Negative Testing in Software Testing

Ensuring application endurance through negative testing:

We often see that project teams focus on the happy path testing checking all the valid conditions and valid data input.  Positive testing determines that your application works as expected and it doesn’t consider the scenarios to handle unexpected data. Due to project timelines and similar constraints, teams skip the negative test scenarios.

What is negative testing?

• Type of testing that checks an application for unexpected data and input conditions

• It is also referred as error path testing or failure testing 

• It checks on unexpected data what will be the behavior of the application

Why negative testing?

• To prevent application from crashing due to invalid inputs 

• To improve the quality of the application

• To ensure that application can gracefully handle the unexpected or invalid data input by user.

• To validate an application against invalid data 

• It helps to ensure defect free application

• If negative testing is skipped, it might lead to product/service quality issues 

Examples of negative testing

• If a user enters letter in a numeric field like Mobile number then the correct behavior in this case would be to display a message as ”Incorrect data type, Please enter a number”

• Real time example: If a lift is designed in such a way that its capacity is of 8 persons weighing total of 400 kgs, what will be the behavior if the person and weight limit exceeds. Ideally it should give a warning signal  (This example refers to boundary value analysis technique)

How to write negative test cases:

• Consider designing a negative test case by selecting invalid input data or unexpected user behavior. Eg: If a email field is required and it should be in correct email format, then below 2 negative test scenarios will be considered.

• To skip the required email field and proceed with submitting the form

• To enter wrong email format and try to submit the form

Designing proper and precise negative test scenarios requires skill, foresight as a tester. All these skills come with experience.

Negative testing plays a very important role in high performance software development. It is a quality control practice that ensures complete test coverage in an application

Project teams should consider critical negative test scenarios for the smooth functioning of the applications and showcasing the application in which it gracefully handles all the invalid set of input data given to the system.

While testing an application thoroughly negative and positive testing both are equally important.

So why not focus on making our application defect free. Let us start..

Communication and Real time Incidents

So in the last few articles we generally focused on Business communication and tips for better communication. Today, let us take a real time scenario:

Rina just saw a email popping up in the mobile that her team had a client call to discuss the status of project and current hurdles in it. She was already late to wake up today and finally she somehow managed to reach office at 10 AM and the call was at 10.15 AM. She went to the conference room, and called all the team members who were there in office. She observed few of them did not turn up to office even at 10.15 am when the client call was about to start.

Call started: Offshore team started with greetings to client as: Hi Paul, this is Sameer, Hi Paul this is Raunak, Hi Paul....................... all this continued for next 5 minutes, all said Hi to Paul and Rina started with the open points that were to be discussed. Meanwhile all the rest of the folks were on mute. May be doing some stuff in their mobile phones or having tea. Paul interrupted and asked Rina about one of the issue which was not of her module and there was a pin drop silence. Paul asked again and then finally Rina waved to Sameer that its his module and he need to acknowledge to Paul's query.

Sameer finally started speaking which was like I will check it and get back to you stuff. Paul asked firmly to drop an email once Sameer has the analysis.

Rina felt that along with knowledge we all must have basic ethics in communication to respond to someone, to acknowledge on things, to check if we are attentive when its really important and most importantly when you are paid for it.

So would like all my followers to follow this, I am sure most of us follow this already but just a reminder to take care on these parameters.
Also to note that listening to somebody or being attentive is very important in communication.

Happy Learning!!

Non Verbal Communication

In the last few articles, we had an overview about Communication and its various types.

In this article we will deal with non verbal communication which plays a very important role in day to day life and especially when you are being interviewed:

Before proceeding with the actual terms, we all should know some interesting facts about few non verbal acts:😃

• Did you know that while in India or America a "fantastic" or an "ok" sign is demonstrated by forming a circle with your thumb and forefinger 👌, in Tunisia the same symbol means "I will kill you" and in Japan it means "money "?

