Software Testing process in 5 Easy Steps

Testing in simple steps:

• Step-1:Requirements
• Step-2:Test planning
• step-3:Test case writing
• step-4:Test case execution
• step-5:Test sign-off 

Requirements

First and most important input for testing is requirement. Requirements are mostly gathered by the Business development team. These requirements are really not of technical requirements. Language is very much understood by non-technical users. Later on Project Manager/Programme Manager comes up with the requirements in proper format commonly known as functional specifications/business requirement specifications. These documents generally are doc format.

Tester's role:

It's really important for test team to participate in requirement review process.This helps the entire product team to start in right track from the beginning. Output expected from a tester here in review meetings are:
• See if requirements are testable?
Example: If Requirement says "Web pages must look beautiful". How will you test if web pages are beautiful? Can you answer this? So test team points out these kind of issues in requirement reviews.
• Make sure requirements are clear,concise and not contradictory.
• Understand the requirements clearly,ask questions.As later in cycle tester's need to test the application against the requirements.
This is the first stage where tester test the requirements.


Test Planning :

Once you are done with requirement reviews then PM/PO will come up with the final version of requirement specs.
Now based on the final requirement specs test team will plan there testing activities like coming up with test strategy, test plan writing etc...
Test plan is mostly developed by test lead or senior test member. The test planning will mainly answer the following:
• What to cover :functional testing, performance testing, load testing, accessibility testing, regression testing etc..?
• Time line for above.
• who will do what?
• Only manual testing or Automation?
• If Automation then what percentage?
• Dependencies?
• Test activities & timeline: like test case writing, test execution, bug bash, test sign off etc
• Test sign off criteria.

Test case writing

Once test plan is written it go through some review process and final document gets publish in the team. Now testers start writing test cases for the features/functionality. Good way of writing test cases is to first write test case outlines (TCO's) and then convert those tco's in detail test cases.
TCOs are basically one line statement about a test scenario that test intend to test.
Further tester breaks the TCOs in multiple test cases with all details like "Steps", "Expected results", "Priority" etc..
• To see if there is a good test coverage for scenarios.
• To see if steps provided in test cases are clear and concise."
Tools used for Test case writing : Some companies use word or excel format and rest uses Test management tools.
Other activities that always go along with test case writing is test case update where testers Add/edit/delete test cases because of following reasons:
o Wrong test cases written by a tester.
o Some changes in existing requirement which may require editing of existing test case or adding new test cases.
o Missed scenarios by testers.
Test Execution/Test Pass/Test Run

Once the Developer are done with coding. Test team starts the action:

• o Developer release a build for testing.
• o Test team will now run BVT tests.
• o Once the BVT tests are passing. Test team will accept the build.
• o Now the actual test pass starts.
• o Test team will run the tests they have written.
• o Test will mark the test cases Pass/Fail accordingly.
• o Test will log bugs for the failed test cases.
• o Test will verify the fix for resolved bugs and accordingly close the bugs.
• o Test team will do the complete test pass again if required or do a test of some selective test cases to make sure that there are no regression bugs.

These activities are part of every milestone or iterations. Once test passes are complete.
Next step is Test Sign-off.

Test Sign-Off

Now the time comes when test team will do the test sign-off. Normally the test sign-off criteria is mentioned in the test plan. It's being done by the QA head/test manager/lead.

Faster booting of laptop

To decrease boot time of Windows XPs and increase system performance,

TuneXP 1.5 is one of the best all-in-one performance tuner freeware tools for Windows XP.You can download it from http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/DH-TuneXP.shtml (Size 1 MB). Please read the documentation before configuring TuneXP.

Under the "Memory and file system" menu, please enable (tick) the following settings: Clear pagefile on shutdown, Disable Paging Executive, Optimise prefetch, Increase NTFS performance. Also, select Defrag boot files and ultra-fast booting.

Next, free up disk space by deleting the unwanted files. You may use windows built-in Disk Cleanup tool or use some third party freeware tools. To access Disk Cleanup tool, click start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Cleanup. One of the sophisticated freeware tools, CCleaner (Size 1.42 MB) can be downloaded from http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/. Once a week you can clean your unwanted files.

Windows XP loads a lot of services that the user most likely does not need. So we have to manually disable unnecessary services. To do this, please click Start - Run - type "services.msc". To determine which services you may disable, please visit http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12 for information about Windows XP services. Disable "Background Intelligent Transfer Service" and check whether this improves your boot-up time.

