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Software testing plays a vital role in enhancing the quality of any product. Therefore, enhancing the productivity of software testing is very important to ensure the smooth running of the processes. However, there are some traps that can slow down the productivity of the software testing process.

Keeping this scenario in mind, we are identifying the top five software testing traps and ways to overcome them.

1. Tester’s Block

It is a phenomenon in which testers perhaps lose the ability to detect new bugs and defects in software being tested.

Tips to Get Out of This Situation

• They must take advantage of pair testing. Pair testing is a situation where testers work in pairs to test the software. This Means if ideas stop coming to one person the other one can help.
• Testers can brainstorm regarding a bug, possible functions, and fields where this bug can be apparent. This is also known as Brute Cause Analysis.
• Testers should try to think something that is very different, instead of thinking about the same app, function or feature that is in front of you.

2. Testing Without Setting Any Proper Objective

Sometimes testers set meetings where a someone from the dev team and manager talks regarding an enhanced feature that requires testing. Everybody in the meeting room appears to be getting it and only you are the one who has no idea. In this situation, the best possible thing is to agree with everyone as if you are fully getting along. However, this will cause problems in the later stages.

Tips to Get Out of This Situation

• It is important for you to ask people relevant questions during meetings. It will prevent you from getting trapped in the situation mentioned above.
• You must brainstorm regarding the upcoming product, app or feature that requires testing. Then discuss with your testing team all possible testing ideas, plans, and strategies for this test project by collecting a list of ideas that come impulsively by teammates.
• When you begin working on the latest technology or a new product or even a tool find at least some level of available information regarding a similar situation to assist you to get started.

3. Missing Out on Things Right in Front of You

These sorts of situations arise because you missed something which is very obvious and so basic and you were actually busy following the test cases to look for things like these.

Tips to Get Out of This Situation

• When encountering such a situation, you must immediately stop blindly following the Test Matrix and Test Case.
• You are also required to change the focal length of your testing approach. When following the test matrix and test cases to test something, explore other areas that your test case or test matrix does not mention. A control object that sparks sometimes when you save your input in some other sections of your form. A ding sound comes out from the speaker after the clicking of the button. This causes a little change in the color of a to submit button when you click inside another test area. All of these refined actions are perhaps an indication of an approaching catastrophic system failure.

4. Not Sure If It Is Actually A Bug or a Feature

Sometimes, testers come across issues that they didn’t report as bugs or error. This is because testers are not sure that if it was actually a bug or something that they actually did wrong. These errors are detected by the customers or managers.

Tips to Get Out of This Situation

• Testers are advised to rust their tester’s instincts. If their instincts point out that something is fishy, they must immediately report to the developers.
• Fresh eyes detect bugs easily. If you are not sure, take a short break, test again and confirm that what you are viewing is not a bug.
• Select a fellow tester and tell them to go through the same test scenario. Then wait to see what they come up with.

5. Deciding on Which Things to Test and Which Ones to Skip

Technology and Software are becoming complex day by day. There are often a huge number of things that testers must consider while testing can be irresistible. When the project deadline comes near, it becomes very difficult to decide:

• What to test?
• Where to start?
• How to start?
• What to skip?

Tips to Get Out of This Situation

• Testers are requested to collect intelligence data by looking at the present bugs in their bug tracker tool. At this stage, they are required to take note of the most critical bugs and discuss it with the developers. They must go through the complete document, implementor’s guide and user manuals and anything to provide you with an overview of things that are significant for your customers and users.
• Testers can implement Dive in and Quit approach, according to which they select the most important things to test. They just Dive In and test. During the test, if it becomes difficult for you then quit and select another item. Dive in and test until you use all your ideas.