Software Quality Matters Blog

Neverwinter’s High Priority Bug

May 20, 2013 by Meg Cater 3 Comments

From the outside, writing code can seem closer to the practice of mathematics than something like painting or sculpture. Not so. Developers are inherently creative types – driven by the desire to build out their visions, taking an idea and turning it into a tangible thing of beauty, utility, and even mystery. This is nowhere more obvious than with game developers. Here’s the issue. With any creative process, the need to be perfect is a hindrance to the act of creation. It’s stifling to the vision and to the liberty of taking artistic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Code Review, collaborator, Development

How Collaborator’s Eclipse Plug-In Makes Your Life Easier

May 20, 2013 by Lorinda Brandon Leave a Comment

Ask any Eclipse developer and they will tell you that they prefer to do all of their work in Eclipse, rather than toggling between multiple systems. This is especially true for code reviews. So it makes perfect sense that we created an Eclipse plug-in for Collaborator, which gives you the ability to bring the whole review experience inside your Eclipse environment. Think about how much time and aggravation you could save by collaborating with co-workers in Eclipse. For example, imagine seeing something in the review that raises questions … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Code Review, collaborator, Development, Software Quality

Advancing Network and Security Performance

May 17, 2013 by Matt Smith Leave a Comment

While server virtualization has actually been available for more than a decade, many IT professionals still refer to it as a relatively new technology. The comfort and familiarity of a world made up of only physical servers caused many to resist even looking into the virtual platform, but changes in the overall technology landscape are forcing some to re-think implementing this technology, especially because of its enhanced performance. Here, we will take a closer look at some of those benefits. Cost Reduction Some of the first benefits … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance, virtualization, Web Monitoring

So, I Heard You Guys Like Software Comics

May 17, 2013 by Ben Austin Leave a Comment

We don't exactly have Scott Adams on staff to draw witty satires about office shinanigans, but we always enjoy putting out a few good software comics at the end of a grueling week. Whether it's about the downside of a classic buzzword (Agile anyone?) or the never-ending battle between the QA and development team, it's good to post something a little more light hearted every once in a while. Yes, we realize that we too are guilty of over using some of those buzzwords, and no, the relationship between our development and QA teams isn't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Agile, cartoons, QA

But Where Should I Go, What Should I Do?

May 16, 2013 by Marc Sokes 1 Comment

This is exactly what many developers are left thinking when their dependent application is stripped away from the proverbial teat that of which their survival rested upon. You may ask, “Why? Why would a company do such thing to their loyal, er, developers?” You may feel like Scarlett O'Hara during the closing scene of “Gone with the Wind,” but truth-be-told, you're not really being abandoned. Companies have legitimate logic behind their decisions, and besides, given the nature of the field, developers are an adaptable group of folks. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: API testing, APIs, SoapUI

The Twisted Personality of the Software Tester

May 16, 2013 by Meg Cater Leave a Comment

A bunch of us at SmartBear recently returned from StarEast, the biggest software testing conference this side of the Mississippi. I loved it! Mainly because it was so heartening to see all the people committed to high-quality software, unselfconscious in their geekiness, proud of their craft, knowing they play a crucial if small role in the stability of our world and its future. Software testing truly is an altruistic endeavor. Being willing to stand up for quality in the face of a development, business or marketing team’s desire to move … [Read more...]

Filed Under: QA, TestComplete, Testing

Using Twitter as an Emergency Broadcast Network [Infographic]

May 15, 2013 by Lorinda Brandon 2 Comments

We have seen it more often than not lately, and many of us have been taking it for granted: Twitter as the place to go for rapid communication during an emergency. Here in the Boston area, we saw the whole East Coast rely on Twitter as a communications vehicle during Hurricane Sandy. Then, more recently, as a means for the Boston Police Department and Mayor’s office to communicate with us during the hunt for the Marathon bombing suspects. But was this Twitter’s intent? It was never intended to shoulder the responsibility of citizen … [Read more...]

Filed Under: load testing, Performance, WebLoadUI

Open Source Software Helped Obama Win the 2012 Election Campaign

May 15, 2013 by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols 5 Comments

One reason Obama won the 2012 presidential election was his staff’s use of open source. Harper Reed, CTO of Obama for America, tells all. If you were to list all the reasons why Obama beat Romney in the 2012 presidential race, chances are DevOps, the cloud, and open-source software (OSS) wouldn't be on your list. They should be. As Harper Reed, the CTO of Obama for America explained in his recent Palmetto Open Source Conference (POSSCON) speech, all these technologies played a major role in the campaign. Or, as the New York Times … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Development, linux, open source

Automated Testing is Not Agile Testing

May 14, 2013 by Ole Lensmar 2 Comments

I’ve touched on this subject in the past, but this time I want to dive right into a response to the following quote from a recently released study on Agile testing: "Because the ultimate goal of Agile testing is to automate more effectively…" Although taken slightly out of context, the message conveyed by this statement (and the study as a whole) is quite clear: The holy grail of Agile testing is test automation. As much as I respect the authors of this report, I have to disagree with that premise. Test automation can surely play an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Agile, Test Automation, TestComplete, Testing

How Important is Requirements Traceability? Just Ask the CBOE

May 14, 2013 by Gregory Mooney 4 Comments

When the Chicago Board Options Exchange trading system was knocked out a few weeks ago, investors and customers wanted answers, and they wanted them fast. The CBOE answered, but the outage wasn’t a hack as many had guessed – it was a software defect that, by all accounts, the development team was fully aware of before the release. The cause of this defect was based on poor tracking of requirements that were not met. The CBOE itself stated as the cause as, “preliminary staging work related to the planned reconfiguration of our systems … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bugs, QA, QAComplete, Testing