Distorted Rovings

https://needpix.com In order to increase my knowledge, as well as make sure that I can apply the concepts -- I should apply it, correct?  I know this is good advice as a generic, but it didn't work well, in this particular case. Things started off well: I got permission from someone to add tests to their React app. I got encouragement to add tests to something else,as well (which made me both delighted and a bit scared). I forked the repositories, with promises that I wouldn't add things that would break. Scanned both the code and what the person wanted it to be to used for Chose Jest to get things started - I'd used this before, so it should be easy. And at this point, I've been stuck. Do you, dear coder, recognize how many things there are to test in even simple applications? How does one figure out where to start testing, much less make sure that what tests you are doing are effective? And where to start? Take a deep breath - there are...

Image Source- http://www.issart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/TestingAutomation.png If this image wasn't what came to most people's mind when they heard automated testing, multiple hours and meetings would be saved. As much as the automation helps in testing, it isn't the answer to everything, and - in fact - it can add more work to your test load. As with all other software, it need maintained, and as the product evolves over time (even with only small adjustments), the automated tests need the same level of care that any other section of the product does, if not more. Okay, enough of the lecture. I have a project, written for both Android and iOS, that I have been given permission to add tests to: which made my day. I am trying to approach this professionally: test plan, user stories, decent documentation, and all. I spent several hours getting both the functional items and the stories written up (albeit in a brief form), so I knew what tests and checks nee...

http://plannersweb.com/wp-content/uploads/1995/04/reality-check-warning-sign-square.jpg As some of you may know, I am a fairly-active person on Twitter - if you count retweets of things I think others will find interesting or useful. I started into it, simply to insure that some highly-useful articles got out to the wider community, and it's gone from there, all the way through two rounds of #100DaysOfCode. Having a focus shift to testing - my current area - has brought me even more wonderful ideas and people: I have more things to think on, and apply. Plus wonderful people that, at unexpected times, challenge me. I got a message from someone - with a potential issue, and was asked for opinions on how I would solve it. A typical thing in this community- can I think outside of the formulas that exist?  Okay, I have opinions - and you want them? The challenge was presented as: a new office is opening, and management is afraid that there will be quality problems. They...

https://blog.internetcreations.com I recently attended the Online Test Conference , and enjoyed not only the first professional-level conference I ever attended , but most of the sessions were informative and enjoyable, even if slightly over my head, being new to this world. A few of the talks were on what to expect in the future. These, of course, I anxiously awaited - what better way to make sure I have a position, than to make sure I have value going forward. There were many things to learn, and a lightning talk at the end provided more insight. But they missed some things, as all seers do. Thinking things over after the excitement of finding a place where I fit in, I ended up talking to a mentor, and finally figuring out some of what I felt was missed. The developer world is entering a mode that will help maybe balance out the the congestion of larger cities: remote work. This is an exciting, innovative time, where the choices and challenges are thrown into the spotlig...

http://thriveology.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ThankfulGrateful.jpg It is that season for we Americans: a time to look back at the past year, and count our blessings.  Thanksgiving has come to mean different things then while I was growing up - the focus is no longer on what has gone right, but what wrongs were (and, in some cases continue to be) done. I try and focus on what I can do to minimize the wrong, and accept that the past has happened. And then the fun begins - finding all the things to be thankful for! Things have been rocky, at points this year, I'm still unemployed for money, and have had some serious personal issues arise and be dealt with. But, all in all, I think the bad is outweighed by the good.  This has been a year of changes: not only have I given up on trying to go back to the way things used to be, I have moved forward - supported, encouraged, and occasionally pulled - into a future that I just now am starting to feel I deserve. I sti...

Image credit After many months of trying things out, and finding what I was and was not good at, I have found an interest that I would like to follow: testing. There are so many new things coming out, and with the connected devices that we are starting to see, plus the possibility of problems coming from sources we think are trustworthy - this sounds like a career that I can enjoy, be good at, and grow into. For those of you who have read my earlier writings, this may sound odd - I've been grumbling about the lack of education for testing in the publicly available courses nearly since this blog started. But, as several have pointed out (occasionally bluntly), if there is a need that isn't filled, what's stopping me from filling it? So now it's time to move forward, and contribute to having information that I've found useful. I had a generous someone point me towards ElementalSelenium , once I mentioned that I would like to explore this as a career. Not onl...

One of the reasons I started this blog was because of the increasing chance that many of you will find yourself in a 'sandwich', later in life, if not now. The lengthening of the life span of many people on the planet, plus having children later - and add to the fact that statistics show that many millennials will not have the opportunity to ever own a home - the chances increase that you will find yourselves living with parents and children at the same time. There are ways to do this, and stay sane - I hope to give some ideas of what has worked and not worked for me, personally. *~*~* It's been a time - so much has been going on that it feels like the day is over before anything productive can be done. The company my son works for has lost quite a few people - they pay a fairly low rate - and every year about this time, they end up needing to hire a new batch. Which is nice, in a way: he gets a larger paycheck. But, it also is more hours, in a highly stressful situa...