Heuristics and Oracles

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These terms are being thrown around a lot lately in the testing community, and they can cause some confusion the first time you hear them being used in this context. They definitely confused me the first time I heard them, so I will attempt to provide some clarification in this post.

What are heuristics and oracles, and why should you learn more about them?

I have found that heuristics and oracles provide a great starting point for testing, especially when little is known about the product, and they frequently result in more thorough tests. They also help to label methods and processes that would otherwise be difficult to explain. Labeling these processes makes it easier to improve them. But what are they…?  Continue reading →

Quality Basics

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Excerpt taken from the Software Testing Body of Knowledge for CSTE

The “basics” of software testing are represented by the vocabulary of testing, testing approaches, methods and techniques, as well as the materials used by testers in performing their test activities.

Quality Assurance versus Quality Control

There is often confusion regarding the difference between quality control and quality assurance. Many “quality assurance” groups, in fact, practice quality control. Quality methods can be segmented into two categories: preventive methods and detective methods. This distinction serves as the mechanism to distinguish quality assurance activities from quality control activities. This discussion explains the critical difference between control and assurance, and how to recognize a Quality Control practice from a Quality Assurance practice.

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Software Testing Schools of Thought

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Just as there are various models for the SDLC, there are different “schools of thought” within the testing community. A school of thought is simply defined as “a belief (or system of beliefs) shared by a group.” Dr. Cem Kaner, Bret Pettichord, and James Bach are most often cited in regard to the “software testing schools.” They are also responsible for creating the Context-Driven approach to testing. The first real discussion about these schools was by Bret Pettichord (2003) who described the following four schools. Since that time, Agile and the Test-Driven school were added to the list.

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7 Questions To Ask About Your Project Scope

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This month’s article comes from the PMTIPS blog, and focuses on some key questions your team should ask when defining the scope of your project.

One of the first things to do when you start a new project is to work out what it actually involves. As well as all the workshops about requirements and the documentation that results, there are some other things to investigate as part of your project scope.

Sit down with your project sponsor or other key users on the project and go through this checklist of 7 questions you should be asking about your project scope. They’ll appreciate that you have taken the time to ask and you’ll get a much better understanding of what they are expecting the project to deliver on their behalf.

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Requirements Gathering 101

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This month’s post comes by way of Duncan Haughey from ProjectSmart.

Duncan provides some important (and often overlooked) rules for requirements gathering, which is a key component of any project’s success.

 

Requirements gathering is an essential part of any project and project management. Understanding fully what a project will deliver is critical to its success. Requirements gathering sounds like common sense, but surprisingly, it’s an area that is given far too little attention.

Many projects start with the barest headline list of requirements, only to find later the customer’s needs have not been adequately understood.

One way to avoid this problem is by producing a statement of requirements. This document is a guide to the main requirements of the project. It provides:

  • A succinct requirement specification for management purposes.
  • A statement of key objectives – a “cardinal points” specification.
  • A description of the environment in which the system will work.
  • Background information and references to other relevant material.
  • Information on the primary design constraints.

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Test Strategy Versus Test Plan

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This month’s post is courtesy of the Art of Testing.

Testing is a key part of nearly every successful project. But do you know the difference between a testing strategy and a test plan? This article provides some great detail in defining the roles of both.

 

Test Strategy

A Test Strategy document is a high level document and normally developed by project manager. This document defines “Software Testing Approach” to achieve testing objectives. The Test Strategy is normally derived from the Business Requirement Specification document.

The Test Strategy document is a static document meaning that it is not updated too often. It sets the standards for testing processes and activities and other documents such as the Test Plan draws its contents from those standards set in the Test Strategy Document.

Some companies include the “Test Approach” or “Strategy” inside the Test Plan, which is fine and it is usually the case for small projects. However, for larger projects, there is one Test Strategy document and different number of Test Plans for each phase or level of testing.

 

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What Are Phase Gates?

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Project Management Structure Diagram

This month’s post comes from the folks over at MindTools, and discusses the use of “Phase Gates” as they relate to project management.

 

What Is A Phase Gate and How Do I Use One?

For all but the smallest projects, experienced project managers use well-established project management methodologies. These are often published systems – such as PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) or PRINCE2 – but they can also be in-house methodologies that are specific to the organization.

These approaches have some differences in emphasis, and they tend to use slightly different terminology, but they generally share two key features: projects are delivered in stages, and certain common project management processes run across these stages.

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Application of Project Management in Higher Education

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This month’s post is a deep dive into the opportunities and challenges of project management (and establishing PMO’s) in HEI’s (Higher Education Institutions). Based on a study held at Drexel University, this paper by Chanelle Austin and Winifred Browne uncovers some insights about the adoption value and strategic application of project management at Universities. It also discusses some specific issues higher ed institutions face when implementing project management versus other industries.

 

Key takeaways include:

  • How higher education institutions can benefit from having formal project management methodology or a central PMO
  • PMO’s contribution to the organizational performance can be seen as the result of multiple coexisting values within an organization
  • Project Management may be viewed as “too corporate” of a way to make decisions, yet this is changing within higher education due to the need to be more effective
  • Project management can help Universities increase efficiency in increasingly competitive environments

 

The full paper is available to read online or you can download it here in PDF format.

 

The Benefits of RACI Charting

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This month’s article is all about RACI charting. What is a RACI chart? How can it help project success and other organizational initiatives? Let’s start by looking at a few common scenarios posed in this excellent guide by Royston Morgan from UK-based Project Smart.

 

RACI is an acronym that stands for responsible, accountable, consulted and informed.

A RACI chart is a matrix of all the activities or decision making authorities undertaken in an organization set against all the people or roles. At each intersection of activity and role it is possible to assign somebody responsible, accountable, consulted or informed for that activity or decision.

When you hear these types of comments in an organization a RACI Analysis may be overdue:

  • ‘My boss always overrules my decisions whenever she wants’.
  • ‘The approval process for even the simplest item takes so long today’.
  • ‘It seems everyone is putting together a spreadsheet on the same data’.
  • ‘Things are always slipping through the cracks’.
  • ‘I have the responsibility, but not the authority to get the job done’.

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Five Phases of The Project Management Lifecycle

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What do people mean when they talk about the “project management lifecycle”? This helpful article, originally posted by Villanova University, explains in detail the five phases that projects are broken into throughout their life, when executed using the PMBOK methodology.

 

At the start of a project, the amount of planning and work required can seem overwhelming. There may be dozens, or even hundreds of tasks that need to be completed at just the right time and in just the right sequence.

Seasoned project managers know it is often easier to handle the details of a project and take steps in the right order when you break the project down into phases. Dividing your project management efforts into these five phases can help give your efforts structure and simplify them into a series of logical and manageable steps.

 

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