The software testing industry's buzzwords can be hard to decipher at times, especially when trying to explain these buzzwords to fellow co-workers within your organization who don't really have a clue what you're talking about. Buzzwords are unavoidable, however, there needs to be a clear understanding of what a buzzword is and the testing buzzwords you should know.

1. @neotys
TRANSLATING TESTER-SPEAK
INTO PLAIN ENGLISH
@neotys
Simple Explanations for 8 Testing Buzzwords

2. @neotys
Is the website going
to be ready for
Black Friday?
Well, we’re in the middle
of crowdsourcing tests for
likely user scenarios.
Sanity checks have gone
well but we haven’t run a
full automated regression
yet. Plus, Jimmy is going
through some exploratory
work now.
@neotys

3. @neotys
!??!?!
@neotys

4. @neotys
What just
happened? HAS SOMEONE
ELSE’S TESTING
LINGO EVER
MADE YOU
FEEL THIS WAY?

5. @neotys
If not…
Maybe you
make people
feel like this!

6. @neotys
TECH IS
FILLED WITH
BUZZWORDS
@neotys

7. @neotys
YOU RUN INTO TECHNICAL JARGON
EVERYWHERE YOU GO
@neotys

8. @neotys
INDUSTRIES HAVE
BUZZWORDS

9. @neotys
COMPANIES
HAVE
BUZZWORDS
@neotys

10. @neotys
EVEN PEOPLE ON THE SAME DEV TEAM
HAVE THEIR OWN BUZZWORDS
Dev
QA
Ops
@neotys
Crowdsource
Cloud
Provisioning
Pluggable
architecture

11. @neotys
TESTING
BUZZWORDS

12. @neotys
WHEN YOU ARE
READY TO RELEASE…

13. @neotys
ALL YOU WANT
TO KNOW IS…

14. @neotys
WILL IT
WORK?
@neotys

15. @neotys
AND CAN YOU
TRUST THE ANSWER
YOU’RE TOLD?
@neotys

16. @neotys
BUT WHAT DOES
ALL *THIS* MEAN?
Testing as a Service
Smoke Testing
Crowdsourced Testing
Continuous Integration
Test Automation
Sanity Check
Exploratory Testing

17. @neotys
WE’RE ABOUT TO BREAK
IT DOWN FOR YOU
Testing as a Service
Smoke Testing
Crowdsourced Testing
Continuous Integration
Test Automation
Exploratory Testing
Sanity Check

18. @neotys
CROWDSOURCED TESTING
1
@neotys

19. @neotys
1. CROWDSOURCED TESTING
It’s like Kickstarter… but for testing
@neotys

20. @neotys
1. CROWDSOURCED TESTING
Some hold a load-testing party
Others ask fellow testers to
“attack” your server en masse.
@neotys

21. @neotys
1. CROWDSOURCED TESTING
It’s not terribly predictable, and doesn’t
scale very far, but for the right cases it can
be extremely effective.
It’s also a great way to get a community
aware of what you are building.
@neotys

22. @neotys
TESTING AS A SERVICE
a.k.a. TaaS
a.k.a. On-Demand Testing
2
@neotys

23. @neotys
2. TESTING AS A SERVICE
Outsourced testing services, where a 3rd
party takes your script and executes a bunch
of testing on your behalf.
@neotys

24. @neotys
2. TESTING AS A SERVICE
Suitable for:
• Unique environments
• Short-term bursts of specialized activity
• 3rd-party verification (security, audits)
@neotys

25. @neotys
2. TESTING AS A SERVICE
TaaS providers may operate with heavy
automation in a well-equipped lab, or they
may be crowdtesting experts.
@neotys

26. @neotys
SMOKE TESTING
3
@neotys

27. @neotys
3. SMOKE TESTING
Back in the day… this was pretty literal.
Today, smoke testing is a cursory, preliminary
system check. A gatekeeper.
@neotys

28. @neotys
3. SMOKE TESTING
Smoke testing checks the basics:
• Does it start?
• Does it run?
• Can a user log in?
• Can a user execute a transaction?
• Can the administrator view the dashboard?
@neotys

