Issue #166 : Software Testing Notes
How teams should think about quality
Hello there! 👋
Welcome to the 166th edition of Software Testing Notes, a weekly newsletter featuring must-read content on Software Testing. I hope this week has been good for you so far.
This week’s issue puts the spotlight on
How teams should think about quality.
Making automation more maintainable, from using test IDs over flaky AI locators
Modularising Pytest with plugins and debugging Playwright in Java.
WebSocket load testing in Node.js and profiling Android builds using Gradle tools.
and much more…
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📚 Testing
Exploring the Culture of Quality by Chris Armstrong
A truly effective quality strategy must align both the technical and cultural foundations of an organization.
Quality engineering is not just tools and processes, but the culture itself. As Chris Armstrong points out, by observing team dynamics, mapping quality ownership, and evaluating psychological safety, we can uncover how deeply quality is embedded in day-to-day operations.
Is the job market for testers over a century out of date? by Mike Harris CITP FBCS
This thoughtful piece by Mike Harris draws a parallel between today’s volatile job market for testers and the early 20th-century workforce, advocating for building careers around quality and software, even as titles and roles shift frequently.
Test Automation As You Go: Redefining The Definition Of Done For Quality Software by Louise Gibbs
Louise Gibbs challenges the view of test automation as a post-release task and argues for making it an essential part of each development ticket.
Why Test Engineers Should Understand Unit Test Coverage by Mariam Sargsyan
Should testers write unit tests? Mariam Sargsyan argues they shouldn’t in general, but they should understand what unit tests cover, so they can avoid duplicating logic in fragile and time-consuming UI tests.
🔍 Software Testing
⚙️ Automation
Pick Tests By Network Calls by Gleb Bahmutov
Can you pick which tests to run based on network calls? Gleb Bahmutov shares a clever new way by intercepting and logging API requests using cy.intercept, and then saving that data with a plugin. Now, you can filter and execute only the relevant test specs for a particular backend call.
Stop Overengineering: Why Test IDs Beat AI-Powered Locator Intelligence for UI Automation by Dheeraj Gambhir
There’s been a lot of buzz lately about how generative AI will magically fix flaky tests by adapting to changing UIs, but as Dheeraj Gambhir suggests that instead of relying on AI to "guess" what element your test should interact with, stable and predictable test IDs will let your tests work reliably from day one.
SOLID Principles for RestAssured Automation Framework in Java
Do you use SOLID principles when creating test automation framework? This article shows how applying tried-and-true object-oriented practices like SRP, OCP, and DIP can lead to modular, scalable test code that’s easier to maintain and extend as your API grows.
Testing DynamoDB with Cypress: Ensuring Data Integrity in Your Applications by Radu Popescu
Want to learn how to query and assert DynamoDB data directly within Cypress tests? Radu Popescu walks through configuring AWS credentials, setting up a custom Cypress command using the AWS SDK, and validating database writes post-UI interaction.
Modularising Pytest Framework With Plugins by Parag Kamble
Test suite can become a monolith over time as your test coverage grows. If you are using Pytest, Parag Kamble suggests to modularizing Pytest framework using dedicated plugins that would give each area of testing its own clean, maintainable package.
Debugging Playwright Tests in Java with Eclipse IDE : My Personal Experiment by Deep Shah
Using Playwright with in Java? Deep Shah highlights two simple but powerful techniques: page.pause() to pausing execution mid-test and PWDEBUG=1 for launching the built-in inspector automatically.
🔍 Test Automation
💨 Performance
Performance Testing for Real-Time Apps with TypeScript and Node.js by Berna Simsek
This post by Berna Simsek walksus through essential strategies like WebSocket load testing with Artillery, clustering for scalability in NodeJS, and optimizing async behavior with load tests.
Profile & Benchmark Android Builds by Nika Chapidze
Learn how to analyze and benchmark Android build performance. Nika Chapidze walks through everything from Android Studio's built-in Build Analyzer to deeper benchmarking tools like gradle-profiler, providing insights into build durations and task execution times.
Furthermore, watch this talk from Android Build Time, discussing how they optimize Android apps for performance.
🔍 Performance Testing
🛠️ Resources & Tools
jet-validators — A list of common TypeScript validator functions and some useful utilities to go with them.
JSON Validator — Copy and paste JSON into this simple online tool and it will validate and format the code, pointing out any errors.
SQL Noir — An interactive mystery-solving game to learn and brush up on your SQL syntax, where you crack cases by writing SQL queries.
📝 List of Software Testers
Do you create content around Software Testing ? Submit yours blog details here and I will add it to the list.
🎁 Bonus Content
📌 OTHER INTERESTING STUFF
⭐ LAST WEEK'S MOST READ
How to stand out as a QA : Building the personality and portfolio to outshine ! by Swathika Visagn
Fighting Flaky Tests: 10 Real-World Tips to Stabilize Your Automation by Tracy
Building and improving Page Objects, one step at a time by Bas Dijkstra
😂 And Finally,
Enterprise App Testing in a nutshell 🤣
📨 Send Me Your Articles, Tutorials, Tools!
Wrote something? Send links via Direct Message on Twitter @thetestingkit (details here). If you have any suggestions for improvement or corrections, feel free to reply to this email.
Thanks to everyone for subscribing and reading!
Happy Testing!
Pritesh(@priteshusdadiya)