PAIR TESTING Presented by :- Rehan Shah Khan, Software Testing Trainee 21-06-2010

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Presentation Outline

◊ IMPORTANT CONCEPTS RELATED TO PAIR TESTING.

◊ ABOUT PAIR TESTING.

◊ PAIR TESTING ENVIRONMENT.

◊ PAIR TESTING SESSION.

◊ PAIR TESTING BENEFITS.

◊ IMPLEMENTATION IN SAM.

◊ LIMITATIONS OF PAIR TESTING.

◊ RISKS AND PREVENTIONS.

◊ CLOSINGS / CONCLUSIONS.

◊ QUESTION / ANSWERS SESSION.

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IMPORTANT CONCEPTS

◊ PAIR PROGRAMMING

◊EXPLORATORY TESTING

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PAIR PROGRAMMING

◊ Pair Programming is a software development technique in which two programmers work together at a place.

◊ All codes to be included in the production release is created by two people working together on one machine. It increases software quality without affecting the delivery time.

◊ The best way to pair program is to sit side by side in front of the machine. The One who types the codes is the developer and another one who takes care of the codes that they are fitted right is the tester.

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PAIR TESTING ENVIRONMENT

◊ In P.T. , both the team members should be equal.

◊ The team members should work voluntarily together.

◊ A room or desk where the team members can work undisturbed.

◊ The work place should support two people sitting behind one desk.

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EXPLORATORY TESTING

◊ Exploratory Testing is a black-box approach.◊ It is the type of testing where tester does not

have specifically planned test cases.◊ A tester who does Exploratory testing, does it

only with an idea to more and more understand the software and appreciate its features.

◊ It can simply be put as : A type of testing where we explore software, write and execute the test scripts simultaneously.

◊ During this process, person also tries to think of all possible scenarios where the software may fail and a bug can be revealed.

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Basic Flow

Pair Programming

Exploratory Testing

Pair Testing

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What is Pair Testing ?

◊ Pair Testing is the testing of software by two team members on one system.

◊ One team member controls the mouse and keyboard, while the other one makes notes, discusses test scenarios and asks queries.

◊ One of the two should be a tester and the other one could be a developer or a business analyst.

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PAIR TESTING

◊ Pair testing is not intended to execute formal test cases, in fact it uses Exploratory Testing.

◊ When you pair a developer or business analyst and a tester, you have a test knowledge and knowledge of Software under test.

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PAIR TESTING ENVIRONMENT

◊ In P.T. , both the team members should be equal.

◊ The team members should work voluntarily together.

◊ A room or desk where the team members can work undisturbed.

◊ The work place should support two people sitting behind one desk.

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PAIR TESTING SESSION PREPARATION ◊ Meeting of Tester and Business Analyst or

Developer to start Pair Testing.

◊ Pick a suitably-sized project. Don't try to test the whole Application in one session.

◊ Pair Testing works well when we test new functionality and when both the participants are working on the project right from the beginning.

◊ Create an Exploratory Testing Charter.

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PREPARATION Continues…

◊ In Pair testing session, Analyst or developer define focus and scope of the test.

◊ Describes the targets for the test.

◊ Agree together how much time they are going to test.

◊ Write their goals and testing ideas on a white-board, keeping a copy of the finished notes for their own use.

◊ Define the intended outputs of their testing efforts so that both parties understand what is required.

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PREPARATION Continues…◊ During the session the team members decide

which test paths and how deeply the test will be.

◊ One team member should control the keyboard and mouse.

◊ Second team member thinks out-loud, asks queries, makes notes on paper etc.

◊ A P.T. Session lasts for about 60 till 90 minutes, and don't forget the break.

◊ Pair testing can also be used as a way to track down hard to reproduce defects.

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PAIR TESTING SESSION FINISHING

◊ After the P.T. Session the new bugs/issues will be added to the bug registration system.

