1.Who we are and what do we offer?
2.How can new Software QA processes be introduced in an existing organization?
3.What steps are needed to develop and run software tests?
4.Testing Examples?
5.Test Approaches?
6.Benefits of Investing in Quality?
7.What is the role of a Test Manager?
8.What is the role of a Test Analyst?
9.What is the role of a Test Designer?
10.What are the roles and responsibilities of a Tester?
11.What are the skills required to be a good tester?
12.What is test coverage?
13.FAQ's Technical ?

1.Who we are and what do we offer?

A&S InfoTech is a ' US based Software Company ' specializing in providing enterprise business solutions and Custom Software Development. In QA we provides independent testing services at high value points through the offshore model

• Significantly reduced time to market for applications and products


• Enhanced software quality


• Cost efficiency


• Global support, round the clock availability


• A team with expertise across multiple technologies, domains and testing tools

2. How can new Software QA processes be introduced in an existing organization?

• Depends on the size of the organization and the risks involved. For large organizations with high-risk (in terms of lives or property) projects, serious management buy-in is required and a formalized QA process is necessary.

• Where the risk is lower, management and organizational buy-in and QA implementation may be a slower, step-at-a-time process. QA processes should be balanced with productivity so as to keep bureaucracy from getting out of hand.

• For small groups or projects, a more ad-hoc process may be appropriate, depending on the type of customers and projects. A lot will depend on team leads or managers, feedback to developers, and ensuring adequate communications among customers, managers, developers, and testers.

3.What steps are needed to develop and run software tests?

• Obtain requirements, functional design, and internal design specifications and other necessary documents


• Obtain budget and schedule requirements.


• Determine Project context.


• Identify risks.


• Determine testing approaches, methods, test environment, test data.


• Set Schedules, testing documents.


• Perform tests.


• Perform reviews and evaluations


• Maintain and update documents

4.Testing Examples?

4.1 Unit Testing

Objective

• Unit test is the test of individual units.


• The objective of the unit test is to ensure that each individual component works correctly in isolation according to any applicable requirements, as defined in the design documents.


• The following processes must be satisfied before Unit Testing can be executed efficiently.


• Developer has to check that following criteria are satisfied:


• Outstanding programming issues have been resolved


• All program code compiles cleanly and has been reviewed and documented appropriately

   Standards and procedures for unit test have been communicated to the team
   Individual development test environments must be set up

• Positive/Negative Tests


• Bug Fixes


• Responsible Team


• Development Team

• Determine the performance, stability and scalability of an application under various load conditions.


• Determine which configuration sizing provides the best performance level.


• Determine if the current architecture can support the application at peak user levels.


• Prove application is stable enough to go into production (Acceptance).


• Determine if the new version of the software adversely had an impact on response time.


• Determine at what point does degradation performance occur (Capacity Planning).


• Identify application and infrastructure bottlenecks.


• Evaluate product and/or hardware to determine if it can handle projected load volumes.

• Passed assembly testing


• Responsible Team


• Infrastructure Team

System test aims to test the system as a whole, only those aspects related to the whole system will be tested. The main objective of the system test is to verify that the users business requirements are met and to ensure the validity of the following aspects in the applications design:

• Overall system functionality, end-to-end business functionality works as expected

• Integration with external systems


• Security


• Technical architecture components


• Report failures to development team so defects can be identified and fixed

• Passed assembly testing


• Responsible Team


• Technical Team


• Test (Q/A)

5.Test Approaches?

We recognizes the critical need for solid performance testing processes for development and deployment of mission critical applications. Application availability / reliability, user experience, and business performance depend on applications operating effectively within a predicted service activity model. While our typical implementation approach leverages the flexibility and power of Mercurys LoadRunner product we do have resources skilled in all of the industry leading performance test platforms: Empirix, IBM Rational, Segue, etc.

1.Performance profiling is a performance test in which response times, transaction rates, and other time sensitive requirements are measured and evaluated. The goal of Performance Profiling is to verify performance requirements have been achieved. Performance profiling is implemented and executed to profile and tune a target-of-tests performance behaviors as a function of conditions such as workload or hardware configurations.

2.Load testing is a performance test which subjects the target-of-test to varying workloads to measure and evaluate the performance behaviors and ability of the target-of-test to continue to function properly under these different workloads. The goal of load testing is to determine and ensure that the system functions properly beyond the expected maximum workload. Additionally, load testing evaluates the performance characteristics (response times, transaction rates, and other time sensitive issues).

