Friday 13 July 2012

How I learn Testing!

Welcome back Readers.

With this post, I would like to share how I learn Testing. For me Testing and learning Testing is a never ending process. Its vast. So keeping yourself updated with the Testing community is important for a Software Tester.

For me learning Software Testing starts with being clear with basics, i.e not just memorizing definitions but also understanding what it really means and how to apply it practically in Testing. For example, the very famous interview question Boundary Value Analysis (or BVA in short). Its theoretical definition, that we can find in many interview websites can never explain the in depth analysis of BVA or practical implementation of the same.

Another important aspect for learners in Testing are Books. I keep myself updated with books in Software Testing. Though there are many books written in Software Testing that I read. But I suggest a few, as its not possible to keep reading books in spare time for everyone (depends, if one has a hobbies of reading book or likes reading books). Some of the books that I read and suggest are:
1. Lessons learnt in Software Testing by Cem Kaner, James Bach and Bret Pettichord.
2. Testing Computer Software by Cem Kaner, Jack Falk and Nguyen.
3. The 3 "What if" books by Ajay Balamurugadas.
There are many other books, including for Automation Testing and other technologies.

Next is keeping myself updated with latest/ important technologies and testing community. Technology keeps changing every now and than. If you are updated with the change, than if you get a chance to Test something related to the Technology, you are always a step ahead. Testing community is a great help for Testers. We make more and more Tester friends, discuss Testing topics, clear our doubts and help others with the same, get updates on happenings in Testing community etc. And this I do, by going through various Testing groups, clubs etc.

I also follow some of the best/ expert Testers in the community through twitter, facebook, blogs to keep myself updated with there views/ thoughts/ ideas and happenings on Testing. I would like to mention a few below.
1. James Bach
2. Micheal Bolton
3. Pradeep Soundararajan
4. Ajay Balamurugadas
5. Rahul Verma
6. Santosh Tuppad
and many more.

Also I attend classes, seminars, webinars, contests, discussions on Testing which provides me platform to get more knowledge in Testing. Some of the classes I have attended and benefited from are:
1. FREE Online  training by Ajay Balamurugadas on Software Testing Skills.
2. Web Security Testing training by Rahul Verma.
More blog post on these coming soon!

Also I attend contests in 99tests.com for testing some cool applications. More details on the contest, discussions, seminars etc can be found in the "What If" books by Ajay Balamurugadas. I also attend Weekend Testing sessions (another initiative by Ajay) which helps in practicing testing on an unknown application in a limited time.

One more very helpful resource for gathering more knowledge/ keeping myself updated in Software Testing and its technique is BBST website. It gives a detailed knowledge on Software Testing fundamentals and techniques in both text and video format.


Some other resources which must be referred are, Software Testing magazines, for example Testing CircusTea time with TestersThe Testing Planet etc.


A great suggetion by James Bach in his blog post is here. He has discussed in his blog post everyday activity, that a Tester should follow.

The above are my approach for learning Testing. I believe it will be helpful to others. Also, I am sure that others will have different opinions, views or approaches for the same. Please feel free to mention here, so that other readers including me can benefit from your comment/ view.

Thanks for reading my blog post. More on training by Ajay and Rahul coming soon! So stay tuned. Till than Happy Testing!!!

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Welcome to my Blog!

Hi Readers,

Welcome to my blog! As this is my first blog, I thought of giving you a brief idea of who I am and what this blog will be about.

I am Rajiv, always a learner in Software Testing. I have some work experience in Testing. But rather, I prefer myself as a beginner in Testing always. I try to learn Testing from every source and every chance possible. And here I will share my learning and journey with you.

This blog will be dedicated to Testing only. Through this blog, I will share my views, learning, test ideas and also happenings in the Testing Community that comes into my knowledge. In short, hereon I will share my journey in Testing with you. I like to challenge myself, that is where the name Testing My Test came in!

I hope you will enjoy reading my blog! Feel free to post any feedback (very important), as your feedback will provide me the platform to improve my testing and blogging skills.

Thank you for visiting my blog! Till my next blog post, Happy Testing!