◊ The Exploratory test charter will be updated accordingly like which tests targets are tested, new problems discovered etc.

◊ Evaluate outcomes. How would you do differently next time.

◊ If during the P.T. Session new targets are found , a new P.T. Session should be planned. The pair can lead to create a new E.T. Charter for that session.

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PAIR TESTING BENEFITS

◊ Developer or business analysts approaches the software from a different view, They think in good paths whereas Tester has to take negative approach also.

◊ When P.T. Is executed with a business analyst there will be automatically knowledge sharing between the business analyst and tester. The business analyst will share his knowledge of the application of business with the testers during the session.

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PAIR TESTING BENEFITS

◊ If a new project is started with team members there will be often a barrier between testers and developers. So P.T. Will acts as a barrier.

◊ Working in pair keep u sharp, you cant get doze up .

◊ If you find problems and decide to register them in a bug registration system, the product is automatically reviewed. You work in pairs, so the data you entered is immediately reviewed by the other one.

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BENEFITS CONTINUES…

◊ As a tester you will encounter mysterious bugs that use to occur several times. In a P.T. Session with a developer you could find a pattern and thereby the cause of the bug. the developer will probably see the link between the problems because he has the knowledge of the software.

◊ The last reason to use P.T. is may be the most important one : It is fun working with the team members.

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Implementation Of Pair Testing in SAM

◊ Pairing has the effect of forcing each tester to explain ideas and react to ideas. When one tester phrases his thoughts to another tester, that simple process of phrasing seems to bring the ideas into better focus and naturally triggers more ideas.

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Implementation Continues…

◊ Supports the ability of one tester to stay focused and keep testing. this has a major impact on creativity.

◊ The observer can :

● Keep key notes while the other follows the train of thoughts.

● Try to reproduce something on second machine.

● Grab manual, other documentation, a tool, make a phone call, grab a programmer-get support material that the other tester needs.

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Implementation Continues…◊ Better Bug Reporting :-

● Better reproducibility● Everything reported is reviewed by a second

person.●Sanity check for every critical and major

functionality.

◊ Great Training :-

● Keep learning by testing with others● Useful for experienced testers when they are

in a new domain.

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Implementation Continues…

◊ Additional technical benefits :-

● Concurrency testing is facilitated by pairs working with two or more machines.

● Manual load testing is easier with several people.

●When there is a difficult technical issue with part of the project, bring in a more knowledgeable person as a pair.

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Disadvantage Of Pair Testing

◊ P.T. Cannot be applicable to scripted testing where all the test cases are already written and no one has to run the scripts.

◊ This will not help in the evolution of any issue and its impact.

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Uses Of Pair Testing

◊ This is more applicable where the requirements and specifications are not much clear.

◊ When the team is new and need to learn the application behavior in short time.

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Risks and Suggestions

◊ Accountability must belong to one person. One member of the pair owns the responsibility for getting the task done.

◊ Some people are introverts (own thought peoples). They always work alone not in groups.

◊ Some people have strong opinions and don't work well with others depending on their understandings.

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Risks and Suggestions

◊ Training must be given :-

● Generally helpful for training in paired testing and in the conduct of any type of testing.

● When there are strong personalities at work, a trainer can help them understand their shared and seperate responsibilities and how to work effectively together.

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Conclusions

◊ Is pair testing rocket science ? No, its a combination of working together and testing. However, it has a lot advantages above “single” testing. There will be knowledge sharing, training new team members, break down barriers between team members and most importantly yields high productivity, high creativity work.

◊ Pair testing is an “idea generation activity” rather than a plan implementation activity, its a simple process of phrasing to bring the ideas into a better focus and naturally triggers more ideas.

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<<Slide Title>> <<Slide Topics>>

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Takeaway: <<Always good to put the learning in a one-liner>>

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Questions & Answers

<<rehankhan@qainfotech.net>>| www.qainfotech.com/blog | www.qainfotech.com

Thank you

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