In the ever-evolving realm of software testing, 2023 was a year of change. nFocus witnessed significant developments in various areas and throughout the year, we’ve made it our mission to provide commentary of what we’ve been seeing along with providing our insights.
The nFocus Team
Recent Posts
Topics: Software Testing, SDET, Future Trends
How to create a Software Test Plan For Waterfall, Agile and DevOps
Developing a Software Test Plan & The Impact of it
Within every organisation there are a number of documents that have a hieratical order. When it comes to testing deliverables, you would expect to find the test policy document at the top of the tree; this document is only a couple of pages long but does at executive level spell out the quality needs of the organisation and gives the vision of what is expected of every project. This document is owned by the CIO or IT Director and should be mandated to ensure every programme and project works to the same expected standards every time.
Topics: Software Testing, Software Test Plan
Introduction
In honour of International Women's Day, we asked some of our team members to share their thoughts on working in the software testing industry. There was a wide range of opinion and we have shared some of this with you below.
Alira Salu - Test Consultant
"My father was a Computer Analyst which inspired me to follow the same career path. Seeing my dad going to the office every day with passion and dedication; as a young girl, it had a great impact on me. My role is perfect for me as I absolutely love problem-solving and get a real sense of joy from being a part of the team, finding solutions to the problems. My best advice for the younger generation would be ‘be kinder to yourself’ as situations get better with time. Generally, I feel we have a good number of women in IT but not as many at the top level so I would like to see that change in the future."
Topics: Test Teams, Women in IT, Women in Tech
Working at Home - 3 State Modes
With the Government’s latest announcement to move to ‘Plan B’ restrictions amid fears of Omicron variant infections, I thought it would be good to talk about my own personal experience of working at home during the pandemic.
I’ve now been working from home since Boris made his initial announcement in March 2020, ordering people to stay at home. At the time, I was working in Manchester as a Test Manager. We had a great test team, good relationships with the clients and frequent social activities in the evenings.
Topics: Software Testing, Remote Working, Working from Home
Test Analyst Interview Questions & ‘Tricks’
Aftermath of the Halloween, I thought it would be good to consider if there are any ‘tricks’ to a successful interview? Over the past few months, I've drafted a selection of interview question templates to standardise the nFocus interview process. As part of this process, the templates have been used successfully to identify quality test resource for several clients who are now part of the nFocus team. Congratulations to those now hired!
Topics: Software Testing, Quality Assurance, Interview Questions
Closer Look at GitLab's Global DevSecOps Survey Feedback
Is your organisation taking a long time to implement DevOps?
Don’t worry, you are not alone! GitLab held a survey for the fourth year in February-March, they asked DevOps teams to tell the truth about their practices, processes, challenges and careers. I have no doubt that many of you will recognise the results of the survey within your organisation.
Topics: Software Testing, DevOps, DevSecOps
'Tee-rific’ Steps to Creating a Test Automation Framework
Hi, my name is Ryan Dudley and I’ve been working with nFocus now for nearly 8 years, starting my journey as an apprentice. Now I class myself as a budding Technical Tester, which is not an easy role. My day-to-day tasks at the moment consist primarily of manual testing, but at any given opportunity I like to be able to do automation. As there was no capacity for me to do this on my current project, I decided to do something within my own time and challenge myself to do something which I had not done before which was choosing a test automation framework and starting from scratch.
Topics: Software Testing, test automation, Test Automation Frameworks
How to Set Up a Test Guild
Are you looking to continually mature your testing practice, stand out from other organisations and have fun building a community of like-minded members with shared interests?
If so, a Test Guild might be for you! Here's the guide of how to set up a test guild.
For those of you who have played games and have been part of a Guild, then I have no doubt that you immediately cast your mind to the benefits of a well-run guild. The concepts of a guild go way back, and for good reason!
Topics: Software Testing, Test Teams, Test Maturity
Why Web Accessibility is Important - 4 Reasons
The internet is a vast, overwhelming universe of competing information in which your website must stand out among a trillion other websites all trying to stand out. That’s why it is essential to gain any advantage you can. You spend your hard-earned money on web design, on marketing, on ads and on improving your SEO but how much attention are you paying to simply making sure that everyone who wants to do business with you is able to do business with you?
The good news is that it’s very easy to do, so, here are 4 compelling reasons to make your website accessible to all:
Topics: Software Testing, Web Accessibility
Q&A with our Test Consultant - Ryan Dudley
1. How long have you been working in testing?
I've been in testing now for 6 and a half years. I joined nFocus fresh out of college as an apprentice at the age of 18 and never looked back! I've been exposed to a wide range of testing approaches and technologies and I've been able to work on a variety of different projects all with their own challenges.
2. What is your favourite area of testing?
Automation Testing - I find it fascinating how you can automate a task, removing the need to check that piece of functionality manually. This then allows you to have a great regression pack to be run whenever you like, giving you confidence when you are heading into a new release.
Topics: Software Testing, Test Teams, Agile Testing