A baby who walk alone for finding the destination

I am a growing baby in the software industry. I am just 1.4 years old in the field of software testing.  In this age, somehow I managed to walk alone without holding other’s hands for sometimes. I know at this age it is impossible to walk alone for a long distance without the supporting hands. I am getting slip down sometimes but again I will manage to get up and keep walking alone.  My aim is not to walk alone. Rather I wish to run as soon as possible. So, doing some exercises to make myself get prepared for that. But I don’t know the exercises that I am following and practicing is good or bad. Some time I get hurt/pain .So I look for the people (expert) whom I know for help. Based on their advice I do some practices. Being a baby I commit some mistakes .But the quality I learned is that learning and correcting me from those mistakes. This helped me to learn better.

I have tested many websites (I don’t say tons of it, but at least 50+ right from my training).I have the habit of “caring for something”. Being a tester I used to report the issue I see in the product I use. I personally feel that a professional tester must do that. It is the way of representing the passion in our work. Some of the issues may be more serious and even it may harm the human life based on the product. Some products like medical equipment/ mobile phones, if when something went wrong at some cases it could harm the human life.

Technology is closely related to the human life and needs. So, something wrong with the products that are developed could cause damage to the life sometimes. So, it the responsibility of the tester or any people to make an awareness (report) about the issues when it occurs. That’s why I used to say “caring is a kind of quality a tester must have”.  “Don’t care” kind of people could never be a good professional. They are selfish to the society. I have no words to say for those people other than saying change yourself.

Some of the qualities I gained in walking alone:

1. I don’t say that walking alone will have more benefits. Every thing has its own advantage and disadvantage. So, in this case walking along have some benefits.
2. I am free to walk on my own style.
3. No need to follow the comment of the bad-boss (who doesn't know how to support) for walking.
4. Learning and experiencing a lot from pains and gains.  
5. Showing my own identity to the society.
6. My work could turn as a research
7. Freedom to think.
8. Choosing my own path for reaching my destination. It could be a hard or easy. Tough would turn as an experience and the easy will resemble as an example.
9. Getting things quickly, that could be possible probably after some years, if I have walked on someone’s shadows. 
10. Support  from the community people

I wish to be a marathon winner not in the running race but in the field of software industry. Hope I will make it soon.

Your Feedback are most welcome !

Some tips on performing usability testing

 Some of the things normally I consider before I start testing an apps are like

• Learning about the product functions
• Knowing the end users for that product
• What business rules are involved
• Who are the competitors for that product
• What test approach to perform
• Get into testing activity (The above mentioned is also considered as a testing activity)

There are “N” types of testing available. Few are known types and some are unknown. I am not going to speak about the fake types. I just want to share something that I consider in performing usability testing. Before that let me tell one thing. The issue remains as an issue. No matter what kind of issues is that, whether it is a functional or usability, accessibility. The things that we see as an uncomfortable one in a product could be an issues. All issues are not fixed or considered. But those unfixed and unconsidered are not that it is not an issue, May be due to severity/Priority it could have be changed. But still that could remain as an issue.

What Usability Testing mean to me?

Testing the application to see how well it is suited (easy to use) for the different end-users.

“The usability issues may not harm the product directly but it could harm the customers. So, indirectly it harms the product”.

List I consider for usability testing

Usability is all about how you see the product. Usability testing is also an important aspect like other testing types. Sometimes it could be harm to the product if the customers are not able to understand (easy to use) the product.

Search option could be one of the better examples to tell how well the product is easy for use.

Few things I consider are

• What flexibility the product has?
• How easy to understand the product when different customers are involved.
• How easy to use
• How can we get more customers?
• What makes end users attracted?

•   For example let us say, there is a setting option mentioned with the icon and the name is not shown in a tool tip or shown near the icon. So, for the people who frequently visit the websites like techy users, there is no need to educate them more. Just an icon is enough to tell what that option is meant for. But for the people who are not aware of those things need a tool tip.
•   Let us consider an app, it’s one of the page contains some five features and each feature has some images to be shown. If every feature is shown up with the image by default, for example the first features that has some 100 images and are shown by default the remaining features could be seen only by scrolling it. Sometimes, the user might not be aware of that. Or may feel hesitate to scroll to view the remaining features images. So, in such cases it is good to show up the features with images hidden. On clicking it the images could be shown up or else we can list the features at the right/left side of the pages and by clicking on any features the images could be shown and the images for the first features could be shown by default here, else the page looks blank. So, based on how we like to showcase the order should be changed
•   If the user wants to order some product, let the user be allowed to browse the product then after ordering now we can ask the user for login/register. Instead, if the user is forced to login or register to view the product, sometimes the user might skip to view those products. This would lead to losing the customers.
•   The options for registration should not be complex in case of some retail product. If, that is the case the user might not register at all.
•   More number of features in one page will have a bad look and feel.
•   There need to be sufficient space between the options.
•   If the product supports for desktop/ tablets/mobile, how well it is shown and used in those things.

So, these are some of the points I consider while performing the usability testing. 

I appreciate people who want to add some of the things to consider for usability. You can contact me on

Mobile:  07639959901

Email id: ktg.pradeep@gmail.com

Skype: pradeep.lingan