Pokemon Go was finally launched in the Philippines over the weekend. It was even rumoured that one of our team members achieved over 13,000 steps in one day just to complete their Pokedex and catch that elusive CP400 Dodrio at Bonifacio High Street.
But even before the phenomenal game’s launch, our QA Testers have been very busy catching very specific entities… BUGS! Here’s some best practices shared by our Testing team so you can successfully catch them all!
Do not play while working. :)
Greetings fellow adventurer! Your journey to the far and wide world of QA Testing will be fun and full of challenges. As a tester you will be faced with numerous Bug types which can be elusive and hard to catch. In fact, over the past year, we have caught and fixed hundreds! Detecting these bugs and proposing solutions has always been integral for our ability to deliver.
Here are a few tips to help you on your quest!
1. Learn how the application works. You cannot test something when you do not know what to expect. In depth knowledge of the application will come through continuous learning, so learn how it works and never stop discovering!
2. Get out there and explore! Just like in Pokemon Go where you’re required to go to places to capture Pokemon, replenish at Pokestops or conquer other trainers’ gyms, we encourage you to think outside the box and discover more. Aside from executing the test cases, why not try looking for alternative ways to run the app and explore negative scenarios? Explore regression testing and sanity checking too. Running the app forward and backwards brings forth rare bugs that might not be as easy to capture on a normal test cycle.
Always check what’s around your area. Don’t just focus on one part!
Some bugs can be environment-specific so make sure to also test your web apps in different browsers and not just your primary one.
If you want to catch a Paras, explore grassy areas and visit parks rather than staying on concrete roads.
3. Set your objective. Finding bugs is not just the end goal of QA. Preventing them and making sure the app runs great is our main objective. Once you find a bug, ensure that it doesn’t respawn on the next iteration. Propose a solution or a fix and include it in your bug report. Who knows, your solution might be… super effective!
4. Utilise the tools and resources you have! In SpinifexIT, we use Atlasssian’s JIRA to report bugs and track its resolution and development progress. We ensure that each feature is well documented using Atlassian’s Confluence. We take advantage of its smooth integration with our workflow which highly aided our strategy. We also use development tools to check issues that are only visible at the logs.
Another tip is to have personal ownership for your work. Give your developers some Razz Berry if you’re having difficulties following up your bug’s status. They will not be excited about the news but they’d love you for it.
5. Be aware of your test environment and data. Anticipate which part of the application gets the most bugs and watch out for it the next time you run your tests. It can be in the UI, a Functional bug, or a Performance Issue – it may not be very obvious at first, but once eliminated, it highly improves your user’s experience.
Likewise, Pokemon don’t just randomly respawn on different places – they are always found lurking around one area. Watch that area closely and you’ll surely find something interesting once you revisit.
6. Be ready for surprises! Once you finish all tests and all changes are already implemented in the system, don’t get your hopes up just yet! Sometimes, another bug is accidentally created while another issue is resolved.
Brace yourself, but don’t expect too much.
But don’t give up!
With the proper strategy, right tools and a good dev team to back you up, you’re well on your way to delivering a perfect, bug-free application like no one ever has!