Issue 240

COMMENT

Welcome to the 240th issue!

Back in June, I shared with you about the big problem with a new Sonos app they've been trying to fix ever since.

It was a mistake that has so far cost them $200 million in projected annual revenue and a 25% loss in share value.

But how did that happen?

According to Bloomberg's report on How Sonos Botched an App and Infuriated Its Customers — it was the leadership's fault.

They ignored tech debt, made several layoffs (including QA) and prioritised promises to investors over user experience by rushing the release despite missing core functionality and stability.

All that even though employees constantly voiced their concerns.

Unfortunately, this is not how quality products are built.

NEWS

Distribution of Tests (Testing Shapes)

The Pyramid is not the only viable test strategy. Have you heard of the Spinning Top and Party Hat ones? Cassandra H. Leung describes all three of them.

Additionally, Gaurav Singh neatly clarifies the Common terminology misses in software testing.

From Bugs to BEAM

Is it a feature or a bug? It's a common question, and I liked Gojko Adzic's proposal of assessing it within four quadrants: Bug, Exploit, Acceptable and Mismatch.

How I see the QA mindset — Part 3: The People

Continuing the great series on developing a QA mindset, this time Adrian Ciuciui focuses on the importance of collaboration and building relationships with coworkers.

Similarly, Enrique Lopez Magaña recognises that being a tester is more than just catching bugs: "I HATE QA" — A Perspective from a Senior QA Engineer.

We Have to Run the Regression Tests!

We tend to think of regression tests as something that's written once and run on repeat. But Michael Bolton shares a sobering reminder that there's more to it.

Moreover, Ronak Thakkar wrote a concise article about the Benefits and Drawbacks of Testing Independence.

AUTOMATION

Automated API testing

Looking for API testing solutions? There are plenty of insights into possible approaches and tools shared by other testers in their Reddit thread.

DRY vs WET vs DAMP principles in Test Automation

Razvan Vancea put together a great overview of three different — and often conflicting — practices of writing tests.

Similarly, Gil Zilberfeld calls for Cleaning All The Tests!.

From Data to Decisions: My AI-Driven QA Metrics Framework Journey

Amr Salem created an intriguing automated process for collecting quality metrics and shares it with us in this detailed overview.

Functional Testing as a Design Tool for Full Stack Projects: A Simple Example

Wondering how to create a test framework for a web app? Daniel Haimov explains his approach with examples of backend and frontend validation.

At the same time, Kacper Ciepielewski advises: In Slow Tests We Trust!

Getting Started with Shell Scripting for Testers: A Quick Guide

Testers can automate not only tests but also other repetitive actions. Shell scripts may come in handy for that, and here's a good introduction by Elena Voevodkina.

TOOLS

Automating Real iOS Devices with Appium

Working on tests for an iOS app? Lana Begunova put together a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to Appium.

Furthermore, Fahri Yeşil shows examples of MobSF: Simplifying Mobile App Security Testing.

Creating Asynchronous Automation test using Playwright & pytest

Using Python to write your tests? Shivahari P wrote a tutorial on how to use pytest test runner for automation with Playwright.

Furthermore, you may also leverage Using faker and pandas Python Libraries to Create Synthetic Data for Testing, as Rahul Bhave suggests.

Cypress Error Handling — The Best Practice With Examples

This is some solid, example-based advice by Uros Simic on how to manage failures in Cypress tests.

Secure Your Playwright Tests: Handling TLS Client Certificates Across Environments

Parthiban Rajasekaran explains how to configure Playwright tests to work with TLS client certificates in different environments using Playwright and CI configuration.

And if you need custom assertions, Ravi Kiran demonstrates Levelling Up Your Playwright Tests with Custom Matchers.

What's your favorite QA tool that has saved you the most time, and why?

We often talk about test automation tools. But what other tools do testers like? Here's what the community suggests — and the answers are not always so obvious! (e.g. a salad bowl? 😄).

VIDEOS

17 Playwright Automation Testing Concepts Explained (TypeScript Edition)

In just 4 minutes, Nikolay Advolodkin goes through several handy tips for testing with Playwright in TypeScript.

Software Testing Book Recommendations

If you're looking for your next read on testing, Daniel Knott recorded a helpful, 14-min overview of popular software testing books.

AND...

Problems with threads... 😂

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 240 October 8th 2024