Software testing FAQ - No. 24

Has a testing prank ever featured in top 10 list of pranks?

That question was sent in by former top prankster Sarah Kennedy. Perhaps she is researching a list of great pranks and has noticed the omission of anything great about software testing. I do not know why she wants to know this. But I do know the answer is yes.

In x-plorar blogger blog there is a post on the Top 25 Web Hoaxes and Pranks and there at number 3 is:

"Bill Gates Money Giveaway (1997)

No, it's true. I thought it was a scam, but it happened to a buddy of mine. It seems that Microsoft is testing some new program for tracing e-mail, and the company needs volunteers to help try the thing out. He forwarded me an e-mail that he received from Microsoft--and get this, from Bill Gates himself! Two weeks later, as a reward for participating, my pal received a check for thousands of dollars! Sure he did. Another version of this hoax claims that AOL's tracking service is offering a cash reward. Tell you what--when you get your check, send me 10 percent as a finder's fee, okay?"

There may be even better pranks than this that involve testing. Frankly I doubt it. If you think you can better this one, please let us know.

UAT - user acceptance testing

Top five for searching "UAT user acceptance testing" on Google.co.uk

Performance Surveys Ltd Ltd - User Acceptance Testing (UAT) Submit for testing
Performance Surveys Ltd, we ensure your website or application fulfills the needs of its target ... User Acceptance Testing (UAT) UAT is a process that validates an application fulfils ...
www.performancesurveys.co.uk/user-acceptance-testing.asp
· Cached page

User Acceptance Testing training course (UAT) for operational users
The two day User Acceptance Testing training course which gives practical skills to business users ... Two Day UAT Course. This two day User Acceptance Testing course will give core testing skills to ...
www.coleyconsulting.co.uk/accept.htm
· Cached page

User Acceptance Testing advice and courses
This is where User Acceptance Testing (UAT) enables you to check if the system is fit for purpose. UAT Steps. Steps you should take to ensure this will be the case include:
www.coleyconsulting.co.uk
· Cached page

User acceptance testing
UAT (User Acceptance Testing) is a formal testing conducted to enable a user or other authorised ... UAT: User Acceptance Testing Definition Formal testing conducted to enable a user or other ...
http://www.acutest.co.uk/acutest/user-acceptance-testing
· Cached page

user acceptance testing from FOLDOC
UAT ==> user acceptance testing <> The type of testing where monitored users determine whether a system meets all their requirements, and will support the business for which it was designed.
foldoc.org/?UAT
· Cached page

Load performance testing

Top five results from searching for load performance testing in MSN

Software testing services - Acutest
These include performance and load testing, user acceptance testing, business process assurance, end-to-end testing and system migration testing. Also provides software testing training courses for an ...
www.acutest.co.uk

Load performance testing
Performance testing service for software applications, IT systems and network infrastructure (including load and stress testing, scalability and volume testing, capacity planning, performance test ...
www.acutest.co.uk/performance-testing.html

+Show more results from www.acutest.co.uk

Facilita: Load Testing and Performance Testing Tools
A suite of low footprint load testing tools for web, .NET and Java applications as well as for networks, databases and custom C, C++, .NET and Java APIs.
www.facilita.co.uk

Load Testing and Performance Testing Tools from Facilita Software ...
forecast test tool for load, performance ans stress testing of web servers, web services ... Introduction. forecast tests IT systems by simulating the activities of multiple users or clients.
www.facilita.co.uk/main.cgi?section=products& page=forecast

+Show more results from www.facilita.co.uk

The Load And Performance Testing Tools We use
Performance Testing Tools ... Tool Vendor. Description. Mercury LoadRunner - prevents costly performance problems in production by ...
www.sigterm.co.uk/index.php?page= performance_testing_tools.php

Is DR testing (Disaster Recovery testing) introducing new risks?

If you are interested in disaster recovery testing then you should take a look at this article: Is disaster recovery testing putting your company at risk? So a new angle - testing introducing risk rather than merely gaining a better understanding of it or helping reduce it. Increasing risk! Savour that for moment.

The nub of the article is that during DR testing some organisations break the date replication process and this action introduces a new risk of lengthy data recovery delays if a critical problem strikes whilst the testing is running. And don't forget possibly breaching compliance. And don't forget compliance:

"...compliance legislation will remain a serious issue for companies for the foreseeable future. Regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Government Securities Act Regulation 17, FDA 21 CFR Part 11 and HIPAA, increase compliance exposure for companies, and demand more aggressive measures to lower risk. In the case of a legal discovery, where companies may be required to submit company data as evidence, it is imperative that this information be factual, up-to-date, and compliant. If data is unavailable for several hours or days during DR testing, then companies will not be able to produce the requested information in the time required and may put your company at further risk for non compliance. "

But no need to despair. The article not only raises awareness on this issue but it helps identify how disaster recovery testing can run without introducing these risks. It concludes:

"Physical tape backup is no longer a viable option in an era of alarming security and compliance breaches. Peer-to-peer data vaulting is an improvement, yet businesses must have a way to ensure continuous data replication, even during disaster recovery testing. Taking a point-in-time snapshot of mainframe systems data alleviates these security and compliance exposures, as well as speeding up recovery time and giving organizations a powerful means to avoid system interruptions and possible costly downtime. "