A Novice's Tale: Learning the Ropes of Game Testing

As I delve into the world of game testing, I'm discovering the many layers that make this field so intriguing. My journey has led me to test games on platforms like the Nintendo Switch and Steam, each offering unique challenges and learning opportunities. A significant part of my testing experience has been with the charming world of "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" on the Nintendo Switch. The game's delightful characters and immersive environment have provided a rich backdrop for honing my testing skills.

Game testing is far from just leisurely play; it's a critical examination of a game's every aspect to ensure a smooth player experience. For example, during my sessions with "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," I encountered a peculiar issue where my character began to move sluggishly without any input from the controller. This odd behaviour led me to investigate the controller's calibration, revealing it was off-center at rest—a potential compatibility issue between the game and the hardware. Such findings highlight the importance of thorough testing to catch issues that could hinder gameplay enjoyment.

Courtesy: Nintendo

The game testing process is methodical, beginning with drafting a test blueprint. This blueprint considers recent game changes, new supported environments or hardware, potential test scenarios, and any feature modifications. Following the blueprint, the test strategy is executed, which includes setting up the testing environment, identifying and documenting issues, verifying fixes, and ensuring comprehensive coverage through repeated testing. Afterward, the test plan is revisited to confirm that the fixes hold up to our quality standards.

Exploratory testing is a dynamic part of game testing that relies on discovery and intuition rather than a set script. While testing "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," I often relied on my gaming instincts to guide me through the game's vibrant world, uncovering issues that structured testing might miss.

In addition to exploratory testing, other essential testing types ensure a game's quality, such as functionality testing, compatibility testing, progression testing, and regression testing. Each plays a vital role in the game testing process.

Game testing is a complex field that blends technical skills with an understanding of the player experience. It's a challenging yet rewarding endeavour that significantly contributes to creating games that resonate with players worldwide. As I continue my journey in game testing, I eagerly anticipate the learning experiences ahead and the chance to contribute to crafting enjoyable and engaging gaming experiences.

Discovering the Power of Priorities: Lessons from "Juliet's School of Possibilities"

In Laura Vanderkam's book, "Juliet's School of Possibilities," we follow the story of Riley, a young professional struggling to balance her work and personal life. The book imparts valuable lessons about the power of priorities and effective time management. Here are some key takeaways from this insightful book, along with examples from everyday life:

• The Importance of Priorities: The book emphasizes the significance of setting clear priorities. For example, by recognizing that spending quality time with family is a top priority, individuals can allocate their time and energy accordingly, leading to a more fulfilling and balanced life.
• The Power of Saying No: Riley learns that saying no to certain tasks or requests can be empowering. For instance, by declining opportunities that don't align with her career goals, she frees up time for the things that truly matter, such as working on meaningful projects or spending time with loved ones.
• The Myth of Multitasking: The book debunks the myth that multitasking is an effective way to manage time. Instead, Riley discovers that focusing on one task at a time, such as completing a work project without distractions, is a more efficient use of her time and energy.
• The Value of Self-Reflection: Throughout the story, Riley engages in self-reflection, which helps her identify her priorities and make better decisions. For example, by reflecting on her career and personal goals, she gains clarity and perspective, allowing her to make choices that align with her values.
• The Art of Delegation: Riley learns that she doesn't have to do everything herself. By delegating tasks to others, she frees up time to focus on her most important priorities, such as leading a team or working on high-impact projects.
• The Importance of Boundaries: Riley discovers that setting boundaries is crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. For instance, by establishing clear boundaries around work hours and personal time, she is able to protect her energy for the things that matter most.
• The Power of Small Changes: The book demonstrates that small changes can have a big impact on our lives. For example, by making small adjustments to her daily routine, such as incorporating short breaks to recharge during the workday, Riley is able to create more time for her priorities.
• The Value of Self-Care: The book highlights the importance of self-care, reminding us that taking care of ourselves is necessary for maintaining our well-being and productivity. For instance, by prioritizing activities that promote physical and mental health, individuals can perform better in all areas of their lives.

In conclusion, "Juliet's School of Possibilities" offers valuable lessons about the power of priorities and time management. By applying these lessons to our own lives, we can create more time and energy for the things that truly matter, leading to a more fulfilling and balanced existence.

This book is a thought-provoking and engaging read that can help readers rethink their approach to time, priorities, and possibilities

My Journey as a Test Lead: Navigating the Exciting World of Team Management

Hey there, fellow testers and aspiring leaders! 👋 I'm excited to share my personal experience as a Test Lead, guiding teams of various sizes through the thrilling world of software testing. Let's dive into my journey, including the mistakes I've made and the lessons I've learned along the way.