• Keep your hands out of your pockets:You think that resting your hands in your pockets seems like a chill thing to do, but in some Asian cultures, like Korea and Japan, you'd make people flip the hell out. It's a sign of arrogance and is plain rude.

• Even nodding can trip you up: In some Eastern European countries like Bulgaria, nodding your head "yes" means "no,"whereas shaking your head "no" means "yes." Yes, it's confusing, no?

• In the United States, a red rose is a statement of love 💗, but being “in the red” means one has suffered economic losses, and “seeing red” means one is angry. 

I believe the three important parameters in non verbal communication are KOP

Kinesics: 

Kinesics is the interpretation of body motion communication such as facial expressions and gestures, nonverbal behavior related to movement of any part of the body or the body as a whole. The equivalent popular culture term is body language, a term Ray Birdwhistell, considered the founder of this area of study.

Oculesics:

Oculesics is one form of nonverbal communication, which is the transmission and reception of meaning between communicators without the use of words. It can include the environment around the communicators, the physical attributes or characteristics of the communicators, and the behavior of the communicators.

Paralinguistics:

Paralanguage is a component of meta-communication that may modify or nuance meaning, or convey emotion, such as prosody, pitch, volume, intonation etc. It is sometimes defined as relating to nonphonemic properties only. Paralanguage may be expressed consciously or unconsciously.

Reference for the above 3 terms: Wikipedia

English Improvement tricks

Expand your Vocabulary:

• Make some specific targets for a day. For example, make a target to learn 10 new simple English words in a day and try to memorize them at the end of the day.

• Play some word games in your free time that would add up in increasing your vocabulary.I found one game on play-store which is quite helpful to me.Yes the name is Words crush game.

 Engage yourself in conversations. Let us take a real time example.
In your day to day life , many times you need to call the customer care of various organizations for your day to day queries. In your learning phase make a habit to talk to the customer care agent in English and definitely you will gain confidence and also learn few new words from them. Isn't it a good idea?
Do let me know for sure if you have tried this one and your experience with the same

• Speak English at home/office/colleges with your closed ones:

Friends the most important thing is to talk in English however possible for oneself. Although it may be incorrect English, but do speak English with your closed ones at home/office or in your colleges.

Also do make a point to ask your listeners if they are interpreting you correctly as you want to make them interpret.

• Only words wont help, make phrases

As you learn words , also try to make phrases with the use of those new words which will help you to use those phrases/sentences in your day to day life. Here a computer or mobile phone with internet access will help you to correct your phrases with many online tools to correct the English sentences or phrases.

• Remember that Practice makes a man/woman perfect really works here:

Practice speaking English by standing in front of the mirror and recording your own talks in your mobile phone. After recording you own sentences, you can easily find out the mistakes and the voice modulation that you can built up to speak better in the next attempts.

• Last but not at all the least, Keep a diary of the running conversation with yourself

I have been doing these since many years and it really helps us to know ourselves and to express ourselves in English in a more precise way. If not a diary, surely you can write in any of the sticky notes or editors in your smart phones.

So now gear up yourselves and starting improving English. All the best!!

Sample Business Emails

Few sample emails for day to day business communication have been enlisted below:

Product Marketing email/ First email with Client regarding product

Subject: Introducing myself from ABC company

Hello XYZ,

Thank you for showing interest in our Product!! My name is ABC and I wanted to take a second to personally introduce myself and let you know that I will be your point of contact for this product

I would like to request a quick call (with yourself or the primary decision maker) to personally connect, better understand your goals and objectives, help you be more successful  and maximize your experience with us during your trial.

Please let me know when we can schedule a short call to discuss.
Let me hear your thoughts on this message.

Follow up email

Subject: Same as that of Previous email (Since this is a follow up on the previous email which has not been responded yet)

Hello XYZ,

Hope you are doing good!!

We understand that you had a busy schedule,Its been few weeks since we last communicated! Any updates for us?

It would we our pleasure to assist you further.

