Issue 102: The Seedbed of a Quality Revolution
🕒 5 MIN READ | Published on: September 7, 2023This is the Software Testing Notes, a newsletter that goes out every Wednesday. I republish it here for sharing and referencing, but if you'd like to sign up you can do so right here:
Hello there! 👋
Welcome to the 102nd edition of Software Testing Notes, a weekly newsletter featuring must-read content on Software Testing. I hope this week has been good for you so far.
Although many tools are available for testing APIs, POSTMAN still leads the way. It’s one of those app that’s always opened on my machine.
I’m using VSCode exclusively for sometime and now I’m able to run my API tests without leaving the IDE with Postman’s plugin.
If you haven’t heard yet, now you have Postman fully integrated with VS Code with the same postman GUI feel within VSCode.
Check it out: The Postman VS Code extension
This extension is currently in its beta phase but is still worth looking out for as it should be able to pull off most of the work you already do.
In other news, TestFlix conference for 2023 is happening on 23 & 24 September 2023. Jampacked with 50+ speakers talking about Automation, Generative AI, Web 3.0, Leadership in Testing, DevOps, AI ML in Testing and much more… and the best part is, it’s absolutely FREE! Check more details here: TestFlix 2023 (Not a Promotion, I have been a fan of TestFlix and I think it’s free knowledge waiting for you to grab.)
Now, I have lots of nice reads for you this week, let me know what your favorite is!
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TestDevTools is a free collection of 350+ hand-picked tools & resources for your every testing needs. Whether you're looking for a new Automation tool, framework alternatives, a new way to manage test data, a way to learn development or testing… I got you covered.
📚 Testing
The Seedbed of a Quality Revolution by Mike Harris
Mike Harris recently visited Hawthorne Works previously known as a Bell Labs. Ring any bells 🔔?
It’s the birthplace of information theory, the UNIX operating system and C programming language.
Well, Mike has put together a list of some great people who worked there and made significant contributions to what we know as quality today in the context of development and testing. has also put together some references to articles that I think you should bookmark and visit now and then.
New Fields of Testing Activities by Jesper Ottosen
The testing world has evolved over the years and our activities as testers too. Jesper Ottosen shares his opinion on other avenues that are being opened and gradually becoming part of the testing activities.
We Need to Talk More by Callum Akehurst-Ryan
Communication is the key. Whether we are talking about professional life or personal life.
When it comes to testing, communication skill is one of the most important soft skill you can have. Callum Akehurst-Ryan has done a nice job detailing what is expected of us as testers and ways of communication that we can implement to have a better understanding of the product across all teams.
Logical Fallacies for Testers IX: The Red Herring Fallacy by Kristin Jackvony
Oh goodie, another article in the “Logical Fallacies for Testers by Kristin Jackvony” is out. In this article, we learn about “Red Herring” from a testing perspective and how it overshadows important things.
4 Things That Make a Great Tester by Nicola Lindgren
What makes a good tester? Scratch that. What makes a great tester? The answer lies in this 5-minute video by Nicola Lindgren.
You should read the above two curated links and dig into this afterward. It’s intertwined together in a way and will make more sense.
➜ Read all curated stuff on Software Testing.
⚙️ Automation
The Value of Maintainable Test Code by Ryan Craven
For the most part, you will be spending more time maintaining the test code than creating it. So, writing a good test code that’s easy to maintain should always be in your bucket. Take a look at this great piece written by Ryan Craven sharing some great tips on what you should consider writing your automation code.
Furthermore, Joe Colantonio has written about The 4 Destroyers of Any Automation Test Script after talking to over 500 test engineers in his podcast and from his years of experience.
Why Your Test Automation Framework Resembles a Coffee Machine by Nagendra
I liked the Coffee machine analogy by Nagendra showing parallels to the automation framework and how to avoid some of the mishaps that may occur.
Asserting JSON Schema for API Testing with Java and RestAssured by Darmawan H
In this article, Darmawan H takes an in-depth view of JSON Schema Structure, it’s various Data types and constraints and how to write Asserting JSON Schema with RestAssured.