Disk Defragmenter is a tool designed to reorganise the data on your hard disk so that your computer runs more efficiently. Click Start - Run - type "dfrg.msc". This will bring up the Disk Defragmenter.

Make sure your system is free from spywares. Spywares may hamper your computer's performance. Install Anti-spyware tools such as Ad-Aware SE Personal 1.06 http://www.majorgeeks.com/download506.html (2.7 MB) Or SpyBot Search & Destroy http://www.snapfiles.com/get/spybot.html (4.9 MB). Also, please make sure that your anti-virus definitions are up-to-date.

Fine-tune your startup programs. One of the freeware tools "Startup Controller Panel" (standalone EXE version size 34kb) allows you to easily configure which programs run when your computer starts. This can be downloaded from http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml.

Uninstall and remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

If you have installed two operating systems (Dual-boot), you can edit the time Windows XP displays the choice page. The default is 30 seconds and this may reduce to, say, 8 seconds. To do this, please right-click My computer - Click Properties - Advanced tab - Startup and Recovery button - Settings - Time to display list of operating systems.

In BIOS Boot sequence section, change the "First Boot Device" setting to Hard disk (instead of CD-ROM/floppy).

For more information, please refer this URL: http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=235571 and our eworld tip-off article, "Boosting system Performance" at this URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.comew/2006/03/06/stories/2006030600190300.htm

Stock Tickers- Solve Problem with activeX

Windows XP comes with IE 6, which includes quite a lot of security features. One such feature is that it will not allow automatic installation of ActiveX and Applets components because these components are really powerful.

Once installed, they can even access your data in the disks.

So in XP, when you browse any pages that have ActiveX controls or Applets, an information bar will appear in yellow below your browser's toolbars asking you if you want to install this control.

You have to right-click on this and click on install, only then will the control get installed.

So the next time you go to a site and find any component missing or not getting displayed, which can be a ticker or any display component, please look below your IE toolbars to see if it displays any information bar and then right-click on it and select install.

For sites like moneycontrol.com which uses flash extensively, you need to install Macromedia flash player. Normally you will be prompted to install it, otherwise you need to install it yourself. You can get it at http://www.macromedia.com/downloads/

Data Transfer Made Easy - Nokia Cable

You need to install the DKU-5 cable driver. You can download it at http://nds2.nokia.com/phones/files/software/Nokia_DKU-5_1_24.exe,

Next, please install the Nokia PC suit 6.7 as recommended by Nokia for 6225 CDMA. Nokia has also provided a step-by-step procedure for identifying and installing the correct handset software and driver for different operating systems (OS).You can access it at http://www.nokia-asia.com/nokia/0,8764,78350,00.html.

If you have already installed DKU-5 Cable with any default driver, you need to un-install it and then install the new driver. Once the drive and PC Suit installation is over, you need to configure the "Nokia connection manager" to use the DKU-5 cable to connect to your device. To do this, please double-click on the Nokia connection manager icon in the control panel and in the "Connections available" list, select the cable option, and click ok.

Block Porn - Parental controls Install

You can install a software tool to block such sites. Some such free software is available at http://www.snapfiles.com/freeware/misctools/fwparents.html

You can install any one of these. There are also priced products such as CyberPatrol, which has very effective controls. Here is the link for it: http://www.cyberpatrol.com/Default.aspx?id=30 and also Cybersitter at http://www.cybersitter.com/

BSNL is comparatively cheaper but if you want to have a filtered Internet connection, you need to opt for Sify or Bharti, which offer these kind of services at extra cost.

Selective copying of mp3 songs - Audio Tools

Yes it is possible to copy specific parts of songs. You can also increase or

decrease the KBPS of that song. There are many tools available on the Internet, for instance "WavePad Audio Editor 1.11" WavePad is sound editing software for Windows. This program lets you make and edit voice and other audio recordings. You can cut, copy, and paste parts of recording and, if required, add effects such as echo, amplification and noise reduction. WavePad is a freeware tool and can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.audiochannel.net/software/wp.zip

Download - Bandwidth monitor and simulator

Home Internet users who have subscribed to a limited bandwidth scheme may need to track their Internet usage. To check your monthly BSNL bandwidth usage, you can look up the following URLs:

http://bbservice.bsnl.in/ for newer users having IP (117.xxx.xxx.xxx)

http://sancharnet.in/dataoneredirect.htm for dataone account having IP (5x.xxx.xxx.xxx).

