Top-Selling Textbook "How to Become a QA Tester in 30 Days"

All-in-one Practical Course to help you learn QA/Testing and get a job

1. As our response to multiple requests from around the world, we decided to sell our famous textbook How to Become a QA Tester in 30 days as a separate package. We are confident that our textbook is the best practical tutorial ever written on software QA and testing and many of our students from all around the world can confess to it!

2. This textbook contains the whole practical course on QA and Testing (45 lessons each accompanied by Homework and Quiz) that we also sell as our video course.

3. The textbook is HUGE! It has 585 pages packed with practical materials, exercises, examples and more. The textbook is professionally printed by Amazon.

4. The textbook purchase includes forever free access to QA training software sharelane.com

5. The purpose of the textbook is to prepare people with non-technical backgrounds to learn QA, pass QA interview and successfully perform at their QA jobs in software companies.

6. We provide FREE shipping of the textbook to every country in the world.

7. When you'll buy the textbook you'll qualify for $150 discount for each video course package -- just email us.

8. Below you'll find Table of Contents, Introduction and 3 FREE Lessons (you can download PDFs).

9. Please, check your email after the purchase. We'll ask for your shipping address and they send you an update about delivery.

10. Customers from outside United States are responsible for customs payments if any.

11. Due to abuse from some customers, we do not accept returns. With that textbook you'll get a precious knowledge at the fraction of the cost. If you buy this textbook with good intentions you'll never get disappointed.


12. Email any of your questions to [email protected]



Table of contents


Introduction


WELCOME!

Why We Created This Course

Why This Course is Different

Who is the Primary Audience for This Course

Who Else Will Find This Course Useful and Interesting

A Note about Test Portal

Homework and Quiz

Glossary and Templates

Exam and Professional Certificate


Unit 1. Bugs Are Everywhere!


Lesson 1. What is a Bug


Quick Intro

3 Conditions of a Bug's Existence

The Gist оf Testing

Spec, Spec, Spec

Software Bugs and Spec Bugs

Other Sources of Expected Results

Why Do We Call Them "Bugs"?

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 2. The Purpose of Testing


Quick Intro

Why We Cannot Test 100% of Software

Testing and QA

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Unit 2. Test Cases and Test Suites


Lesson 3. Test Cases / Part 1


Quick Intro

Test Case Structure

Results of the Test Case Execution

Useful Attributes of the Test Case

Data-Driven Test Cases

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 4. Test Cases / Part 2


Maintainability of Test Cases

Тhe Number of Expected Results Inside One Test Case

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 5. Test Cases / Part 3


Bad Test Case Practices

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 6. Test Suites


Test Suites

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 7. Test Cases / Part 4


States of a Test Case

Тhe Importance of Creativity

3 Factors That Affect Test Cases

Checklists

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Unit 3. Software Development Life Cycle


Lesson 8. Idea


Quick Intro

Once upon a Time in California or How Startups Are Born

Who Generates Ideas About Software

Why We Should QA Every Stage of SDLC

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 9. Product Design / Part 1


Product Managers, MRD, PRD, BRD, Requirements

Essential Spec Attributes

7 Rules for Writing Solid Specs

Breaking Rule #1: Clarity of Details and Definitions

Breaking Rule #2: No Room for Misinterpretation

Breaking Rule #3: Absence of Internal/External Conflicts

Breaking Rule #4: Solid, Logical Structure

Breaking Rule #5: Completeness

Breaking Rule #6: Compliance with Laws

Breaking Rule #7: Compliance with Business Practices

Specs and Technical Instructions

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 10. Product Design / Part 2


3 Spec Statuses

Why We Need Spec Freeze

Dealing with Spec Misinterpretation

Examples

Mock-ups

Process Flowcharts

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 11. Coding / Part 1


Quick Intro

Architecture of a Web-based application

8 Main Reasons Why Bugs Appear in the Software Code

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 12. Coding / Part 2


10 Measures to Enhance Programming Practices

1. Good Hires

2. Friendly Environment

3. Code Inspections

4. Coding Standards

5. Realistic Schedules

6. Availability of Documentation

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 13. Coding / Part 3


7. Unit Testing

Quick Stop: a Concept of the Bug Cost

8. Smart Refactoring

9. Love Thy Employees. A Google Story

10. Business Philosophy

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 14. Coding / Part 4


Programming and Bug Fixing

3 Main Types of Software Bugs

Syntax Bugs

User Interface (UI) Bugs

Logical Bugs

UI or Logical Bug? Simple Question or Not?