29. @neotys
3. SMOKE TESTING
Because when you kick off a long series
of tests and go home for the night, you
don’t want the system to crash 5
minutes after you leave.
@neotys

30. @neotys
SANITY CHECK
4
@neotys

31. @neotys
4. SANITY CHECK
This is similar to a smoke test, but different.
@neotys

32. @neotys
4. SANITY CHECK
Smoke tests
• Ensure the software is stable
• Test core functionality
• Are automated and repeated
Sanity checks
• Validate new features or fixed bugs
• Check that changes are actually there
• Are ad-hoc and unscripted
@neotys

33. @neotys
4. SANITY CHECK
Sanity checks make sure you are testing
what you think you are testing.
@neotys

34. @neotys
REGRESSION TESTING
5
@neotys

35. @neotys
5. REGRESSION TESTING
Don’t get confused: this is not stats class.
@neotys

36. @neotys
5. REGRESSION TESTING
Did we create more
bugs than we fixed?
Does everything that
worked yesterday still
work today?
@neotys

37. @neotys
“
5. REGRESSION TESTING
When I think about regression
testing, I think about any testing
that involves the reuse of tests
(manual or automated) or test
ideas (regression charters for
example — a regression test
does not necessarily need to be
the exact same test) to manage
the risks of change. This could
include testing for bug fixes,
testing to make sure a bug fix
didn’t break something else.
Mike Kelly
http://michaeldkelly.com
@neotys

38. @neotys
TEST AUTOMATION
6
@neotys

39. @neotys
Give a man a fish,
feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish,
feed him for a lifetime.
6. TEST AUTOMATION
@neotys

40. @neotys
QA used to be all about manual testing &
finding bugs.
Today, modern QA organizations are coders,
who make computers do this work for them.
Test automation improves scale, quality,
efficiency – you name it!
6. TEST AUTOMATION
@neotys

41. @neotys
Many people think test automation is limited
to functional testing. Not true.
More and more, test automation applies to
many other areas like load & performance
testing – automatically validating that
software behaves well under load and stress.
6. TEST AUTOMATION
@neotys

42. @neotys
CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION
a.k.a. “CI”
7
@neotys

43. @neotys
7. CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION
This is one of the most profound
changes to the software development
process to happen in past decade.
@neotys

44. @neotys
7. CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION
CI relies heavily on automated testing. Every
time code is checked in, a large test suite is
run to make sure nothing is broken.
CI ensures a consistent level of high quality
software, avoiding large disruptions that
break builds for days at a time.
@neotys

45. @neotys
7. CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION
CI is a change to the organization that
requires a high degree of:
– Collaboration
– Communication
– Transparency
– Automation
– Teamwork
That’s why strong teams love it!
@neotys

46. @neotys
EXPLORATORY TESTING
8
@neotys

47. @neotys
8. EXPLORATORY TESTING
Coined by Cem Kaner in 1983,
but still not well-understood.
@neotys

48. @neotys
8. EXPLORATORY TESTING
Many people think it’s ad-hoc
testing, but actually it’s an approach
that is concisely described as
simultaneous learning.
While methodically test a product,
the tester learns how it behaves, and
identifies its strengths and
weaknesses.
@neotys

49. @neotys
“
8. EXPLORATORY TESTING
A style of software testing that
emphasizes the personal
freedom and responsibility of
the individual tester to
continually optimize the
quality of his or her work by
treating test-related learning,
test design, test execution,
and test result interpretation
as mutually supportive
activities that run parallel
throughout the project.
Cem Kaner
@neotys

50. @neotys
THAT WASN’T SO BAD.
WAS IT?
Testing as a Service
Smoke Testing
Crowdsourced Testing
Continuous Integration
Test Automation
Sanity Check
Exploratory Testing

51. @neotys
Wow! Thanks!

52. @neotys
http://www.neotys.com/webcast/Performance-Testing-Horror-Stories.html
PERFORMANCE TESTING
Horror Stories
SEE THE FULL WEBINAR
TALES FROM THE SCRIPT
As the former manager of a load and
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of haunting stories from his days in the field that
carry insightful lessons learned about load and
performance testing.
Watch this webinar and learn how to prevent
problems from coming back to haunt you!