Issue 151

COMMENT

Welcome to the 151st issue!

And welcome to 2023!

I hope you had a good holiday season and you're ready for the latest news on software testing.

So, first of all, PractiTest and Tea Time with Testers are organising the annual 2023 State of Testing™ Survey.

It's one of the longest-running surveys on testing, and you can already take it here.

And if you're wondering why it's important, look at the results of the previous survey.

Happy testing! 🙂

NEWS

Bridging the Gap between Requirements Engineering and Model Evaluation in Machine Learning

Whoever works with Machine Learning knows it's not easy to test. In this article, Violet Turri and Eric Heim propose a framework for validating ML requirements.

How to deal with Dev teams that create too many defects?

Someone asked this question on Reddit, and people responded with some good suggestions on how to deal with such a situation.

What can also help is to Stop the "Developer vs Tester" Feud, as Dennis Martinez explains.

Also, sometimes it's as simple as saying: "I don't know, let's look together" — by Elizabeth Zagroba.

Selling Testing into a Project

Half of the battle in testing isn’t how we test, it’s selling the idea that we should test in the first place.

Sometimes it's hard to convince the team about the importance of testing. Callum Akehurst-Ryan gives some practical advice on how to approach it.

Furthermore, Michael Bolton advises on how we should be Talking About Coverage.

Why I prefer a Test Contract to a Test Plan

Stuart Crocker shares an alternative way of planning testing activities by creating a test contract instead of a test plan.

Moreover, Callum Akehurst-Ryan explains why Context is Important in Testing.

Zoopla's Holistic Testing Model

Wondering what quality and testing strategy other companies follow? Stuart Thomas gives us some insights into how they do it at Zoopla.

AUTOMATION

3 and 1/2 Reasons Why Your Tests Should Be Stateless

If you want stable tests that are easy to read and run, you may want to listen to Bobby Galli's advice.

Speaking of test stability, Viktor Slavchev throws a bucket of cold water on us by explaining Why rerunning tests is a bad idea.

Essential Tests for a Quality Engineer

Shaun Austin gives a lot of practical examples of techniques that can help you improve the assertions in your tests.

Furthermore, Rafael Miguel wrote a decent article about Keeping tests valuable: Using Equivalence Class Partition and Boundary Value Analysis.

Getting Started with Test Automation Code Reviews

Looking for ways to start or improve your test code reviews? Oluwatomi Familoni shares a few great tips.

You may also want to learn from Stuart Thomas about Pre-commit Hooks — How To Use Gits Gift For Quality Code.

Is Test Automation Still in High Demand? You Bet!

Zhimin Zhan shares his opinion on the state of test automation based on a recently published report.

In relation to that, Paul Grizzaffi gives several answers to the question: How Should I Organize My Automation Team?

And finally, Maaret Pyhäjärvi describes The Three Cultures in the context of testing.

Note: If you can't access the full article, simply open it in a private tab.

TOOLS

ChatGPT: Will AI Replace Testers?

Given the revolution that ChatGPT started, you may wonder whether your job is now in danger. Sofía Brun explains.

Furthermore, Johanna South shares her Experience Using ChatGPT to Perform Testing Activities.

Also, Matthew Heusser describes how to use ChatGPT for testers.

Component testing in Cypress: What is it and why it’s important

Cypress is usually used for end-to-end testing, but it can also be applied on a lower level of the pyramid. Filip Hric shows how.

Also, Gleb Bahmutov suggests why Cypress Needs Soft Assertions.

Get Started with xk6-browser

Marie Cruz wrote a clear guide to xk6-browser — a fairly new extension to k6 that allows you to measure the performance of your app's frontend.

Playwright vs Selenium Speed Comparison

If you wonder how these two popular tools compare in terms of test execution speed, here are some insights from Courtney Zhan.

Which Tools Are The Best for API Test Automation?

The answer to this question is never straightforward and usually goes: "it depends". Mark Winteringham explains why.

Furthermore, Tzur Paldi shows how to Unleash the Power of OpenAPI in Test Automation.

BOOKS

New QA Department — Looking for book recommendations

Someone is starting a new QA department and asks for literature recommendations to understand more about how to do it. Along with the book suggestions, there are some contrasting pieces of advice, too.

VIDEOS

ChatGPT Can Code Better Automation Than Me

There's been a lot of content about ChatGPT popping up recently. Here's an interesting 14-minute video by Nikolay Advolodkin showing how AI supports him in writing automated tests.

AND...

Testing rap... 🤣

Thanks for reading!

If you like this newsletter and it helps you become a better tester, you can say thanks and buy me a coffee.

Issue 151 January 13th 2023