SSQA Monthly meeting

BALANCING ATDD, GUI AUTOMATION AND EXPLORATORY TESTING

by Michael Larsen

Too often, we see people describe the benefits of each of these areas (Acceptance Test Driven Development, GUI Test Automation, and Exploratory Testing) as though they exist in isolation. They don't. In fact each relies on the other two, and like a tripod, each is a leg that requires the other to stand. This session will explore how a project can leverage all three aspects (ATDD, GUI Automation and Exploratory Testing) to successfully learn, automate, and advance application development. Additionally, we will explore two mnemonics (TERMS and CRUMBS) to help see if a project is ripe for automation and how to tell if it is progressing the way that it should. This session will use an example application and show how we have found a balance between "the three legs" as well as areas where we have optimized time to test and deploy changes.

Michael Larsen is a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer with Socialtext, located in Palo Alto, California. For two decades, he has tested products ranging from networking equipment to touch devices to Internet applications. He is a black belt in the Miagi-do School of Software Testing, a director with the Association for Software Testing, and is primary facilitator for Weekend Testing Americas. Michael blogs at http://mkltesthead.com/ and can be found on Twitter at @mkltesthead.

SSQA meets monthly on the second Tuesday of the month. Topics vary and cover all aspects of software quality assurance. Meetings are free and open to the public.