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"

Last week we published 5 Software Testing tips provided by our trainers. Continuing the theme – here are 5 more software testing tips that we hope you will find practical and useful for you when planning application tests.

If you’re interested in gaining an industry recognised Software Testing Qualification, check out our range of Software Testing Training courses, including the Advanced Certifications such as Advanced Software Testing Training for Test Analysts and Advanced Software Testing Training for Technical Test Analysts.

5 More Software Testing Tips

1) Be positive about finding errors!:
Begin the software testing process with the intention of finding bugs! This way you will be sure to find all of the errors (major and minor). If you start expecting there to be NO bugs there’s a danger you’ll miss the smaller errors.

2) Group your test cases together for regression testing:
This will help speed up the process of your manual regression testing phase.

3) Ensure test cases are provided for developers BEFORE coding
Let the developers do some of your work for you by providing details of the test cases to them before they start work. This way they will be more likely to develop a quality application with fewer bugs for you to find in testing. This will mean less time debugging later.

4) If response time is important in your application – performance testing is VERY important!
Carry our thorough performance testing on any software where a fast response to the user is paramount. This is too often ignored in manual testing as large volumes of data are required to carry out proper performance tests If you can’t  create test data manually, write scripts to generate random test data (or get one of the developers to do it!)

5) Do NOT get programmers to test their own code
You CAN save time by providing test cases to developers before they start (tip 3!) – however programmers should NEVER be asked to thoroughly test their own code. Software Testers can’t ask developers to release products for testing (that’s your job!) Programmers should be allowed to take their own time. Everyone can contribute to estimating the time required for testing. This is a standard Agile approach

More tips to come soon – watch this space!!