that enhances the performance of the QA methodology used, as explained below.

In case of Waterfall model, the advanced test management tools allow multiple releases within each project. So without changing processes the QA team can handle major, minor and patch releases.

Since, V-Model is a rigorous and measurable process the testing tools help in maintaining rigor in the testing process and also handle multiple testing cycles for System, Integration, and final Acceptance.

As for Agile model the advanced testing tools not only help to organize and track testing by iterations but also handle multiple iterations within each release. It also facilitates information sharing and instant communication among the onsite and offshore testers.

Finally in the Hybrid model, testing tools facilitate different models to co-exist peacefully by allowing easy transition between various modes in the same system. Not only that, it allow reusability of test assets between different modes and lifecycles.

Re-engineering Test Management

Traditional test management systems are very time consuming. They use most of the company’s human and material resources thereby increasing overhead costs. Usually, test data collection and post test-execution takes longer than the actual test execution itself.

Though there are a number of test management tools available, to select the most suitable one for the organization is a challenging task. This is because issues such as interfacing, data integrity and security need to be addressed. The tool must be easily adaptable to the test environment. Going by the number of testing varieties, the tool must provide for all QA methodologies also. A test management tool that suits all QA methodologies and the organizational needs would go a long way in improving operational efficiencies.

Software Test Management Guide

Any software life cycle is characterized with the plan, test and execution phases. Planning phases cover all aspects of project execution like resources, cost, operational efficiency and time. Traditionally projects follow the V model or the more popular Waterfall model. These models allow for acceptance, integration, system and unit testing. Software test management covers the test cycle for each of these testing. They involve the generation of test cases, execution and defect tracking mechanisms.

Any system that can holistically approach the test management cycle can benefit the organization by conserving time and resources spent on such activities. Test tools can be deployed to interface with any kind of platform. Such tools provide transparency of execution and instantaneous metrics generation too.