In case you have missed previous issue (#101), I shared a link about JSON schema validation with Playwright.
Making ADB a little bit dynamic by Zarah Dominguez
When you are testing Android apps, ADB is your best buddy. In this piece, Zarah Dominguez documents how to build a shell script that smoothly handles multiple attached devices when using adb to test deep links.
Step-by-Step Guide to Screenshot Testing in Android! by Charfaoui Younes
I have shared lots of articles and tutorials about Screenshot Testing recently. This time, I have a nice video tutorial for you. Charfaoui Younes is teaching step-by-step how to implement screenshot testing in Android using the Shot library.
Furthermore, Thara Perera has written about How testers can obtain Mobile device logs for both Android and iOS.
Compose Interoperability in Espresso Tests by Joe Birch
If your Android app has gone through compose migration recently, you also might have come across an issue where Compose views might no longer work after porting from Android Views. In this article, Joe Birch shares a simple workaround for espresso tests interacting using UIAutomator.
Some common test scripts in Postman by Atul Kumar
Few tests remain the same across all your APIs i.e. validating the Response Code. This is a nice compilation by Atul Kumar sharing some usual test scripts that people often use when they write test cases.
➜ Read all curated stuff on Software Testing Automation.
🛡️ Security
Unpacking Android Security: Part 4 - Insecure Authentication by Ed Holloway-George
This series is not specifically about security testing but as testers, In order to test something you first have to know how it works. Right? Hopefully, this series by Ed Holloway-George talking about security in Android with OWASP Top 10 for Mobile will help you in this regard.
Also read the previous articles discussing 1. Improper Platform Usage, 2. Insecure Data Storage and 3. Insecure Communication.
➜ Read all curated stuff on Security Testing.
🌞 Accessibility
Xcode 15: Automated accessibility audits by Pol Piella
Do you know that with Xcode 15 you can automatically perform accessibility audits on your app? Wanna know how? Take a peek at this article by Pol Piella to learn more about it along with how to integrate these tests into your CI process.
➜ Read all curated stuff on Accessibility Testing.
🛠️ Resources & Tools
adb_deeplink.sh — This script allows running an adb command (deeplinks, specifically) dynamically - i.e. ask for which device to send a command to if there are multiple devices found.
TestPages App — Alan Richardson has updated his testing practice app including many exercise pages and micro pages suitable for practicing Web Automation, Exploratory Testing, and JavaScript Hacking.
90-Day Cybersecurity Study Plan — This repository created and maintained by Farhan Ashraf contains a 90-day cybersecurity study plan, along with resources and materials for learning various cybersecurity concepts and technologies. The plan is organized into daily tasks, covering topics such as Network+, Security+, Linux, Python, Traffic Analysis, Git, ELK, AWS, Azure, and Hacking.
📝 List of Software Testers
It's hard to find good articles, podcasts and the latest news on Software Testing. Even hard to find people who create them. Are you also looking for amazing software testers to follow or read their content? Check out this page dedicated to software testers.
Do you also create content around Software Testing? Submit yours here and I will add it to the list.
🎁 Bonus Content
📌 OTHER INTERESTING STUFF
- Anything But Tech Debt
- Beyond Controls: The Power of Risk Scenarios
- Before you try to do something, make sure you can do nothing
⭐ LAST WEEK'S MOST READ
- Is It Time You Moved On from Quality Engineering? by Stuart Thomas
- The Definitive Guide to API Test Automation With Playwright: Part 9 - Validating JSON Schema by Butch Mayhew
- Elevating Test Quality Through Observability by Denis Peganov
😂 And Finally,
When you hear the words "Machine Learning" 🤣
Keep Smiling and have a fun week.
📨 Send Me Your Articles, Tutorials, Tools!
Wrote something? Send links via Direct Message on Twitter @thetestingkit (details here). If you have any suggestions for improvement or corrections, feel free to reply to this email.
Thanks to everyone for subscribing and reading!
Happy Testing!
Pritesh(@priteshusdadiya)
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