Software testing is a natural – and essential – part of product development. Effective software testing will be independent, objective, and follow a standardised framework and reporting structure.

It’s highly important that testers have formal qualifications in software testing to show they understand the importance of thorough and objective testing, as well as the tools and techniques for the task.

The ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) is a non-profit European company, offering a framework that meets businesses’ requirements for effective software testing.

ISTQB testers need to have taken the official exams from the Chartered Institute for IT (formally ISEB) after undertaking a formal ISTQB Software Testing training course. Our ISTQB training courses include the relevant exams on the final day.

Advantages of having the ISTQB software testing certification

• ISTQB is the fastest growing software tester certification in the world
• ISTQB is recognised worldwide Read the rest of "Why Companies Like ISTQB Software Testing"

Are Businesses Releasing Unfinished Products Too Early?

One of the questions put to Google’s Pierre Far at the Ask the Search Engines panel at BrightonSEO last week was of whether Google test new software products and redesigns before releasing them.

Of course, the answer was ‘yes’ – and the questioner was sternly instructed how to ensure Google pay attention to their feedback – see minute 24 of the full panel video for Pierre’s response.

“Didn’t You Test This?”

Martin Belam recently wrote an article about Beta tests, specifically of a new threaded comments system on the Guardian’s website. He cited reader comments along the lines of “didn’t you test this?” – where the answer being that the software they’re using is, in fact, the test. The user in question hadn’t realised that they were viewing one of just six (from 1.4 million) articles that had been chosen to test the new system.

Another notable example of how early releases lead to criticism include BBC Sport, who had to post a lengthy blog post in February in reaction to a huge amount of negative feedback from users. Facebook is similarly often subject to negativity from users after updates.

Releasing software too early can damage your brand’s reputation. If early users find your product too hard to use, they may walk away – and take a lot of persuading to come back.

Trying to manage user expectation is one way around this…but users don’t always realise they are viewing a beta and may assume any problems are consistent across all products and services.

Our Software Testing training is ISEB/ISTQB Accredited and includes Software Testing Foundation training, Software Testing Intermediate training and Advanced certificates for test managers, test analysts and technical test analysts.

Here some tips for making use of an early release model: Read the rest of "How to Make an Early Release Model Work"

It may pain any managers, designers and developers to hear it but software testing is crucial at every part of a product’s development.

From the initial conception, to the design and development and even the finished product testing should occur to keep the product on task for completion.

ISEB/ ISTQB Foundation Software Testing Training teaches delegates about testing throughout the entire software life cycle.

Testing at the last stage is inadvisable as any necessary changes will mean running the product back through the entire process.

Testing should be done at four stages:

• Planning
• Design
• Development
• End product

The below diagram shows how a problem at each stage of the software cycle can affect the final product:

Testing During the Planning Stage

The Design and Development stages may be spot on, but if the wrong requirements are introduced during the planning stage then the wrong product will be produced. Ensuring that all the correct requirements are in place is vital to design and development of the correct product. Read the rest of "Software Testing Throughout the Process"

News stories like this show how important software testing is for security. Software defects have the potential to cost a business far more than its reputation. Hackers can take advantage of software defects to blackmail businesses for financial gain. Here’s an example of this practice in real life from our guest blogger Alex Smith…

A group of hackers has attempted to blackmail security software company, Symantec in exchange for keeping stolen source code private.

The hackers released a batch of emails to the public that were sent from the FBI posing as Sam Thomas a representative of Symantec.

Officers from the FBI offered the hackers $50,000 or £32,000 in return for the stolen source code. Since negotiations have broken down more source code has been released which is obviously a major concern for Symantec and their customers.

Symantec have been working closely with the FBI after being contacted by the hackers in January.

Our Software Testing Training courses are all accredited to provide delegates with an industry recognised software testing qualification. Get a foot in the door of the software testing industry by learning the best practice approach through ISEB/ ISTQB courses.

It is believed that the hackers are affiliated with the Lords of Dharmaraja who are part of the hacking group Anonymous. Read the rest of "Hackers Attempt To Blackmail Symantec"

Even the best Software Testers don’t pick up every problem and sometimes a bug that is deemed unimportant is picked up by users as a critical issue. Releasing a product that seems unfinished into the public domain may seem counter-productive but it is known to work. Often businesses do this with beta testing – only releasing to a small number of users with warnings that the product is unfinished and an expectation of feedback. Google released almost all of their products early and then makes changes as they go. This means that the finished product is always better at the time of full release than one with no user testing. However, testing is still a critical element of releasing new software and so software testers are still in high demand. Without professional testing, product launches are likely to be hampered by issues unnoticed during development. The best testers are trained testers so please enquire about our accredited ISEB/ISTQB Software Testing Training courses by browsing the websites or calling us on 01273 622272 for more information.

If you have taken the time to research some business terminology then you will probably be familiar with the term ‘iteration cycle’. The idea behind this is that you release your product out into the wild, see how it does, and then improve on it based on the feedback you get.