When I first stepped into the role of a Test Lead, I was both excited and nervous. I knew that leading a team of testers meant more than just managing tasks and schedules. It was about fostering a collaborative environment, nurturing talent, and driving the team towards success. As I began my journey, I quickly realized that communication was the key to everything. However, I made a mistake by not being as communicative as I should have been. I learned that regular one-on-one meetings with each team member were crucial to understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations. This not only helped me assign tasks more effectively but also built trust and rapport within the team.

One of the most challenging aspects of being a Test Lead was balancing the needs of the team with the demands of the project. I made a mistake by being too bossy and not delegating tasks effectively. I learned to prioritize tasks and delegate responsibilities based on the team's skill sets and workload. This not only helped us meet our deadlines but also ensured that each team member felt valued and engaged.

Another lesson I learned was the importance of continuous learning. I encouraged my team to attend workshops, conferences, and training sessions to stay updated with the latest trends and technologies. However, I made a mistake by not recognizing their achievements enough. I learned to celebrate their accomplishments and provide them with opportunities to showcase their talents.

As a Test Lead, I also had to learn to be adaptable and flexible. I quickly realized that no two projects were the same, and I had to be prepared to adjust my leadership style accordingly. I made a mistake by not being open to feedback and not learning from my own failures. I learned to listen to my team's feedback and adapt my approach to better suit their needs.

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a Test Lead was witnessing the growth and success of my team members. I took pride in seeing them take on new challenges, develop new skills, and achieve their goals. I made a mistake by not recognizing their hard work and dedication enough. I learned to acknowledge their efforts and reward them with awards and recognition.

In conclusion, leading a team of testers has been an exciting and fulfilling journey. I've learned the importance of communication, prioritization, continuous learning, adaptability, and fostering a culture of growth and innovation. I've also learned that being a Test Lead is not just about managing tasks and schedules, but about nurturing talent, building trust, and driving the team towards success. I've made my fair share of mistakes, but I've learned from them and grown as a leader. I hope my personal experience as a Test Lead has provided you with some insights and inspiration. Remember, leading a team is a journey, and every step along the way is an opportunity to learn, grow, and make a difference. Happy testing, and keep striving for excellence!

🌟Best,
Your Test Lead Friend 😊

Pointers for Recognizing and Rewarding Team Achievements:

• Celebrate milestones and achievements with the team.
• Offer public recognition and praise for a job well done.
• Provide bonuses, promotions, or other financial incentives for outstanding performance.
• Offer additional training or development opportunities for team members who excel.
• Encourage team members to nominate their peers for awards or recognition.

Recognizing and rewarding your team's achievements not only boosts morale but also encourages them to continue striving for excellence. 🏆

TestEd’2012 – Rise of Thinking Indian Tester

^WOW!!!

^{That was an amazing experience attending the TestEd’2012, one of the best conference of Software Testing I have attended ever. It was like a multi-starrer blockbuster movie and stars of the movie were James Bach, Rahul Verma, Pradeep Soundararajan, Justin Hunter, Manoj Kumar, Ramit Manohar and 350 testers which came from different part of country. It was an awesome feeling watching them all at one place, having discussion with them and knowing their testing experience.}

^{The conference started with talk of none other than James Bach. His topic was “The Rise of Indian Thinking Tester”. He talked about Indian Testers, Indian Culture, Indian Literature and Testing. It seemed he knows Indian Literature like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagwat Gita, Nyaya Sutra etc. more than anyone else available under the roof. We, the Indians, know most of the stories and their morals in the above mentioned books but most of us never tried to associate them with Software Testing. He did. No wonder he is an Expert.}

^{What a start of the day!!!}

^{Next was Rahul Verma. He came with an interesting Topic – The Death of passed Test Case. I don’t have words for him. He was out of the world. He talked about Test vs. Check and explained why checking also need brain. He came with quite interesting examples to support his claim. The other part of his talk was about Interface Constraint where he made sure to nail down the coffin of passed test case. He showed how a passed testcase can be failed in real. This one was my favourite of the day.}

^{If James and Rahul had set the stage, Pradeep kept it in on fire. He is a man to watch – The BugFu Panda. He comes with another interesting topic of “Test Coverage Fist & Risk Information Fist”. This was his story of becoming Bruce Lee of mental martial art of testing with help of his Ip Man James Bach. Pradeep showcased sample reports and testing strategy mind map and explained the factors which make Moolya one of the best software testing companies around the world. In James words, “It is paradise for testers” and I second it.}