Version Control for Test Cases

Test Case Review Meetings

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 15. Testing and Bug Fixes


Code Freeze

Remember This for the Rest of Your Testing Career

From Sanity Test to Certification Test

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 16. Release / Part 1


Quick Intro

Release Types

Differences Between Major and Minor Releases

Version Numbering

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 17. Release / Part 2


Quick Stop: DB Data and DB Schema

ShareLane Super Duper, Inc. The Beginning

ShareLane Architecture

Using Control Version System

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 18. Release / Part 3


Quick Stop: External and Internal IP address

Software Builds

Releasing v. 1.0 to Production

Release 2.0 Is Out. And It's a Disaster

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 19. Release / Part 4


Trunk and Branches in Version Control

Branch States

Production bug = Test Case

Postmortem for Bugs on Prod

Beta Release

Release Safety

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 20. The Big Picture of SDLC


Maintenance

The Big Picture Of The Cycle

Introduction to Agile and Scrum

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 21. The Software Testing Life Cycle


Quick Intro

Research

Test Planning

Test Execution

Test Education And Reality

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Unit 4. Types of Software Testing


Lesson 22. By Knowledge of the Internals


Quick Intro

Black Box Testing

White Box Testing

Quick Stop: Test Coverage

Grey Box Testing

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 23. By the Object of Testing


Functional Testing

UI Testing

Usability Testing

Localization Testing

Load/Performance Testing

Security Testing

Compatibility Testing

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 24. By Degree of Isolation


Quick Intro

Component Testing

Integration Testing

System (End-to-End) Testing

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 25. More Types of Testing


By Positivity of Test Scenarios

By Time Of Test Execution

By Degree Of Automation

By Preparedness

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Unit 5. Bug Tracking


Lesson 26. Bug Tracking System / Part 1


Quick Intro

The purpose of Bug Tracking System

List of BTS attributes

BTS Attributes: ID

BTS Attributes: Summary

BTS Attributes: Description

BTS Attributes: Attachment

BTS Attributes: Submitted By

BTS Attributes: Date

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 27. Bug Tracking System / Part 2


BTS Attributes: Assigned To

BTS Attributes: Assigned By

BTS Attributes: Verifier

BTS Attributes: Component

BTS Attributes: Found On

BTS Attributes: Version

BTS Attributes: Build

BTS Attributes: DB

BTS Attributes: Comments

BTS Attributes: Severity

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 28. Bug Tracking System / Part 3


BTS Attributes: Priority

BTS Attributes: Also Notify

BTS Attributes: Change History

BTS Attributes: Type

BTS Attributes: Status

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 29. Bug Tracking System / Part 4


BTS Attributes: Resolution

Resolution: Reported

Resolution: Assigned

Resolution: Fix in Progress

Resolution: Fixed

Resolution: Fix is Verified

Resolution: Verification Failed

Resolution: Cannot Reproduce

Resolution: Duplicate

Resolution: Not a Bug

Resolution: 3rd Party Bug

Resolution: No Longer Applicable

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 30. Bug Tracking System / Part 5


Bug Tracking Procedure

HTML Elements: Description and Potential Bugs

Text

Link

Image

Linked image

Text box

Text area

Password input box

Drop-down menu

Radio button

Checkbox

Submit button

Reset button

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Unit 6. Test Preps and Test Execution


Lesson 31. Test Preps


Quick Intro

The Tester's Mental Attitude

Intro To Special Skills In Bug Finding

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 32. Black Box Testing Techniques / Part 1


Dirty List – White List

Test Tables

Flowcharts

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 33. Black Box Testing Techniques / Part 2


Risk Analysis

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 34. Black Box Testing Techniques / Part 3


Equivalent Classes

Boundary Values

When You Start To Implement Testing Techniques

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 35. New Feature Testing


Quick Intro

Test Estimates

Entry and Exit Criteria

Test Plan

Aggressive Testing From Jason Fisher

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 36. Regression Testing


Quick Intro

How to Select Test Suites for Regression Testing

Resolving The Main Challenge of Regression Testing

When Regression Testing Stops

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 37. Test Automation / Part 1


Quick Intro

A Story About the Merciless Automator, Benny M.

