Spark Ideas, Share Solutions and Solve Problems at the Most Energetic Gathering of Software Testers in Europe

The EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference is not only the biggest and longest-running conference in Europe… it’s also the best! This is 4 days of high-energy learning and fun, with 1000 delegates from 50 countries and 350+ companies.The programme offers a mix of intensive tutorials ideal for in-depth training, visionary keynotes, hands-on workshops and experience-based track sessions.

We  do our best every year to give our attendees maximum opportunity to improve as test professionals! We also have networking events to help you meet new friends, fortify your passion for software, and return to your office with valuable connections.

This is where you’ll evolve your testing, and improve technical knowledge and connections. Bring your team to EuroSTAR from all areas and disciplines of your company – QA engineers, test architects, scrum masters – and reap the benefits of doing it together!

Bonus: if you test together, you save together! Get 5 tickets for the price of 4.

Cover more sessions at a team to increase learning and share knowledge. There’s plenty of choice for every type of tester team, with keynote sessions, tutorials, workshops and track talks to choose from.

“I’ve made friends at EuroSTAR who are friends for life. The people you meet at conferences like this, you bond with them over discussions about our industries, our shared problems, our shared solutions. It’s just a wonderful thing to do. It’s so powerful to meet other people and understand that you’re not alone – and to find the answers to problems together. Every year I come I learn such a lot from other people. It’s just great. I can’t recommend it enough.”

One of my childhood superheroes was the Terminator. The machine sent from the future to save the future. I remember tears in my eyes when the T-800 was lowering himself to the melted metal. Do you remember what he said before he did it? What were the last words he said to John Connor?

The Terminator: I now know why you cry, but it is something I can never do.

Was the Terminator true AI? Yes, he was. Did he have limitations? Yes, he did. Could he do everything that a human could do? No, he couldn’t.
As you know AI doesn’t exist. Period. If any of the test automation tools out there claims that they have AI, they are simply lying. They might have smart algorithms, advanced object identification methods but they are only as good as the developers who wrote them. That is not Artificial Intelligence. That is Human Intelligence wrapped in nice algorithms. And like the T-800 it can have its flaws and cannot fully mimic a human user. If the true AI would in fact exist, then would there be a need for any test automation platform at all? If the true AI would exist wouldn’t it just upgrade the test automation tool itself to work faster, better, more reliable? That would be a true AI.

Smart algorithms allow to work faster, but…

The greatly advertised AI functionalities of your new testing tool are nothing else than algorithms which allow to automate the manual steps you would need to take. Imagine that each time you want to find an object you need to go through the whole html tree and see what the best way is to identify it. The smart algorithms will do it for you, they will be faster, but they will only follow a pattern or in other words – follow the identification methods that their inventor thought of. That means that there might be edge cases where you will still need to do some manual work as the “AI” didn’t consider your pattern/scenario. Either way they will increase your productivity, you just need to keep in mind that they will not do everything for you.

Use “Smart” where it matters

Consider the following scenario: you are manually executing a test case which checks the login functionality to your standalone software. You see the UserName and the Password field along with a Login button. So far so good. Now, imagine that instead of seeing the logo of your software you see a black image. You, as a human can interpret that as a bug. The automated test cases cannot, as it will only check the login functionality. You as a manual tester will report this bug, the automated test case will happily say that all is passed. As long as you won’t add a test case which will just check the logo each time you will never automatically find this bug. Bad, isn’t it? However, there is a way to solve this problem without having to implement dedicated automated test cases. Visual comparison. This is something that an algorithm can do better than a human. Look at the picture below.

If you have kids, you probably know the game of spot the differences. How many differences can you find? How much time would it take? I have found 15 and it really took me some time. I am sure there are quite a few more.

How does spotting the differences apply to automatic test cases? It’s quite easy. Imagine you have executed your test case for the very first time. During the execution you have collected screenshots after executing each single test step. Those pictures should be your reference point.
Each time you will execute your test cases, your test automation solution should compare the screens with the reference screenshots and automatically detect the differences.

What is the result of the test case?

The valid question to ask is – what should happen to the automated test case result? There is no simple answer to that question. Depending on your approach you can either fail the test case (when you don’t expect a single deviation) or just throw a warning on the result. In the end what matters is that the visual difference doesn’t come unnoticed and that you will always be able to identify that something has unexpectedly changed in your software.

At TestResults.io we are using the Human Factor to give our customers the option to easily spot the changes in their UI. If you want to learn more email us or contact us directly.

Bonus

Just that you see how the UI differences could be shown for the user, look at how an output of a Human Factor algorithm could look like in reality.

Did you spot all the differences? 🙂

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Wojciech Olchawa is a Product Manager and ISTQB certified Test Automation Engineer at progile, home of TestResults.io.

He worked as a SW Tester and Test Manager in various projects in the medical devices industry and airline sector. He applies his experience in software testing to shape TestResults.io and enable customers to benefit from high-class reliable Automated Testing.

Follow him on Linkedin where he likes to share his knowledge in videos or blog post.

 Test Results Resources

Empower your developers and users to integrate and deploy your APIs as swiftly as possible, with API documentation.

The Importance of API Documentation 

If you are serious about developing cutting edge APIs, you need to take your API documentation seriously. Just developing a cutting edge software application is not enough. You need to be able to communicate the benefits of your API; what it does, how it works and how to use it, and this must be done in a clear and effective manner. Documentation has a direct impact on the adoption, usage and success of your API. Documentation is an area where many developers and organisations struggle. In fact, many organisations actually find it much easier to develop complex code, than to create useful documentation to support their APIs.

