Software Quality Matters Blog
Poor Steve Wozniak, it wasn’t very nice for Steve to find that his accelerator pedal went crazy whilst he was driving his new 2010 Toyota Prius!
It seems this issue of software quality, or lack of quality, has finally made it to the vehicles we commute in. Reading stories about big companies being sued or fined over data breeches because of a software bug, does not top being almost killed in your car by a software bug!!
The message here is, get your software properly tested before it really does kill someone!
After reading this article you will probably be wondering about all the items you come into contact with everyday that uses software. Quite a lot! http://gizmodo.com/5462004/steve-wozniak-explains-that-faulty-software-caused-his-car-troubles
Tell us what would be the worst software glitch that could happen to you? I’ll start with one…the worst software glitch in my everyday life would probably be if my Sky plus software did not record Star Trek Voyager! Okay, sounds tame, but I really don’t like missing episodes.
How about you??
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Agile is a methodology that is seeing increasingly widespread adoption, and it is easy to understand why especially in today’s economic climate.
For the QA professional an Agile approach can cause discomfort. In an ideal world they would have a finished product to verify against a finished specification. To be asked to validate a moving target against a changing backdrop is counter intuitive.
Read more about “The Reality of Software Testing in an Agile Environment” and discover how the use of technology and automation requires a new approach to testing in the same way that it does for the users and the developers.
Download our webform free Agile Testng Whitepaper or listen to our archived webinar here:
http://www.origsoft.com/whitepapers/agile-environment/myths.php
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Meet the characters that make up this wonderful collection of Software Tester personalities.
A laugh out loud eBook that will have you comparing these fun characters to your co-workers, managers or friends!
Created by Rob Lambert and Rosie Sherry, founders of The Software Testing Club, Tester Types The eBook is free to download.
So which Tester Type are you? Download the eBook today!
http://www.softwaretestingclub.com/page/tester-types-the-ebook
The Automator
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I picked up on a couple of headlines in the press last week that deserve entry into our Software Testing Hall of Shame.
Computerworld reported that the Co-operative bank was ‘losing customers’ through system problems.
Co-operative Financial Services has severe system problems that are causing it to lose online customers. Users told the BBC they were unable to access their accounts at times, and that transactions online often do not work.
Marc Palmer, from Gloucestershire, who runs a small business, told the BBC: “A lot of the time you can’t even log in. Other times, you can’t see your bank balances or any of your accounts listed. There comes a time when it’s damaging to your business.”
The bank is now set to upgrade its systems in response to the complaints of customers, who vowed to move to a competitor, BBC Radio 4’s Money Box programme found. John Hughes, director of retail products at the bank, apologised for the “inconvenience, difficulty, frustration and irritation we’ve caused our customers”.
FAA Computer Glitch Delays US Flights
Flights ground to a halt throughout the USA on Thursday morning, reported Stickyminds, after a mysterious computer glitch hampered a key Federal Aviation Administration flight processing system.
The system electronically inputs pilots’ flight plans to computers, telling air traffic controllers the anticipated route and altitude of each flight after taking off. ABC News, who originally broke the story, said Controllers they spoke to had to enter those plans manually, resulting in a slowdown of takeoffs and landings.
Bird Brain Collider
Oh, and because it made me chuckle, I’m including a tweet this week, courtesy of @danfusion – http://twitter.com/danfusion/status/5460071784. Speaking about the latest in a string of failures concerning The Large Hadron Collider, he says ‘Thinking about software testing: How many times has an app broken because of a bird brain with bread?’ If you haven’t read the story, It seems that the billion dollar piece of machinery has yet again gone caput, this time due to a bird dropping a piece of bread on a section of the accelerator!
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The latest in a string of technical problems at the exchange that has frustrated traders.
Another entry to our Hall of Fame, courtesy of Computerworld. Last week the stock exchange halted trading on 243 instruments after a server software problem affected its TradElect and Infolect platforms.
Monday’s problem began at 3.12pm, and trading in one in 12 instruments was halted for the rest of the day. Instruments affected included commodity trades such as heating oil, wheat, sugar, gold and platinum, as well as company shares including BP and Severn Trent. All are said to be trading normally now.
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This week IBM step up to the podium in our Software Testing Hall of Shame. Computerworld UK yesterday reported that London’s congestion charging payments system crashed after IBM took over the contract.