3.Stress testing is a type of performance test implemented and executed to find errors due to low resources or competition for resources. Low memory or disk space may reveal defects in the target-of-test that arent apparent under normal conditions. Other defects might results from competition for shared resource like database locks or network bandwidth. Stress testing can also be used to identify the peak workload the target-of-test can handle.

6. Benefits of Investing in Quality?

Benefits of Investing in Quality

• Deploy business-to-business and business-to-consumer applications with confidence


• Maintain tight project deadlines by avoiding rework


• Accurately model performance behavior, plan for scalability and identify potential bottlenecks


• Maintain company prestige and reputation among consumers by delivering a quality online customer experience

7.What is the role of a Test Manager??

The Test Manager role is tasked with the overall responsibility for the test effort's success. The role involves quality and test advocacy, resource planning and management, and resolution of issues that impede the test effort

8.What is the role of a Test Analyst?

The Test Analyst role is responsible for identifying and defining the required tests, monitoring detailed testing progress and results in each test cycle and evaluating the overall quality experienced as a result of testing activities. The role typically carries the responsibility for appropriately representing the needs of stakeholders that do not have direct or regular representation on the project.

9.What is the role of a Test Designer??

The Test Designer role is responsible for defining the test approach and ensuring its successful implementation. The role involves identifying the appropriate techniques, tools and guidelines to implement the required tests, and to give guidance on the corresponding resources requirements for the test effort

10.What are the roles and responsibilities of a Tester??

The Tester role is responsible for the core activities of the test effort, which involves conducting the necessary tests and logging the outcomes of that testing. The tester is responsible for identifying the most appropriate implementation approach for a given test, implementing individual tests, setting up and executing the tests, logging outcomes and verifying test execution, analyzing and recovering from execution errors.

11.What are the skills required to be a good tester??

A tester should have knowledge of testing approaches and techniques, diagnostic and problem-solving skills, knowledge of the system or application being tested, and knowledge of networking and system architecture

12.What is a Test Coverage?

Test coverage is the measurement of testing completeness, and it's based on the coverage of testing expressed by the coverage of test requirements and test cases or by the coverage of executed code

13.FAQs Technical?

Testing Certification

Certification is not required but certification might add some value to your profile. And highly desirable Also some times certification could increase your value in the organization.

• It can add value to your career path.
• You stand out from your peers with your professional certification.
• You get to learn things on which you are not working.
• Certification could also mean that you are serious about software testing as a profession.

There are various certification programs available for the software testing professional. This list is not complete and vendor specific certification added more frequently.

In general certification can be divided in two categories.

• Subject knowledge
• Tool Knowledge
• Certification Based on the Subject Knowledge

In this category, candidates knowledge of software testing is examined and certification is awarded based on the subject knowledge. In this category, certifications are available for quality control and quality assurance, both the fields. These certifications are also divided according to the professional level and knowledge required. Here is a list certifications based on the controlling institute or organization

More information about these certifications can be obtained from official website

• Certifications from International Software Testing Qualification Board, ISTQB
  ISTQB have three level of certifications, all under one brand. Certifications from ISTQB are called ISTQB Certified Tester for Foundation, Advance or Expert level. These certifications are based on a syllabus created by ISTQB.
  
  More information about these certifications can be obtained from official website
• International Institute for Software Testing, IIST
  IIST offers two certification programs, CSTP (Certified Software Test Professional) and CTM (Certified Test Manager). More information about these certifications can be obtained from official

Certification Based on the Tool Knowledge
In this category, test tool usage proficiency of the candidate is examined. This is normally conducted by various tool vendors. Vendor certifications are available from vendors like Rational, Mercurry, Seague etc. Some of the vendor certifications are mentioned below.

IBM Rational
Rational, well IBM Rational is probably one of the organization to have tool for all the activities involved in SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle). On this page, I will give information about certifications offered by IBM Rational, which are related to software testing. Surprisingly, IBMhas two categories of certifications

• Certification For all candidates
  There are two certification available, for IBM Rational Manual Tester (RMT) and IBM Rational Performance Tester (RPT)
  
  IBM Certified Solution Designer - RMT - According to IBM website "This intermediate-level solution designer is an individual with extensive product knowledge who understands how to setup, configure and create a manual testing framework with Rational Manual Tester."
  
