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🛣️ Software Testing Roadmap

1. Core Concepts

  • What is Software Testing? Definition, goals (finding defects, ensuring quality, reducing risk), and its importance in software development.
  • SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle): Understanding how testing integrates at various stages (requirements, design, coding, etc.).
  • Verification vs. Validation: Key differences and goals.
  • Test Levels: Unit testing, integration testing, system testing, acceptance testing – their purpose and focus at different stages.
  • Test Types:
    • Functional Testing: Black-box, white-box, grey-box techniques.
    • Non-Functional Testing: Performance, security, usability, compatibility, etc.

2. Testing Methodologies

  • Waterfall: Traditional, sequential model.
  • Agile: Iterative, flexible; how testing adapts.
  • DevOps: Emphasizing testing integration in continuous development cycles.

3. Test Planning and Design

  • Test Strategy: High-level approach, types of testing, and risk management.
  • Test Plan: Detailed document outlining scope, schedule, resources.
  • Test Cases:
    • Creating effective test cases covering requirements and scenarios.
    • Positive and negative test cases.
  • Black-Box Testing Techniques (Here's where we delve deeper):
    • Equivalence Partitioning: Dividing the input domain into valid and invalid classes.
    • Boundary Value Analysis: Testing edge cases (minimum, maximum values, etc.) at input boundaries.
    • Decision Table Testing: Structured approach combining inputs, conditions, and expected outputs.
    • State Transition Testing: Testing system behavior across different states and state transitions.
    • Error Guessing: Predicting and testing for potential errors based on experience.
    • Use Case Testing: Deriving test cases from user workflows and use cases.

4. Test Execution

  • Manual Testing: Executing test cases step-by-step without automation.
  • Test Environments: Setting up appropriate environments for testing (dev, staging, production).
  • Bug Reporting: Clear, concise defect logging with relevant details.
  • Bug Tracking Tools: Jira, Bugzilla, etc.

5. Test Automation

  • Introduction to Automation: Benefits, trade-offs, when to automate.
  • Test Automation Tools: Selenium, Appium, Cypress, etc. - choosing the right fit.
  • Scripting: Languages like Python or Java for automating test cases.
  • Test Frameworks: xUnit (JUnit, TestNG), etc., for structure and reporting.

6. Non-Functional Testing

  • Performance Testing: Load, stress, volume – tools like JMeter, LoadRunner.
  • Security Testing: Identifying vulnerabilities (OWASP Top 10), penetration testing approaches.
  • Usability Testing: User focus, ensuring software is easy to use.

7. Beyond Fundamentals

  • Risk-Based Testing: Prioritizing based on the likelihood and impact of failures.
  • Mobile App Testing: Specific challenges and considerations.
  • API Testing: Testing the 'glue' between systems (Postman, REST Assured)

Resources

  • Courses: Udemy, Coursera, EdX have many testing-specific courses.
  • Certifications: ISTQB Foundation Level for established best practices.
  • Books:
    • "The Art of Software Testing"
    • "Software Testing: A Craftsman's Approach"