Sample bug report

Below sample bug/defect report will give you exact idea of how to report a bug in bug tracking tool.
Here is the example scenario that caused a bug:
Lets assume in your application under test you want to create a new user with user information, for that you need to logon into the application and navigate to USERS menu > New User, then enter all the details in the ‘User form’ like, First Name, Last Name, Age, Address, Phone etc. Once you enter all these information, you need to click on ‘SAVE’ button in order to save the user. Now you can see a success message saying, “New User has been created successfully”.
But when you entered into your application by logging in and navigated to USERS menu > New user, entered all the required information to create new user and clicked on SAVE button. BANG! The application crashed and you got one error page on screen. (Capture this error message window and save as a Microsoft paint file)
Now this is the bug scenario and you would like to report this as a BUG in your bug-tracking tool.
How will you report this bug effectively?
Here is the sample bug report for above mentioned example:
(Note that some ‘bug report’ fields might differ depending on your bug tracking system)
SAMPLE BUG REPORT:
Bug Name: Application crash on clicking the SAVE button while creating a new user.
Bug ID: (It will be automatically created by the BUG Tracking tool once you save this bug)
Area Path: USERS menu > New Users
Build Number: Version Number 5.0.1
Severity: HIGH (High/Medium/Low) or 1
Priority: HIGH (High/Medium/Low) or 1
Assigned to: Developer-X
Reported By: Your Name
Reported On: Date
Reason: Defect
Status: New/Open/Active (Depends on the Tool you are using)
Environment: Windows 2003/SQL Server 2005
Description:
Application crash on clicking the SAVE button while creating a new
user, hence unable to create a new user in the application.
Steps To Reproduce:
1) Logon into the application
2) Navigate to the Users Menu > New User
3) Filled all the user information fields
4) Clicked on ‘Save’ button
5) Seen an error page “ORA1090 Exception: Insert values Error…”
6) See the attached logs for more information (Attach more logs related to bug..IF any)
7) And also see the attached screenshot of the error page.
Expected result: On clicking SAVE button, should be prompted to a success message “New User has been created successfully”.
(Attach ‘application crash’ screen shot.. IF any)
Save the defect/bug in the BUG TRACKING TOOL.  You will get a bug id, which you can use for further bug reference.
Default ‘New bug’ mail will go to respective developer and the default module owner (Team leader or manager) for further action.

http://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/sample-bug-report/

What's your test automation strategy?

I overheard some test managers discussing problems with their test automation effort, so I couldn't refrain from asking the redundant question, "What is your test automation strategy?" They looked at me as if I had just beamed down from another planet and said, "c'mon, you know our strategy is to automate everything!"
It is unfortunately true that some managers drink the proverbial kool-aid and blindly regurgitate the 100% automation mantra or similar incantations such as "no manual testing" popular among agile pundits like Lisa Crispin.
Let me be clear. A goal of 100% automation is not a test strategy; it is a fantasy! Similar to the Disney fairytales where fairy dust causes magical transformations, evil is defeated, the prince marries the maiden, and everyone lives happily ever after forever automating everything is not practical or realistic. 

Perhaps the single biggest problem with most test automation efforts is lack of a practical strategy. A practical test automation strategy is one that provides a pragmatic solution to address specific business needs with well-defined, measurable goals based upon realistic expectations.

Business needs drive a lot of the change in any organization, and usually involve cost saving measures, quality improvement, or increased customer satisfaction. A business need for test automation includes reduced testing time. (This doesn’t mean reduced ship cycles; it simply means the time it takes to perform certain tests during the product life cycle can be shortened.) For example, the Build Verification Test (BVT) is a necessary test suite to verify the stability of each new build. Depending on the size and complexity of the product a manual BVT suite can be very time consuming. An automated BVT suite (which should be 100% automated including results validation because it establishes a baseline measure on build stability and the tests remain relatively static over the duration of the development life cycle) can substantially reduce the time spent in this phase of testing especially in iterative build environments where the team is getting daily or even weekly builds. It doesn’t take long to realize the cost savings over the product life cycle.

Test automation strategies must also have realistic expectations. For example, I have never been convinced that finding “new’ bugs is a realistic expectation for test automation. (Yes, it will occasionally find some new bugs, but let’s face it…the majority of the 5 -15% of the bugs exposed by test automation in production environments are regressions.) I have never seen data that suggests increased automation reduces the overall development cycle. Nor will test automation eliminate testers. (This is a false hope imagined only by prima donna developers and bean counting managers scheming of ways to find value in their Masters in Business Mismanagement degrees.) So, what are realistic expectations for test automation? Well, I can reasonably expect test automation to identify stress issues such as mean time to failure (MTTF) and mean time between failures (MTBF). I can reasonably require test automation to establish baseline measures such as BVT suites or regression suites. Test automation is a pragmatic solution for load any type of load testing or other forms of concurrency testing.

Finally, a good test automation strategy must have measurable goals so we clearly understand what success looks like (or identifies where we need to improve). Without goals we are developing automated tests just to say we are automating. Unfortunately, I occasionally see teams with goals of automating n% of existing tests. This really doesn’t make much sense because it doesn’t take into account logical decisions of what tests should be automated (remember, not all tests need to be or should be automated), so some redundant tests or run-once type tests are automated (which may not be the best use of your limited testing resources). Also, the ‘existing’ set of tests is usually a moving target, so that means the goal is a moving target, which means we can never achieve the goal. Goals for test automation should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely (SMART). Set short term and long range SMART goals for your test automation effort. For example, a short term goals might be 100% automation of the BVT suite within 1 week after the first build drop. Long term goals might include design elements and processes to transfer automation to sustained engineering or maintenance teams, or 100% language neutral automation that will execute on any localized (or pseudo localized) language version.

Test automation is expensive. Testers have a lot of work to do in a very limited timeframe, so it is important that we use our testing resources effectively. A well defined automation strategy will establish clear goals, set expectations, and provide practical, automated solutions.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/imtesty/archive/2006/05/08/593395.aspx

Living life as a Software Tester!

Recently I read a very interesting article on “All I Ever need to know about testing” by Lee Copeland.
I was so impressed with the concept of our day to day work comparison with the software testing.
I will extract only points related to software testing. As a software tester keep in mind these simple points:
Share everything:
If you are a experienced tester on any project then help the new developers on your project. Some testers have habit to keep the known bugs hidden till they get implement in code and then they write a big defect report on that. Don’t try to only pump your bug count, share everything with developers.
Build trust:
Let the developers know any bug you found in design phase. Do not log the bug repeatedly with small variations just to pump the bug count. Build trust in developer and tester relation.
Don’t blame others:
As a tester you should not always blame developers for the bugs. Concentrate on bug, not always on pointing that bug in front of all people. Hit the bug and its cause not the developer!
Clean up your own mess:
When you finish doing any test scenario then reconfigure that machine to its original configuration. The same case applies for bug report. Write a clean effective bug report. Let the developer find it easy to repro and fix it.
Give credit to others for their work:
Do not take others credit. If you have referred any others work, immediately give credit to that person. Do not get frustrated if you not found any bug that later has been reported by client. Do work hard, use your skill.
Remember to flush
Like the toilets flush all the software’s at some point. While doing performance testing remember to flush the system cache.

Take a nap everyday:
We need time to think, get refresh or to regenerate our energy.
Some times its important to take one step back in order to get fresh insight and to find different working approach.
Always work in teams, team score are always better and powerful than individuals.
Now its time to take nap Happy Testing!

http://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/living-life-as-a-software-tester/