(To check your computer’s IP address, please go to this URL: http://www.myipaddress.com/)

and type your portal user ID and password. On the next screen, click the “View usage” link. If you do not have or forget your user ID and password, you can contact BSNL customer care or call the Toll free number 1800-424-1600. For more information, look up http://www.shaplus.com/dataone/index.htm.

If you would like to check your BSNL Broadband Current Bandwidth and Download speed, go to this URL: http://speedtest.dataone.in:83/bandwidthmeter/

initialmeter.php

Here are some free bandwidth monitors for home users to track their Internet usage.

ShaPlus Bandwidth Meter 1.2 (Size 101KB)

This remains in system tray and displays the approximate bandwidth consumed for the session, day and month. It is useful for people with limited bandwidth/month. It supports options to make meter always visible, to adjust transparency of meter, option to exclude bandwidth tracking during a certain period of the day (Say Morning 02:00 hrs to 08:00 hrs), Shortcuts to enable/disable flash and images in Internet Explorer. You can download this from http://www.shaplus.com/bandwidth-meter/index.htm

NetMeter 1.1.3: (Size 601 KB)

NetMeter is a customisable network bandwidth monitoring program for Windows. To check reports, please right-click the NetMeter icon on the system tray and select ■ Totals. You can see reports such as Totals Reports, Projected bandwidth use, Daily Reports, Weekly Reports, Monthly Reports, Custom Graphs and Fonts, Traffic Volume Notification. This program can be downloaded from http://www.freewarefiles.com/

NetMeter_program_32600.html

K-Lite Codec Pack Full 4.1.7: (Size 13.5 MB)

This is a collection of codecs and related tools. It is a freeware. Codecs are required to encode and/or decode (play) audio and video. The K-Lite Codec Pack is designed as a user-friendly solution for playing all your movie files. It includes a Media Player Classic editor. With the K-Lite Codec Pack you should be able to play 99 per cent of all the movies you download from the Internet. You can download this from

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/

K_lite_codec_pack.htm

Windows XP Setup Simulator 1.0 (1.23 MB)

This is a simulator program that allows you to learn how to install Windows XP operating system without affecting your hardware, software and data. You will be able to see each screen as if it was the real Windows XP setup. It includes a tutorial that explains every step of the set-up.

You can download this from http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/

Windows_XP_Setup_Simulator/1114400067/1

Top 10 Freeware Software

Here is some freeware software that could be of help during everyday computer usage.

Dictionary Software (the first two)

WordWeb 5.5 (Size 7.44MB)

This is a one-click English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows that can look up words from almost any program. It works off-line, but can also look up words in web references such as the Wikipedia encyclopedia. Features of the free version include: Definitions and synonyms, Proper nouns, Related words, Pronunciations, 1,50,000 root words, 1,20,000 synonym sets, Fixed web reference tabs etc. It can be downloaded from http://wordweb.info/

Merriam-Webster Concise Dictionary (Size 1.59MB)

This contains more than 40,000 entries, clear and concise definitions, written pronunciations, and variant spellings. The iFinger engine under the hood works both online and offline, checking spelling automatically or allowing you to run manual text searches for specific queries. Internet required while installing this software. Download from

http://www.download.com/Merriam-Webster-s-Concise-Dictionary/3000-2279_4-10059666.html

Mozilla Firefox 3.0 (size 7.14 MB)

A small, fast and easy to use browser, it includes tabbed browsing and pop-up blocker. The new version 3 has improved performance, Add-ons manager, download manager, Smart Location Bar, better password manager and malware protection. Please look up

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=2248

Gadwin PrintScreen (Size 2.75 MB)

This captures the contents of the screen with a single keystroke. The captured screen can then be sent to the printer, or saved to disk as a file in six different graphics file formats (BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, TGA). Gadwin PrintScreen can capture the entire Windows screen, the active window, or a specified area, when the hot key is pressed. The hot key defaults to the PrintScreen key but users can define other keys too to initiate a capture. Gadwin PrintScreen allows you to e-mail the captured images to recipients of your choice.

http://www.gadwin.com/download/ps_setup.exe

ExplorerXP (Size 410 KB)

This is a fast, small, compact file manager for Windows 2000/XP. Unlike the regular Windows Explorer, it displays the total size of each folder and allows you to browse multiple folders from a tabbed interface. It also supports Multi rename, split and Merge, etc. You can download it from http://www.explorerxp.com/

ExtractNow (Size 1MB )

