Software QA/Testing Technical FAQs

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How to test a module(web based developed in .NET) which would load data from the list(which is text file) into the database(SQL Server). It would touch approx 10 different tables depending on data in the list.
The job is to verify that data which is suppose to get loaded gets loaded correctly. List might contain 60 millions of record. anyone suggest?

* Compare the record counts before and after the load and match with the expected data load * Sample records shoudl be taken to ensure teh data integrity
* Include Test cases where the loaded data is visible functionally through the application. For eg: If the data loads new users to the system, tahn the login fucntionlaity using the new user login creadentials shoudl work etc...
Finally tools available in the market, you can be innovativce in using the Functional Automation tools like Winrunner and adding DB Checkpoints, you can write SQL's to do the Backend testing. It is upon the Test scenario (Test Case) details that you wooudl have to narrow upon the tools/techniques.

What if the project isn't big enough to justify extensive testing?
Consider the impact of project errors, not the size of the project. However, if extensive testing is still not justified, risk analysis is again needed and the considerations listed under "What if there isn't enough time for thorough testing?" do apply. The test engineer then should do "ad hoc" testing, or write up a limited test plan based on the risk analysis.

Is the testing an art of thinking ?

Answer1:
Think like a guy who would like to break the application. like a hacker...finding the weakness in the system.

Answer2:
Think like a Tester then think negative rather than positive. Because tester always try to break the application, by putting some negative values.

Answer3:
How testers think is:
- Testers are "negative" thinkers
- Testers complain
- Testers like to break things
- Testers take a special thrill in delivering bad news
The authors introduce an alternate view:
- Testers don't complain, they offer evidence
- Testers don't like to break things, they like to dispel the illusion that things work
- Testers don't take a special thrill in delivering bad news, they enjoy freeing their clients from false belief.
They go on to explain how testers should think:
- Deriving inference
- Technically
- creatively
- Critically
- practically
- Attempting to anwer questions
- Exploring, thinking
- Using logic


Answer4:
Testers are destroyers for a cretive purpose.Always keep one thing in mind "CREATIVE DESTRUCTION IS WHAT WE WANT TO ACHIEVE".
Add one thing to it is that the quality of testers while testing an application should be enforced only after the smooth flow of the application is assured i.e., the application passes the positive test. If the application doesnt pass even the positive testing than the testing strategy gets waivered.
And aftyer all the competition is appreciated when both the sides are equally strong.
So before bringing the real quality of testers into act while doing the testing one should ensure that it has passed the positive testing.

What is the role of test engineers?
We, test engineers, speed up the work of your development staff, and reduce the risk of your company's legal liability. We give your company the evidence that the software is correct and operates properly. We also improve your problem tracking and reporting. We maximize the value of your software, and the value of the devices that use it. We also assure the successful launch of your product by discovering bugs and design flaws, before users get discouraged, before shareholders loose their cool, and before your employees get bogged down. We help the work of your software development staff, so your development team can devote its time to build up your product. We also promote continual improvement. We provide documentation required by FDA, FAA, other regulatory agencies, and your customers. We save your company money by discovering defects EARLY in the design process, before failures occur in production, or in the field. We save the reputation of your company by discovering bugs and design flaws, before bugs and design flaws damage the reputation of your company.

What is the role of a QA engineer?
The QA engineer's role is as follows: We, QA engineers, use the system much like real users would, find all the bugs, find ways to replicate the bugs, submit bug reports to the developers, and provide feedback to the developers, i.e. tell them if they've achieved the desired level of quality.

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