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The Web Testing Handbook
The following report compares books using the SERCount Rating (base on the result count from the search engine).
Rating: 4.5/5 from 10 reviews Goes beyond interface testingMost complete book on web testing - best-of-breedOf the growing number of web testing books that are being published this is the most complete, and the only one that I've read that tightly aligns testing to the development life cycle. More importantly, this book addresses the realities of web development and testing, which are completely different from those of traditional systems. Some of the key areas in this book that make it so valuable are: (1) Addressing the plethora of web models (B2B, B2C, intranet, Internet, etc.), each of which presents developers and testers with unique challenges. (2) Showing the vast differences between testing traditional code, which is typically in the form of binaries, and web code, which is in the form of mark-up languages and scripts. An added wrinkle to web testing that is thoroughly covered here is graphics and font types. Traditional testing does not dwell much on these areas, but web testing demands that these software configuration items receive considerable attention during test cycles. (3) Covering every nuance of the one area that differs most from traditional testing compatibility. The authors thoroughly cover issues and factors here, which are important because for web systems in the Internet you have no control over client configurations. Other chapters in this book that those new to web testing need to carefully read include: navigation, user interaction and usability and accessibility. These are typically given little attention during test cycles of host-based and client/server systems, but are of paramount importance in web-testing. One topic, readability, in Chapter 6 underscores this fact. I especially liked the three chapters on performance, scalability, and reliability and availability. These are areas that are usually lightly addressed in most testing books, but are covered in a great deal of depth in this book. The chapter on post implementation was also particularly strong and emphasized the fact that web-based systems are, by their nature, dynamic from a configuration and change control point of view. This book is best-of-breed. It's not only a "must-read" for testing professionals,. It will also provide web system project managers and developers with a wealth of ideas related to their roles, as well as operations and support people who need to also understand the role they have in web system quality assurance. Testing plan alone worth the costThis book is about web testing in general, not just performance testing, and is a must have for the professional testing engineer. Chapters 7 and 8, on performance and scalability give a very good introduction to the subject, and include a great sample performance testing plan. Michael Czeiszperger | ||||||||||||||||||||
Recognizing that companies need to conduct evaluation as they develop their "next generation" web sites and applications, The authors have written an insightful introduction to the concepts and techniques for conducting various tests. The book starts with an introduction to web programming, servers, architecture, and all those something 2 something terms (Business to Business (B2B) and Market to Market (M2M) for example). To select and conduct appropriate tests requires an understanding the purpose of the application and the architecture that supports it.
The authors reference a study by Creative Good during the 1998 holiday season on 10 leading Web shopping sites. The study found that for every US$1 spent on advertising generated US$5 in additional review while US$1 spent on "customer experience" improvements yielded more than US$60 in additional review. What more motivation is needed to ensure your Web site is usable?
This handbook guides you through the web testing process. The book is easy to follow and avoids dry "theory" talk that you find in many technical books. How often have you read such a book and found yourself unable to apply it to real world situations? You'll find a handy checklist of test conditions along with URLs for further references associated with the section to help you apply the test concepts. You can take the relevant items from the checklists and create your test case templates. The authors took another step and created a companion Web site using an imaginary company as a case study and included downloadable sample business requirements and test plans associated with the case study.
Covering all of the possible bases, the book offers guidelines and checklists for conducting all kinds of testing that applies to web-based applications, from interface usability to server functionality. It also includes common software development scenarios and provides possible options for handling them. For example, a team may require everyone to work on the weekend to test the Web site's ability to handle a large number of users. However, it may not be the best way to go functionally and financially. The authors explain the reasoning and present available options.
While traditional software developers are probably most familiar with concepts like load testing (determining how much load a server can handle) and software testing (making sure that all of the functionality works), human factors professionals have touted the concept of usability testing as a way of determining how well a user might be able to navigate and use a web site or application. Jakob Nielsen has been one of the most vocal in this. The book provides a variety of methods for testing usability.
The book provides something for everyone in a software development shop including developers, testers, managers, and project managers. Testers get help on how and where to begin. Managers can benefit from the test strategies and planning. Companies new to testing and not knowing which tools and resources to use will want to review the book's unbiased discussion and resources of such tools. You won't feel overwhelmed by the resources because it's organized by sections, which helps you focus on current needs.
The book is well laid out and it's a fast read. It would be difficult to miss its concepts. This well-rounded book would be a boon to any software development team's library even if it were only one person playing all the parts.