This utility allows you to extract multiple archives quickly and easily. Supports ZIP, RAR, ISO, BIN, IMG, IMA, IMZ, 7Z, ACE, JAR, GZ, LZH, LHA, TAR, SIT archive formats. Extract files into current directory, named folder, or favourite folder of choice. Integrates with Windows Explorer via special context menu items

http://www.extractnow.com/

Stickies 6.5a (Size 975 KB)

Stickies is a PC utility to try to cut down on the number of Post-It notes you leave stuck to your monitor. It is a computerised version of those notes.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5501.html

Recover Files (Size 1.17MB)

This is file recovery software that allows the user to recover accidentally deleted files, even files removed from the Recycle Bin, network drive, compact flash card, portable drives, in a DOS window, or from Windows Explorer. Download from http://www.download.com/Recover-Files/3000-2094_4-10715455.html

FlashGet (size 4.4 MB)

This is a download manager. It uses MHT (Multi-server Hyper-threading Transportation) technique, supports various protocols such as HTTP, FTP, BT, MMS, RTSP and has document management features.

FlashGet can call anti-virus automatically to clean viruses, spyware and adware after finishing download. Check it out at http://www.flashget.com/index_en.htm

BSNL -Bandwidth USAGE Finder with Bill details

How to check Monthly Dataone bandwidth usage ?

Currently BSNL issues 2 types of Dataone accounts and usage checking site is different for each type. Your account type can be found out by checking your IP address (check your IP address here). One type of account has IP address of type 5x.xx.xx.xx and other type has IP address of type 117.xx.xx.xx . Usage checking site for first type (5x.xx.xx.xx) is http://sancharnet.in/dataoneredirect.htm and for the second type (117.xx.xx.xx) is http://bbservice.bsnl.in . Newer users are mostly given second type and for logging into http://bbservice.bsnl.in you need to get a portal id, which can be obtained from BSNL customer care or by calling Toll free number 1800-424-1600.
Dataone bandwidth usage finder



This tool is an automated way to check usage. This tool was initially developed when dataone usage checking website provided only session logs and did not provide total bandwidth usage.This tool was developed to login to dataone site and calculate total usage. Later upon request from users lot of features were added to program.

Some features of this tool
Daily total of non free and free usage( for those having night(2am to 8am) unlimited)
Graphic display of daily usage
Option to auto login to dataone usage checking site
Summary of usage, daily average used , average usable, estimated bill etc.
Download latest version of ShaPlus Dataone usage finder here .


DataOne-Bandwidth 2.8.1.zip
For users having IP address of type 5x.xx.xx.xx(check your IP here)
Last updated : 01 Jan 2008


Download BSNL Broadband Usage 1.1.zip
For users having IP address of type117.xx.xx.xx(check your IP here)
Last updated : 30 Apr 2008

NOTE : List of URL which can be used as admistrative login URL. If one site is not working or is not updated, try another.
http://10.240.64.195
http://10.240.89.199
http://10.240.128.195
http://10.240.16.195
http://10.240.144.195

You can also find an admistrative login URL by visiting this page http://sancharnet.in/dataoneredirect.htm.

Software - Tools

Flash Slideshow Maker

Want to share or post images on your blog, homepage or upload them to your own Website? You could try Flash Slideshow Maker, a Flash album creator to make animated photo slide shows with .swf file as the output format.
Its features include flash templates, transition effects, background music, image scroller banner, decorate photos on MySpace, Yahoo! 360° blog, blogger, embed mode or XML-driven mode. The XML-driven mode is ideal to create animated slide shows on your Website (knowlede of XML or coding knowledge not required) and create backups of images by burning them onto CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW discs. The user-friendly Flash Slideshow Maker Version 4.77(Released Date: March 02, 2008) can be downloaded at: http://www.flash-slideshow-maker.com/setup_flash_slideshow_maker.exe

Bordermaker

BorderMaker is a freeware that enables you to create borders, text and watermarks that can be placed on digital photos.

The utility can be used to process a large numbers of photos, include copyright information, ‘sharpen’ digital photos with an unsharp mask, convert photos to various formats, rotate photographs in the right direction.
For installation, install the Java runtime environment, download BorderMaker, unpack the zipfile in a folder (for example c:\BorderMaker) and execute bordermaker.bat to start BorderMaker.

This latest release of Bordermaker, v.3.0, which has solved some bugs found in release 2, can be downloaded at http://www.bordermaker.nl/index.php?page=download&local=en

Podmailing

This service can help send files or folders of any size by e-mail without clogging your inbox. You can use Podmailing to send and receive home videos, receive the entire high-quality photo collection from others, share large powerpoint presentations, pdfs and others.