 

What is API Documentation?

API documentation is an technical document, that contains clear instructions on how to effectively use and integrate with an API. It is a reference manual, containing all the information required to work with the API. When a user refers to the documentation, it should effectively communicate; how the API works, what it does and how to use it. However, traditionally organizations and developers allocated little to no time or resources for the creation of supporting documentation. In fact, it is often seen as an afterthought. The document should contain at least the following: Quick Start Guide, Examples, Functions, Parameters, Classes, Return types, Error Messages, Arguments and Formatting.  In essence, it is a blueprint for creating an API.

 

Who uses API Documentation?  

Your API documentation is an important reference, for internal & external developers. When creating API documentation you need to think of the audience.  The documentation will be consumed largely by developers, who think analytically, are precise and are actively trying to solve a complex problem with your API.  They are also time poor and working to a strict deadline.

 

What are Disadvantages of Inadequate API Documentation?

Failure to allocate adequate time and resources to the documentation of your API development will have severe consequences. Imagine the anarchy of trying to build a skyscraper, with a team of construction workers, without a detailed set of blueprints.  The lack of adequate API documentation, has resulted in major problems such as: increased cost of development and user frustration. For example, if a key member of a development  team leaves, the remaining team members should not be spending precious  time trying to figure out how the API functions and how to use it. Lack of documentation, also increases the amount  of time spent onboarding new team members, and results in users becoming frustrated and confused with your API. It is important to remember that if users find your API complicated and confusing they will look elsewhere for an alternative!

 

What are the Advantages of API Documentation?

API documentation will empower your developers and users to understand precisely how to use, test and deploy your API fast and effectively.  The goal of your documentation is to answer questions about your API clearly and precisely. It should enable teams to collaborate effectively when building API definitions, creating standards and reusing assets. Adequate documentation is the foundation for a good developer experience. It should communicate to the user, in a fast and effective manner. It is essential in reducing the learning curve for developers and enables them to build to a set of guidelines, improve team performance, while also reducing inaccuracies, delays and budget overruns.

 

What are the Tools Available for API Documentation?

Documentation has traditionally been written using regular content creation, maintenance tools and text editors. These methods are not effective or fit for purpose in today’s fast paced and competitive development environment. At SmartBear, we have been leading the way in creating innovative and industry leading tools to empower developers to create and share effective and impactive API documentation. SwaggerHub (https://swagger.io/tools/swaggerhub/)

SwaggerHub is our design and documentation platform which supports working with the OpenAPI specification at scale. SwaggerHub allows teams and organizations to collaborate on building API definitions, create standards and reusable assets to speed up the time it takes to define a new API and seamlessly integrate those definitions as part of a larger process.

SwaggerHub (https://swagger.io/tools/swaggerhub/) acts as a single source of truth for multiple teams across development, testing and operations. Regardless of how an API definition is being used – to write code against, validate an existing service or configure something like an API gateway – having a single location that any of these teams will have to look back on saves time, energy, and unnecessary confusion.

 

Developer Need API Documentation for Success 

In closing, it is important to remember that development teams, need to create detailed API documentation to support their APIs. API documentation enables developers and users, to  share, integrate and deploy APIs as swiftly as possible. For more information please visit www.SmartBear.com (Link: https://smartbear.com/)

 

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Patrick is a marketing specialist at SmartBear, with experience in online services and ecommerce. SmartBear empowers developers and testers to create quality software by using innovative tools to build, test and monitor APIs. Over 6 million software professionals, and thousands of companies across the globe are using SmartBear tools to build, test, virtualize and monitor their software applications.

 

Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, including the beautiful Prague Castle, the stunning Old Town Square, the intricate Astronomical Clock and much more. It is a one of a kind city and the EuroSTAR team are more than excited to host our annual conference in the capital of the Czech republic.

In one of our previous articles we mentioned the Top 5 Attractions in Prague which you can read here. There is so much to tell you about this fascinating city … did you know that Prague is also called the City of 100 Spires? This is based on a count by 19th century mathematician, Bernard Bolzano and today’s count has increased that to 500 as estimated by the Prague Information Service.

That’s right. we’re talking about the spiky structure on the top of a building, often a church tower, similar to a steep tented roof. Prague has got tons of them!

From cathedrals to churches, towers and other magnificent buildings topped with stunning spires, Prague amazes every visitor with its beauty. Almost undamaged by World War II, the city’s compact medieval centre remains a beautiful mixture of fabulous lanes, walled courtyards, cathedrals and countless church spires all in the shadow of her majestic 9th century castle that looks eastward as the sun sets behind her. Sadly, the modern world doesn’t create such architecture anymore, but you can always enjoy visiting Prague for your fix of medieval buildings.

The annual EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference will take place in the Prague Congress Centre this November. It is located just 4 stops on the metro from the Old Town, close to some of the most amazing attractions on the capital. Stroll down to the river or get a tram to Prague Castle which is only 30 minutes from the conference. You will also notice the building nearby, called  Saint Peter and Paul Basilica.

Too many spires for the day? Head down to see the Dancing House, a stunning building 30 minutes walk from the Congress Centre. Look out for Zofin Palance when you are there – this is where we will have our Gala Awards Dinner on Wednesday 13th November.

As you will be very busy learning and focusing your mind on the presentations during the conference, evening times can be spent walking down the streets of this amazing city. Prague, we are counting the days until we visit you in November!