Training New Tricks: Learning from Testing Scenarios

Today we welcome back nFocus’ Jane Kelly with a blog on software testing and puppies!

Rather an odd combination isn’t it? The idea came about as my young daughter asked me what a blog was, and then what I was writing about. She suggested that someone should write a blog about testing and puppies, as she has been puppy crazy since a toddler.

Recap: Understanding the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

Welcome back to the second part of my blog series, exploring 'Real World SAFe'. This second part picks up from where Part 1 finished so if you haven’t read that yet I’d recommend doing so before reading on.

PI planning
So, we’ve completed our 4 Delivery sprints and we’ve got two days in our calendar for something called PI planning…and it’s offsite…and there’s names on the invite I don’t recognise?

Quality Assurance (QA)- The Role of a QA Tester

Let's talk about job titles particularly QA Test Job role! The role of a Software QA Tester (or QA Engineer) is to review and analyse new or changed software applications, products, mobile devices etc. and to look for defects or issues so that these can be resolved before a software change delivery is released for operational use.

Quality assurance QA is commonly performed within a software delivery life cycle but can also be part of process mapping and similar periodic improvement and efficiency reviews or occasionally as a one-off initiative.

Agile Principles in Action

Today we welcome back our guest author Renee Mineart, for the final piece in her series on 'Redefining Success'. If you’ve just come across this series, I would encourage you to start at the beginning, so here are links to the previous posts:

Part 1: What to do when Version 1.0 hits the proverbial fan

Part 2: Hey, let’s Talk about how we Talk

Part 3: Don't be a Mob Boss: A Safe Environment for Failure

In this post, I’d like to delve into the heart of the topic and look at the benefits of Agile Testing and how to redefine and deliver a successful, failed project. 

Is Building a Testing Centre of Excellence Worth It?

In my last post, Building a Testing Centre of Excellence, I identified the first few steps needed to create a testing centre of excellence. These are:

• Build the business case.
• Define and share your vision.
• Create the leadership team.
• Define your operating and financial model.

Now that it’s so critical to success, I’ll just reiterate one thing, the TCOE must have control of its own budget and should not be funded entirely by projects.

A Safe Environment for Failure

Today we welcome back our popular guest author, Renee Mineart.

In my previous blog on this topic, I introduced a few ideas that might improve your communication with your UAT testers and how to set expectations on what you want them to do.

I’d now like to expand on this and explore the ways you can provide a safe environment for failure in order to promote success. To do this, I’d like to take you back in time to 1990.

A Step-by-Step Guide

In my previous two blogs, I went into detail about some of the benefits of implementing a Testing Centre of Excellence (TCOE). Before you start reading, maybe take a look at the previous blogs of this series: 

• Benefits of a Testing Centre of Excellence
• Benefits of a Testing Centre of Excellence - Part 2

The benefits can be summarised as:

• Reduced costs
• Increased efficiency and consistency
• Maximised staff utilisation