Among the new features and improvements in this version of Podmailing are: files can now be retained for 30 days; new BitTorrent/http hybrid download system enables to receive podmails at full speed even if the ISP blocks the BitTorrent protocol; local network maximal upload speed has been increased to 10 MB. There is an improved display of podmail state and new help messages in the mail composer window.

Before downloading and using Podmailing you need to agree to their terms of service and your recipients need to sign up for the Podmail service. The 6 MB Podmailing v.0.9.5, for Windows XP or Vista can be downloaded at:
http://www.podmailing.com/download.html

Webinaria

With this utility, you can create demos or screencasts in Flash format.
You can record desktop screen movements, voice narration and upload them onto the web in the Flash format for free.

You can create Flash (.avi to .flv) recordings of your desktop, record voice commentary and save or edit your recordings to add voice, webcam or text.

Webinaria allows you to modify the capture area from your active window to a customised area, adjust your hardware or recording quality and a video editor (no watermark on videos) to save projects, add text, sound and Web cam effects to selected frames on a timeline and convert an .avi file to .flv.

The 3 MB Webinaria v.2.1 (March 19, 2008) for Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista can be downloaded at: http://www.webinaria.com/Setup.exe

Software - Downloads

PowerPoint Video Converter

PowerPoint Video Converter can convert PowerPoint presentations to almost all popular video formats like .avi, .mpeg, .mpeg2 ts, .mp4, .wmv, 3GP, .gif, .flv, .swf, avc video, Youtube .flv and other formats. It can also convert ppts to play on iPod, PSP, Zune, 3GP mobile phone, Apple TV, iPhone etc. With this utility, you can convert and burn to VCD, SVCD and DVD. The main functions are that it has two output modes, two compression modes, two run modes (slide/build), extracts and Convert PowerPoint file audio to MP3 format. PowerPoint Video Converter for PowerPoint 2000/2002/2003/2007 can be downloaded at http://www.effectmatrix.com/PowerPoint-Video-Converter/Free-PowerPoint-Video-Converter.exe

DriveSort

Do you wonder which of the files take up the most space on your hard disk? DriveSort, a very tiny utility developed by the 19-year-old Madhavan, can sort an entire drive or a selected subfolder, either by size or by date. DriveSort, a 9 KB tool, can be downloaded at http://www.geocities.com/casablanca2000in/msp/files/drivesort.zip

Call Graph
Call Graph is a plugin for VOIP Skype that lets you record calls, for free. Unlike many other Skype recording tools, Call Graph has no limitations and its interface is simple.

Among its features are that the tool automatically records all your Skype calls in an mp3 or wav format. The recording can be stopped or restarted at any point during the call and it automatically tags the calls with the display name of the contact and notifications are non-intrusive. The application runs as a Windows Task Bar icon on your machine and the notifications appear as a sliding window over the task bar and supports automatic upgrades. Some may find the sound quality of the recording not so good. The 3.6 MB Call Graph v.1.0.4.0 can be downloaded at http://www.callgraph.in/startdownload.php

Ots CD Scratch

Ots CD Scratch is a “Virtual Turntables CD Player”. It lets you DJ any of your CDs, using your computer’s CD-ROM drive(s). Slide a CD into your drive and while it spins on your screen, use your mouse to scratch, change tempo and pitch independently and even mix two tracks together, using the controls to beat-match the audio.
Ots CD Scratch can play two songs from the same CD at the same time — forward and reverse! The 1.3 MB Ots CD Scratch for Operating Systems 98 / NT / 2k / Me / XP can be downloaded at http://www.otsturntables.com/download/free.html . It requires a CD ROM drive that can accurately read CD-DA streams and uses the constant angular velocity technology.

Convert ANY FILE to PDF Document....

The main advantage of the PDF (portable document file ) is displaying the document format as it is. without overlapping any text formation.
Even it has the pictures, of various types and various fonts which the present guest system may not support, no problem if we convert the document of any kind to PDF. it can be easily visible respecting the authors format....

So Take a look how to convert word document in pdf...

Before that Please download right from here...

After download and installation . Now you are able to convert the doc to pdf in simple steps...

Just open your wished document After setting the page setup and formatting .
Just Give PRINT (CTRL+P) from the document. Now you are able to see this below fig.1

Choose the printer as "PDF Creater" Just press OK. Now you can see the below figure..
Give the name and the date of the document. and press save..


This is the free open source software which you use for freely.. please go through their terms and condition from their website....

Note : The procedure of converting to pdf is same for any file. Choose print option from any application and Convert....
How is this???