So in other words, you might release a website, notice that no one is staying on it very long or visiting your other pages, and so improve your navigation and layout. That’s one cycle – release, feedback, edit. Read the rest of "Iteration Cycles and Feedback"

As the old adage goes ‘practice makes perfect’ – it is as true for software testing and IT skills as it is for playing an instrument or a sport. Professional musicians put a huge amount of their time into practice so that they perform well, if they didn’t they wouldn’t improve their skill and nobody would pay to hear them.

Practice To Avoid Frustration

The same goes for software testers – without practice you won’t improve and could even become rusty and start to lose work.

Of course, while practice makes perfect, software testing foundation skills are necessary to get started and there is no better way to improve than through hands on training. With Foundation knowledge in place you can then go on to an ISEB Intermediate Software Testing course or chose an advanced route in Test Management, Test Analysis or Technical Test Analysis.

Why Practice Software Testing?

Well, as already said ‘practice makes perfect’. Software Testers don’t always get the chance to practice hands on testing so it is important to find ways to keep your skills up to scratch. The more you practice an action, the quicker you can perform it so practice is key for improving productivity.

At the same time, practising skills away from your daily tasks stops you from falling into patters. Expanding your skills helps you discover new ways of doing things and prevents your testing knowledge from becoming stale.

Regular practice means you’ll be better equipped to handle new problems and should be able to conquer any challenge. Read the rest of "Software Testing Practice Makes Perfect"

SQS (Software Quality Systems) have published a study conducted by PAC (Pierre Audoin Consultants) looking at market trends in software testing. The survey was conducted on 309 managers and IT decision makers from Europe and North America and shows that outsourcing software testing is a popular solution for businesses.

Software Testing is not the only IT service that is commonly outsourced. Read 5 reasons to Outsource IT Services for more information on external IT services.

Of the 309 managers asked, 91% consider software testing and quality assurance are the most important IT disciplines at their companies. The importance of software testing within a company is backed up by the figures produced by the study that show why managers seek external IT solutions and how they are benefited by them. Further to the proof that software testing is critical to companies is the fact that companies now invest 50 billion euros per year in application testing and quality assurance.

Of the managers asked, 47% already use external test centres while three quarters are considering outsourcing in the future.

When deciding whether to outsource software testing, interviewees set out the following goals for successful application of external sources: Read the rest of "Software Testing Study Shows Benefits of External Services"

The ISEB/ISTQB Foundation Certificate in Software Testing is the industry standard certification for software testers. The qualification allows testers to demonstrate their skills to employers and for businesses to show the proficiency of their software testing team.

The qualification is recognised internationally and so opens up testers and businesses to a wealth of new opportunities world wide. It also allows for multi-national projects as everybody is working with a common understanding of software testing.

You will find more information on the course and how to book at our ISEB/ISTQB Foundation in Software Testing Training course page.

What you need to know before starting the ISEB/ISTQB Foundation course

Who is the course for? Read the rest of "ISEB/ISTQB Foundation in Software Testing – What You Need to Know"

Previously, we have written about Problem Steps Recorder in Windows 7, a free program within Windows. This time we’re going to give an insight into iCheckWebsite - a website testing tool. iCheckWebsite is a simple but effective tool for checking websites with different packages available (free for individual users) depending on the amount of testing required.

If you would like to learn more about Software Testing then have a look at the Software Testing Training courses we provide.

Website testing tools are useful bits of kit as you can schedule checks to make sure your website is free of any problems and ensure that you are on top of SEO, accessibility and quality related issues. Website testing is essential to maintaining a quality website, especially if you aren’t technologically sound. iCheckWebsite  is simple to use and provides some great improvements and checks.

Three of the main checks performed are: Quality, Accessibility and SEO which are all very important aspects of maintaining a website.

Read the rest of "Website Testing – iCheckWebsite"

What is the role of a Software Tester?  Well, generally it is to test and find bugs and defects in a software program. But why do these bugs and defects occur?

If there were no bugs in software there would be no need for software testing (and I’m sure all you software testers out there wouldn’t want that!), so why, in nearly every software development process are there these defects?

Here is our top ten list with thoughts on this matter.

To find out more about how to avoid these 10 reasons – check out our series of Software Testing Tips

1: Human Error

Unfortunately we’ve not yet developed powerful enough AI, robots (or software!) that can develop software better than us.  Human beings are stuck with the task of developing software, and humans make mistakes (have you ever said to someone ‘I’m only human!’ after making a mistake?).  So until we discover a system that eliminates humans from the software development process (software developing software sounds exciting – I know, I think I’ve read too much sci-fi!) there will always be the possibility that errors will occur.

2: Communication Breakdown

There are so many roles and stakeholders (customer, developers, project managers etc) in the software development lifecycle who all need to communicate to achieve their part of the process and produce the final product.  Defects can arise if there is a lack of communication, or flaws in communications between parties at any stage in the process.  For example, the customer may provide vague, ambiguous or non-specific requirements, or the sales consultant may not communicate the customer’s requirements correctly, leaving the development team to make their best guess at a solution, leading to errors.  This picture, whilst not specifically about software testing illustrates how poor communication can negatively affect a project. Read the rest of "Top 10 Reasons for Bugs in Software"