  

  IBM Certified Solution Designer - RPT - Again from IBM " An intermediate level solution designer is an individual with extensive product knowledge who understands how to use the IBM Rational Performance Tester tool to validate the performance, scalability and reliability of Web-based,SAP,Siebel,or Citrix hosted systems. This person is proficient in creating dynamic tests, developing workload schedules for various performance and load testing scenarios, execute tests with both small and large loads, and evaluating resulting data to measure, analyze and pinpoint factors that affect system performanceand other related issues before deployment."

• Certification For IBM Business Partners, Educational Partners and IBM Employees
  
  I do not think I need to give this information here. If you are not in IBM, you will not care about these certification and if you are in IBM, you already know about it. In case you do not know and would like to know, go here

Borland Segue

Segue, Well Borland Segue has two categories of certifications.

• Test and Performance Management certifications
  Under this category, there are three certifications available. These certification address different aspect of application.
• Functional Test Management Expert - Focus of this certification is on the proficiency level of SilkTest, SilkCentral Test Manager and SilkCentral Issue Manager.More details about the certification can be found here
• Performance Test Management Expert - Focus of this certification is on SilkPerformer,Silk Central Test Manager and SilkCentralIssue Manager. More details can be found here.
• Application Performance Management Expert - Focus of this certification is on SilkPerformer,SilkCentral Performance Manager and SilkCentral Issue Manager. For more details visit Segue
• Engineer Certifications
  Under this category of certification, emphasis is given on only one tool, instead of complete solution. There are two certifications available under this category.
• Borland Certified SilkTest Engineer - According to the Segue website "his process will ensure that candidates demonstrate a functional knowledge of the product as well as possess the ability to create and run tests to validate accuracy within an application under test." More details here
• Borland Certified SilkPerformer Engineer - According to the Segue website "This process will ensure that candidates will have demonstrated functionality knowledge of the product, the ability to effectively define, implement and execute load tests, generate reports, and interpret the results to provide accurate conclusions and recommendations." For more detail visit <here.

Mercury

HP  Mercury has divided its certification program in two categories.

• Certified Product Consultant - According to the website "The CPC exam certifies that candidates have demonstrated extensive knowledge and ability with Mercury Interactive products. These exams are designed for mid to senior level professionals with several years of experience in their respective fields. The CPC is a hands-on, lab-based examination using actual Mercury Interactive software. Certifications are organized by product and based on a specific release family of the software." More details about the program can be found here.
• Certified Instructor - According to the website "While the CPC focuses on product knowledge and ability, the CI certifies that a candidate is a skilled instructor with a seasoned knowledge of Mercury Interactive course materials and instructional philosophies. An individual who has achieved a CI is able to download Mercury Interactive training materials from the web site and conduct a training course for products they hold a CPC in." For more details.

• American Socity for Quality Six Sigma Black Belt Certification (SSBB)
• International Software Quality Institute ISTQB Certified Tester. The ISTQB is the umbrella organization for the national testing boards, which have already been established in many countries across Europe and around the world.
• Quality Assurance InstituteCertified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA)

Resources

A Performance Testing Glossary

Various terms are used to describe the different aspects of performance testing. Teams that are creating new applications, or modifying existing applications, should be aware of the following:

• End-to-end Test  - Before performance testing can take place, it’s important to exercise all component and interface functionality starting with the browser and extending all the way to back-office and legacy functions.
• Load Test - Some hardware configurations use load-balancing software to distribute incoming traffic across multiple web-servers.  Load testing uses special tools and techniques to validate the correct functioning of these components when subject to high volume conditions. 
• Performance Test - This term refers to the validation of external and internal application behavior under varying input conditions. Performance tests will be selected that vary multiple criteria, such as number of concurrent connections, type and volume of transactions, and/or volume of data throughput.The goal of performance testing is to stress the system to the breaking point and find weak links.
• Reliability Test - These types of tests are run for longer periods (e.g. 2 to 5 days) than typical performance tests, and are designed to detect problems such as memory leaks which can degrade performance over longer periods of time.
• Scalability Test - A scalability test is an advanced performance test that attempts to predict how the application will perform under various “what-if” conditions.  Scalability tests are typically used to model system behavior in order to gain confidence before peak usage conditions (e.g. High traffic holiday shopping).
• Stress Test - An alternative name for Performance testing. 
• Volume Test - A performance test that emphasizes high volume of data throughput.  This type of test is designed to exercise database and data transfer components.