Schedule call with Client 

Subject: Invitation: ABC Agenda

Hello XYZ,

Greetings for the day!!

You are invited for a virtual meeting for the discussion on ABC Agenda:

Please find the meeting details as below:

Date: mm/dd/yyyy

Time: hh:mm

Webinar Link: "aaa.bbbb......."

Let us know in case of any issues.

Feedback Email

Subject: Your valuable feedback on ABC

Hello XYZ,

We appreciate your business and we are glad to have this opportunity of working with you. 

We would like to request your feedback and your experience working with us so far, which might have helped you directly or indirectly with fulfilling your business requirements. 

Looking forward for your positive response

Sick Leave Email

Subject: Request for leave

Hello XYZ,

I would like to apply leave from "mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy"as I am suffering from severe cold and cough.

I shall be highly obliged if you can permit me for the same.Thank you for taking it into consideration

Stay tuned on this blog for more free Sample Business emails in upcoming posts.

If you are looking for something else in business emails,please feel to contact me.

Precise Writing Skills

Written Communication/Writing Skills:

Written communication is basically the major type of communication.
It includes any type of message that makes use of the written word. It is the most important and the effective way of any mode of business communication.  

The examples of written communications generally used with clients or other businesses include:

• Email
• Internet websites
• Company catalogues
• Letters
• Quotations
• Proposals
• Postcards
• Contracts
• Advertisements
• Brochures
• Pamphlet

Skills Required:

The core skills required in professional writing are good communication, organized thought, a high standard of grammar and language, clarity and conciseness. Skills may be acquired through practise or formal learning. While many practitioners of professional writing do so as a vocation rather than as full-time employment, the element of "professionalism" is what defines professional writing. Such is the importance of professional writing in the modern world, many academic institutions offer courses up to degree level on the subject, with some tailored to specific professions such as social work.

Careers:

• Technical Writer
• Technical Author
• Communications Director
• Editor
• Communication Trainer
• Marketing Director
• Social Media Specialist/Coordinator
• Publications Specialist
• Business positions in Management and Training
• Creative Writing Consultant
• Creative Writing Instructor
• Novelist
• Legacy Writer (write people’s bios and family histories)
• Blogger 
• Freelance Short Fiction Writer

Business Communication - Oral Communication

Verbal Communication

Oral communication is simply communication through mouth. It includes individuals conversing with each other, be it direct conversation i.e face to face  or telephonic conversation. Speeches, presentations, discussions are all forms of oral communication. Oral communication is generally recommended when the communication matter is of temporary kind or where a direct interaction is required. Face to face communication (meetings, lectures, conferences, interviews, etc.) is  more important so as to build a rapport and trust.

Some of the main significance of Oral communication are highlighted below:

• There is a certain high level of understanding and transparency in verbal communication as it is interpersonal.
• There is flexibility for allowing changes in the decisions previously taken.
• The feedback is spontaneous in case of oral communication. Thus, decisions can be made quickly without any delay.
• Oral communication is not only time saving, but it also saves upon money and efforts.
• Oral communication is best in case of problem resolution. The conflicts, disputes and many issues/differences can be put to an end by talking them over.
• Oral communication is an essential for teamwork and group energy.
• Oral communication promotes a receptive and encouraging morale among organizational employees.
• Oral communication can be best used to transfer private and confidential information/matter.

However, we also have to note the following points on the second side of the coin:

• Relying only on oral communication is not as sufficient as business communication is formal and very organized along with the evidence required in today's era.
• Oral communication is less authentic than written communication as they are informal and not as organized as written communication is mostly documented.
• Oral communication is time-saving as far as daily interactions are concerned, but in case of meetings, long speeches consume lot of time and are unproductive at times.
• There may be misunderstandings as the information is not complete and may lack essentials in it.
• It requires attentiveness and great acceptance on part of the receivers/audience.
• Oral communication (such as speeches) is not frequently used as legal records except in investigation work.