Everybody Tests

Success is a journey, not a destination. So stop running. As a tester, one of my most repeated routines includes the following: downloading a new build from our CI server uninstalling the build from my test devices (note the plural) launching the app for a specific set of tests or investigations.  This happens many times a day, each day, all year. This routine also has many variations based on whether I just want to clear app data and relaunch it, whether I have a different method to launch the app in mind (different starting activity, different intent extras, etc). On top of all of this, there are details about the build which are relevant to any resultant actions I take in our task/bug tracking suite such as build number, device information, etc. This kind of jumble is cumbersome and time-consuming to manage manually. The whole reason to manage all of that process and information is to maintain a consistent practice of reliable reproducible tests and rich environment an...

"I told you. I wake up every day, right here, right in Punxsutawney, and it's always February 2nd, and there's nothing I can do about it." ~ Phil Connors, Groundhog Day The life of a tester involves a lot of repetition. In even ideal environments where you can focus mainly on exploration (rather than rote, unthinking execution of endless, soul-crushing test case minutia) you will still find the need to repeat some of the same tasks many times. Some of those tasks are mechanical and serve an operational purpose (e.g. deploying a fresh environment in which to play). These you can script away to great effect (and I'll detail some of how I do that on mobile devices in a different post). Other tasks are more for communication such as generating detailed, informative bug reports. This is typically viewed as the bread and butter of a tester's life. Whether you see it that way or not, there is value in recognizing the structure of those reports and automating a...