WHAT to Automate Versus HOW to Automate

Helpers

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 38. Test Automation / Part 2


Scripts for component automation

Scripts for End-to-End Automation

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 39. Test Automation / Part 3


Essential Questions to Ask BEFORE Writing Test Automation

Designing and Writing Test Automation

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Unit 7. Job Hunting System


Lesson 40. Looking for First QA Job / Part 1


Why You Have a REAL Chance to Find a Job in Software Testing

Mental Tuning

Job Hunting Activities

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 41. How to Write Killer Resume


Quick Intro

6 Steps to Write Your First QA Resume

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 42. Looking for First QA Job / Part 2


Working with Recruiters

Launching Campaign for Self-Promotion

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 43. QA Interview Preps


Quick Intro

Do Your Homework

Involve Your Network

Use Company Software

Look GOOD and Have a GOOD Sleep

Phone Screening and Phone Interview

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 44. How to Pass QA Interview / Part 1


Arrive on Time

This is Just Business

Be Friendly and Considerate

If the Interviewer Wants to Talk, Let Him Talk

NEVER Speak Negatively

The Interviewer Is Analyzing You as a Potential Coworker

Honesty and Sincerity Win Hearts

Don't Get Upset or Angry

Never Cancel an Interview Until You Accept a Job Offer

Sometimes You Should Postpone Your Interview

Remember That an Interview Is a Dialog, Not an Interrogation

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz


Lesson 45. How to Pass QA Interview / Part 2


Use Professional Terms

Remember Your Mantra

Typical QA Interview Questions and Recommended Answers

Make a Speech at the End of Your Interview

Always Send a Thank-You Email

Dealing with Rejections

What Happens After the Interview

GOOD LUCK and GODSPEED!

Lesson Recap

Homework

Quiz

Quiz Cheat Sheet

Glossary

Templates and more

Index

Introduction

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.

But, in practice, there is.

- Yogi Berra

Welcome!

Dear student, welcome to How to Become a QA Tester in 30 Days !

Let us introduce ourselves.

We, Roman Savin and Ruslan Desyatnikov , are QA educators and professionals who bring you more than 40 years of combined experience in teaching and practicing QA.

We’ve been part of top software companies such as Citi, Chegg, Evernote, HSBC, and PayPal where we’ve learned the QA trade from different angles: manual testing, QA automation, building QA Departments from scratch, project test coordination, configuration and release management, process improvement, etc. Based on that experience we’ve taught QA to 1000s of students around the world!

More recently, we decided to create video course to recap our educational work and in front of you is the textbook for it.

This textbook contains all 45 lessons of the video course and you can use it for your QA education if you prefer text to video or when you want to review video materials in a text form.

Why We Created This Course

- To give you practical skills.

There are many books/courses/videos on software testing. The problem lies in the HUGE gap between reading/listening/watching about something and actuallybeing able to do that something.

Take kung fu, for example. Is it possible to become a kung fu master by simply reading/listening/watching about kicks and punches without kicking and punching?

The same is true with software testing: to become a solid tester requires a lot of hands-on experience , and you cannot get that experience without practicing.

This course gives you an opportunity to get that precious practical experience at your own pace without paying the thousands of dollars usually required for solid education in testing.

- To help you find your first job in software testing.

Our personal stories are similar: we both were poor immigrants who came to the U.S. for a better life. Neither of us had a Plan B (like crashing at parent’s apartment) if something didn’t work out . We had only one plan and option: to succeed . The situation required focused effort to obtain a job, and to do so we needed solid, targeted, practical skills in two areas:

1. How to test web-based software

2. How to make money as a software tester

That’s why this course consists of how-to lessons and practical exercises designed to help you learn:

> Software testing skills

> Job hunting skills

> Job keeping skills

Why This Course is Different

1. This course consists of video lessons – and this textbook contains the full text of them, but here is the thing: the material in these lessons is linked to an actual software project, ShareLane.com.

ShareLane is a test application that was created to:

> Illustrate the examples

> Enable you to interact with real software as you go through material

> Enable you to look into the software code so you can see the root causes of software bugs

> Enable you to view the contents of the database and log files so you can see the relationship between user activities and the Web site back end

> Enable you to use test automation and see how it was written.

> Enable you to file bugs into the bug tracking system.

When you see this sign: SL it means that you should interact with ShareLane software or use its materials. We strongly encourage you to practice and learn as much as possible using the resources you’ll find there.

2. This course is about action – there is NO DRY THEORY here. We are going to give you the methodologies, approaches, methods, solutions, suggestions, recommendations, ideas and brain positioning that have immediate practical application .

