TEAM Zarate Tarrani Notes From the Field

Testing ... testing .... This theme allows me to tie together assurance from my last entry here and security topics from my recent Postcards from the Revolution entries.

Statistically Speaking. Testing and quality require knowledge of statistics, and ready reference to this dry subject is a good resource to have close by. I recommend bookmarking the Engineering Statistics Handbook, which will always be available as a reference if you can connect to the web.

If you're doing statistical analysis with a spreadsheet you will soon run into limitations. You may want to obtain a copy of Dataplot, which is a free, public-domain, multi-platform (Unix, Linux, PC-DOS, Windows NT, etc.) software system for scientific visualization, statistical analysis, and non-linear modeling. The price is certainly right.

The "M" Word. Yes, it stands for Microsoft. Manisha Saboo of eRunway shared two links that will be of interest to anyone who is in a Microsoft-centric environment, either by choice or by necessity. The first link is a page devoted to Load Testing Tools for Windows DNA Solutions. The second link is to an article titled, Why Microsoft.com Believes in Testing the Web. It's a well-written article. Given the ongoing stream of patches coming from Microsoft's application and operating system folks perhaps they can learn a lesson from their dot com brothers and sisters.

Compliance. The 28 Feb 2002 issue of LWN.net has an update of the NuSphere/MySQL issue that is the first court case to test the validity of the GPL. This is a clear signal to anyone who is developing open source software. If you are an open source developer you should check Lineo's GPL Compliance Tool.

Other Testing Resources. Data Network Penetration Testing is a short whitepaper in MS Word format that adds to the QA body of knowledge by providing guidance for conducting penetration tests.

Testing Software Product Lines is just what the title implies. Software Test Performance Benchmarking in MS Word format is an interesting whitepaper that will provide ideas about test process improvement.

I'm including A Risk Driven View of Electronic Contracting because I forgot to add it when I wrote my previous entry. This document can be used as an assurance tool for electronic contract transactions.

End Note. If you're looking for test tools and artifacts try QA Downloads which is an excellent repository for QA professionals.