^{People were still trying to catch their breaths which they couldn’t do as Justin Hunter was on the stage - the man behind the Hexawise. OMG!!! Many testers from the audience were using Hexawise for Pairwise and Combinatorial Testing and its creator was in front of them. I must say that he was one of the most humbled men I ever saw. He explained the features of Hexawise and proved how data coverage from seven billion test cases can be completed within 35 test cases using Hexawise. He has given a weapon to testers to make their job easy. Thanks Justin.}

^{The next talk was from a different kind of person whom you can’t expect in a Testing conference. It was from a developer – Manoj Kumar. His topic was “Organized Chaos: Testing in a Continuous Deployment setup”. He talked about all the chaos during the release and pointed out that a successful release is not only developer’s job; it’s not only tester’s job; it’s a collective job of everybody involved in the team.}

^{In the end, Ramit Manohar came on the stage with a bad news and a very bad news. The bad news was he was replacement speaker. Very bad news was he doesn’t have anything to speak but people didn’t mind him at all on stage. He made the audience laugh with his humorous, witty and sensible testing ideas. The great thing about his talk was that he picked some statements from the earlier talks and shared his idea on them. He was amazing in his quick short talk.}

^{This was all about the talks of the day which have given me lot of matters to think but TestEd was not about only talks. It was about networking with the other testers during the networking breaks and lunch break. It was about the freedom of the testers. It was a festival of the Testers.}

^{Awaiting TestEd’2013 eagerly.}

^{Update on 10/12/2012 : Thanks to Rahul Verma for pointing out a typo mistake which was changing  the whole meaning of a sentence to  negative.}

Rapid Software Testing: Workshop by James Bach – Day 2

And the day started where it stopped yesterday – With a mind boggling exercise for testers. I am not supposed to discuss about various exercises conducted during the two days in workshop but believe me those are the best food for testers hungry for challenges. They keep the audience engaged.

James discussed about Heuristics, Oracles, Exploratory Testing, Scripted Testing and much more. Testers attending the session were too curious to learn that they kept James busy in discussion – even at the lunch time. The best thing I learnt in two days session that one can take testing lessons from anything engaged with. You don’t require books always. Books can teach you testing skills, real world can help you enrich your skills and make you a better tester.

I met many testers in the workshop from different cities; it was good experience to know them and their work nature. There are two stars of this workshop - first is James Bach of course and other one is Ramit Manohar, a tester from Delhi and whom I met first time. This guy really challenged James many times in two days and set the record of solving the problem given by him within 10 minutes which generally takes 45 minutes. Kudos to Ramit.

At the end of the day, I got an opportunity to discuss with James where I clarified my doubts of previous day about Sympathetic Testing. James agreed that it can be considered as a form of Sanity Testing, more precisely, superset of Sanity Testing and Sanity Testing can be followed by Sympathetic Testing in regular practice. Both of them complement each other.

Overall, it was a great learning experience for me and everybody who attended the workshop and as James Bach was there, I didn’t forget to take his autograph on my copy of “Lesson Learned in Software Testing.”

Rapid Software Testing: Workshop by James Bach – Day 1

This was not an ordinary day, at least for me. You don’t get an opportunity daily to attend a workshop on Rapid Software Testing by James Bach. It’s like learning significance of zero from Aryabhatt, the famous mathematician who invented zero. Thanks to Moolya for providing an opportunity to attend the workshop.

I couldn’t sleep properly previous night and keep checking the time after each 20-30 minutes and finally woke up at 5 AM in the morning which is very rare for me. By the time I reached at the venue, it was 7:40 AM and few Moolyavans were already there. At sharp 9 AM the workshop was started and no prize for guessing that it started with thought provoking exercises in James Bach style. Truly said, the exercises picked by James for testers are heart of the workshop. I loved every single exercise and learned what I need to work on to become a credible tester.

There were many things taught by James in workshop and one of them is Sympathetic Testing which took my attention– An approach to test the application to get familiar with it, appreciating the efforts of the developer and ignoring the bugs temporarily unless something is really serious before approaching to real testing. In evening, when I was recalling the things, I realized that I was doing Sympathetic testing for every project without knowing the name. Although, my approach differs to some extent what explained by James. When I get a new application to test I talk to developer and start a tour to learn the application. During the application tour, I note down all probable bugs on my notepad to replicate them later. If I don’t find any blocker I give my feedback to developer about the application without mentioning any bugs. Once I learn application, I start aggressive form of testing. While analysing Sympathetic testing I concluded that it is special form of Sanity Testing. To confirm I must need to talk to James.

Overall, the day was amazing and full of learning. Now, I am desperately waiting for second day of the workshop.

Thanks James Bach

Thanks Moolya.