London drivers were unable to pay the congestion charge online on Monday, following a system glitch after IBM took over the work from Capita. The problem emerged after IBM began a “significant upgrade” to the transport agency’s computer systems. IBM had spent the weekend - when no congestion charge is applicable - migrating data from Capita’s databases to its own systems, as it took over the work.
It looks as though the IT giant was not very ‘rational’ in its approach and did not fully test the system before go-live on Monday, as Computerworld reported “there were issues with the new systems and some of the data matching between different programs.”
A spokesperson at Transport for London, which operates the congestion charge, apologised for the online problem and insisted no registered drivers would be penalised if they had had problems paying. She added that the glitch was “resolved by the afternoon and all of the new IBM systems are up and running as they should be”.
The IBM system upgrade is aimed at saving TfL £200 million on running costs by 2018, but so far IBM has only cost the company, in terms of lost revenue.
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Just to get into the spirit of Halloween next week, take a look at our new whitepaper, “The Seven Deadly Sins of Software Test Automation,” (cue evil laugh). We do enjoy being original and I am sure you will have a little chuckle to yourselves with this one!
In this whitepaper we explore each of the seven deadly sins as they relate to software test automation. Instances that Original Software comes across time and time again and traps clients have often fallen into because of their earthly vices.
I don’t want to give too much away, so if you would like to download this webform free whitepaper, here is the download link http://www.origsoft.com/whitepapers/seven-deadly-sins/
I am quite eager to see what you think of this piece, so please write back with any comments! If you have a great sense of humour, why not reply back with your own software testing deadly sins!
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Just a quick note for anyone who has not visited us before, welcome to our new corporate website!
Not only does the new website have better design and functionality, we have also added a new area called QualityMatters.tv. A collection of educational videos and content all about software testing and quality assurance. You can view our Software Quality Matters blog feeds and our twitters feeds, all from QualityMatters.tv, and we hope to grow this area with more great videos. It would be great to add a message board so you can tell us what you think?
If you have any video content you feel would add value to QualityMatters.tv please Get In Touch.
I hope you enjoy our new website and if you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us. I would love to hear from you?
Don’t forget to visit http://www.qualitymatters.tv
All the best,
Maria Martin
Marketing Communications
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(Part 1 – Linked-In)
Linked-In is fast becoming one of the best platforms to pick up industry related news and network with other professionals. There are literally thousands of Linked-In groups, so much so, that finding the most relevant, biggest, best or most active groups can be a bit of a challenge!
To help you on your way, here is a selection of the groups we’re familiar with and can heartily recommend.
Agile (4,813 members)
Agile Enthusiast (638)
Agile Progect Management Group (3,851)
Agile Testing (595)
Agilistias (2,415)
American Society for Quality (11,054)
Automation Testing (518)
Methods & Tools (822)
QA Automation Architect (664)
QA Test Automation (1,010)
QA/Testing (1,193)
QAGuild Network (5,545)
Quality Assurance and Test Professionals / Analysts (242)
Senior Testing Professionals (1,579)
Software Test & Performance Group (914)
Software Testing & QA (997)
Software Testing & Quality Assurance (19,957)
Software Testing and Quality Assurance (2,561)
Software Testing Club (3,705)
SQA forums (2,366)
Test automation (3,875)
Test Development (552)
Test Management Forum (530)
Test Republic (298)
Test strategy and test management (741 members)
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Apologies for the lengthy gap between posts - I’ve had to hold off from blogging while our new look website and blog were launched. We’re really happy with the look and feel of the new site and would welcome any feedback from our visitors. Please get in touch and share any thoughts with us.
This week’s Hall of Shame entry isn’t an actual company for once, but rather lots of them! A new survey uncovers the hidden cost of software failures and the importance of testing.
The survey, announced this week, reveals that a quarter of projects overrun or are delayed due to technology failures, adding on average 90 percent to the original budget and seven months of extra work.
The importance of testing was highlighted as a critical but underestimated element of good project practice.
“We found that people that suffer long delays, often have small, or no annual budget for testing,” said Professor Pentel, founder and chairman of the research group, Customer Experience Foundation (CEF). “Testing is an afterthought service rather than actual key element.”
You can read the full story courtesy of Techworld here - http://news.techworld.com/applications/3202326/survey-reveals-hidden-price-of-technology-failures/?email
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