Quite often, it can be difficult to feel inspired. Almost every day, I know that I want to make something delicious for dinner, but I don’t know what that is; in these situations, I consult my favorite epicurean website or blog to garner yummy recipes. The same thing happens with software testing; being able to read about other testers’ experiences and methodologies can help to get our creative juices flowing, and give us the inspiration that we need to make our testing even better. Here are the main software testing resources that we love:
www.Qualitestgroup.com – Not to toot our own horn, but *honk, honk* – our resources are pretty comprehensive. With our white papers and our biweekly blog, we like to discuss both the technical and the not-so-technical sides of software testing. We stay abreast of current events, like ICD-10 testing and software testing disasters in the media, and report on the cutting-edge developments with tools and methodologies.
https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/ – Software Testing Help is a really interesting resource, as it contains a large repository of information, all written by one person! Vijay, the blog author, is a software tester, tech start-up entrepreneur AND a blogger – he’s a busy guy! Vijay is very adept at simplifying the principals of testing management, and addressing the “testing as a lifestyle” mentality.
https://www.stickyminds.com/ – StickyMinds is dedicated to improving software quality throughout the software development lifecycle. Written by contributing industry experts, StickyMinds covers topics ranging from agile testing to mobile and cloud computing and everything in between. You’ll also find blog postings, software testing jobs, Q&A and more.
https://www.ministryoftesting.com/ – I love Ministry of Testing. Everything about their website is “cute” – which is particularly pleasing, as I think that aesthetic appeal is crucial. Ministry of Testing sponsors Meetups, “Test Bash” (a software testing conference), and testing startups. Besides all this fun stuff, they also have blog articles from contributors.
https://blog.smartbear.com/ – SmartBear’s blog approaches software testing from a different point of view. SmartBear develops TestComplete, a test automation product that we use a lot for our testing projects. Therefore, their posts are more about the technical side of testing, about using scripts and keyword testing.
https://qahatesyou.com/wordpress/ – QA Hates You is a VERY different kind of resource from the rest of these. It’s more about the troubles that an average tester will encounter in a day, and the funny results! This is a good resource for those testers who just need to have a good laugh, and remember that other people encounter similar episodes in their career!