Under Brain Positioning, we explain the most vital fundamental concepts and attitudes regarding the subject.

We've also illustrated the materials with tons of practical examples and extra notes (we call them BTWs – by the way) - to help you comprehend and remember materials even better.

3. We’ll cover many topics that are not usually found in software testing tutorials. For example, you'll learn:

- a lot of technical aspects of software development : log files, version control, web architecture, nuances of coding, etc., etc.

- informal but important things , such as how to handle office politics.

- how to prepare for and successfully pass a QA interview .

Who is the Primary Audience for This Course

- Anyone who wants to get a job as a software tester and start exciting and rewarding career

- Black box testers who want to expand their knowledge and technical understanding

- UAT Testers who want to deepen their knowledge of black box and grey box testing methodology, and move to full time QA position.

Who Else Will Find This Course Useful and Interesting

- Anyone involved in software development

- Recruiters working with/for software companies

- Those who want to learn about the inner workings of software companies

A Note about Test Portal

Test Portal is a special site for our students. It’s the most important part of ShareLane. Test Portal gives you an opportunity to do a variety of things: use test automation, look into the database and software code, file bugs, and so on. The link to Test Portal is located at the bottom of the ShareLane pages.

Let’s agree that we will use the > (greater than) sign to separate the steps of a path when using Test Portal.

For example, Test Portal>DB>Data>users means that first you click the Test Portal link, next you find the DB section, then you click the Data link, and then you click the users link.

We encourage you to use Test Portal as much as possible! This is your real chance to learn software testing on an actual software project.

Homework and Quiz

Each lesson is concluded with practical homework and a quiz. Please, don’t neglect them!

Homework will help you with hands-on experience and the quiz will make you double check that you've learned things correctly!

At the end of the textbook you’ll find Quiz Cheat Sheet with answers to all quiz questions. These answers will give you extra info on the subject – so, go through quiz first and then check the answers!

Glossary and Templates

At the end of the textbook you’ll also find Glossary containing all professional terms from this course – it’s very useful to review them before the interview!

You can find Templates and examples of the documents mentioned in the course here: www.sharelane.com/templatestemplates оr under section Templates and more of the video course. Feel free to use them for your projects!

Exam and Professional Certificate

If you received this textbook as a part of our video course, make sure to take an exam and get professional QA certificate. Exam is not easy, but it’s so worth it!

You can take an exam unlimited number of times and once you score required number of points you’ll receive professional certificate that you can use to help you get employed.

...

We sure that How to Become a QA Tester in 30 Days will help you to get a job in Quality Assurance and Software Testing and make your life better!

Sincerely,

Roman Savin and Ruslan Desyatnikov.


Are you ready for exciting and rewarding journey?


Let’s GO!

Download Three Full Lessons


FREE download of PDF with Lesson 3

Test Cases / Part 1


FREE download of PDF with Lesson 14

Coding / Part 4


FREE download of PDF with Lesson 29

Bug Tracking System / Part 4




Primary Author


Roman Savin
Roman Savin

Roman Savin is Russian-American educator, QA professional and writer.


He was part of PayPal, Evernote, Rockmelt and Chegg where he experienced many aspects of QA trade. As individual contributor he performed black, grey and white box testing, QA automation, and tutoring on QA and Python. As a leader he built QA departments for several companies and led international teams.


As an educator he accepts only one measure of success — the ability of his students to find and keep a QA job.


His writing motto is “write to express, not to impress” and as a writer he cherishes usefulness, simplicity and structure. He is an author of the QA tutorials How to Become a Software Tester and Testing Dot Com.


Co-Author


Alex Zvolinskiy
Ruslan Desyatnikov

Ruslan Desyatnikov brings nearly 20 years of Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Process Improvement and Software Testing experience. He is responsible for growing QA Mentor as a trusted partner for software testing, independent verification and validation, and strategic consulting for client base around the world.

Ruslan graduated from Baruch College – City University of New York with a BBA in Computer Information Systems, and holds an MBA in Technology Management from Phoenix University of Arizona. He holds a number of Quality Assurance/Testing and Project Management certifications and is an active board member of multiple QA Organizations in the United States and Europe.

Ruslan's articles are published in many popular magazines such as CIOReview, Outsourcing Gazette, Tea-Time with Testers, Stickyminds, LinkedIn and multiple QA blogs.


Your Road to a QA Career Starts Here.

Do Not Delay Your Success!

Get started now!