Articles

What Does Your Title Say About Your Job?

"That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." True, sloppy naming schemes may be all right in some cases. But as Johanna Rothman explains in this column, when software professionals are looking for a job, hiring, or negotiating work assignments, it's crucial for their job titles to accurately portray the work they do. Read on to see if you agree with the definitions Johanna assigns to the more common QA-related job titles.

Johanna Rothman's picture Johanna Rothman
Salary Survey 2002: Are You Weathering the Storm?

The results of the third annual STQE magazine/StickyMinds.com salary survey give the temperature of the testing industry. Thanks to our readers' continued participation, we now have three years' worth of data and the ability to start looking for trends.

Anne Meilof
Karl Wiegers on Software Inspections and Peer Reviews

Peer reviews and inspections are among the highest-leverage software quality practices available. Here are some useful sources of guidance on how to perform software inspections and peer reviews, as well as some tools and online resources that can help you jump-start your fledgling review program.

Karl E. Wiegers
If at First, and Last, You Don't Succeed ...

Sometimes, no matter how talented you are and how hard you work, you will not be able to succeed, at least within the constraints you are handed. If your boss says you have to achieve project goals with the resources you have, what can you do? Esther Derby suggests: 1) Start by assuming that a reasonable approach will get reasonable results; 2) If your boss isn't willing or able to hear what you have to say, decide what you are willing to do; and 3) Consider what you might do differently next time.

Esther Derby's picture Esther Derby
Delivering Unwelcome News to Developers

How well you present a defect to a developer can impact when a defect is resolved–or whether it is resolved at all. Deliver the information abruptly or inappropriately, and you run the risk of alienating a person or creating project hot spots that aren't needed. Deliver news too passively, and your report may be discarded. Karen Johnson describes some ways to soften the blow so that your defects are not only acknowledged, but fixed.

Karen N. Johnson's picture Karen N. Johnson
What To Do When What You're Doing Isn't Working

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. But if you keep trying the same things that worked for you in the past, and they're not working for you now, you might never succeed. In this column, Eileen Strider shows you how to tap new sources for fresh approaches to tackling problems.

Eileen Strider
The Awful Truth About Logic-Testing

This presentation covers conditions and expressions; truth tables; normal form patterns; modified condition/decision coverage; constructing an MC/DC test set; tools for checking MC/DC coverage; unique cause coverage; basic unique cause design; and logic coverage references.

Dave Gelperin, Software Quality Engineering
Analyzing Web Application Errors

This presentation focuses on the characteristics of Web application errors to derive key issues to consider in analyzing and reproducing errors. Learn how to isolate application errors from configuration and technical support issues. Explore effective techniques to make errors reproducible. Examples of common and uncommon Web application error types are provided.

Hung Nguyen, LogiGear Corporation
What Can I Do When the Project is in Trouble: A Test Manager's Perspective

Most projects don't get into trouble; they start in trouble. In organizations where problem projects aren't identified early, testing is at the bottom of the hill: test teams get the job of delivering the bad news or "testing in quality." Discover ways to spot trouble and manage the risk before the product gets to test. Look for the early warning signs of missed milestones, moving targets, and management madness.

Esther Derby, Esther Derby Associates, Inc.
Test Team Dynamics

Throughout the years there have been many different management approaches to testing products. Test organizations today follow the "delegation of authority and responsibility" principle. In an effort for the test manager to gain a closer understanding of all the employees, there needs to be a system that breaks down the classical structure and makes the interfaces more personal. Explore one team's successful test group approach based on the principles of a football team. Learn how to play the game and understand the roles of the players.

Charlie Williams, Compaq Computer Corporation

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