This post is a combination of two things - an advise and a request. In case you are wondering, it is not complicated advise and simple request, it's a simple advise and challenging request. If you like challenges of testing web applications, you may like this challenge as well.

So let's talk about the advise first. Find defects to find defects quicker - I am sure most of us already know this, isn't it? But sometime we do need to state and explain obvious. We do it all the time in testing - we state and explain obvious defects isn't it? Well, we need to that because obvious is obviously not obvious for everyone :-)

Software testing is a skilled profession and like all the skilled professions, you get better at it with practice. However, there is a difference between doing day-to-day testing in job for many years and practicing consciously to get better at it.

Finding defect is one of the most interesting part of our job. However, many times we don't get to spend as much time on hands on testing as we would like to. So what can we do to get better at software testing - what and where can we practice consciously? Where can we find defects to find defect quicker? Well there are many things we can do outside our day-to-day job to get better at software testing

1. Participate in weekend testing events This is probably one of the most effective way of getting better at software testing. There are WeekendTesting and WeekNight testing chapters for Australia, India, Europe and America. Irrespective of where you are in the world, you can find something closer and convenient for you. Have a look at http://WeekendTesting.com for details.Hats off to

• Parimala http://curioustester.blogspot.com
• Sharath http://testtotester.blogspot.com
• Manoj http://testingredefined.blogspot.com
• And Ajay http://enjoytesting.blogspot.com

For starting this and converting this into one of the most exciting way to learn and get better at software testing.

2. Participate and network in local testers gathering At least in London and in many cities of India, these monthly gatherings / free conferences have become extremely popular. You get to meet many interesting folks and learn from their experience. It's amazing how much can we learn by just sharing our testing stories with others. Tony Bruce started this in London http://www.linkedin.com/groups/London-Tester-Gathering-2656070 and now there are similar gatherings in many places in UK. In India Vipul Kocher, Vipul Gupta, and Ajoy Singha have taken this concept a step further to create monthly free meet / conference in most of the cities such as Noida, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai.

3. Learning Online Participate in softwaretestingclub, LinkedIn Group, SQA forums or other online platforms or mailing lists. See what people are asking and how other folks are responding. Learn from the experience of other people. If there is only one group you can become part of, I suggest SoftwareTestingClub.com

Also If you haven't - start using twitter and follow #softwaretesting to see what other people are saying about software testing in real time. Great for conversation, quick tips and networking.

Well, you probably already read blogs - that's why you are reading this but if you are not start reading. Also, there are many interesting and free publications related to software testing - such as the testing planet - http://www.thetestingplanet.com/, testing circus - http://testingcircus.com etc.

From the above list, if there is only one thing you can do - I suggest you participate in Weekend Testing sessions. They offer practical benefits by giving you opportunity to test different applications every week. Not only that, you learn a lot by observing how other people test, what's their approach and what makes them a better tester. If you feel interested and motivated, other things will follow eventually.

So that was my one advice - no seriously it was one - get better at software testing :-) If you like , tell other people about these advices on twitter, facebook or any other network you use.

Now it's time for a (challenging) request. You probably know that we have recently launched a web based service iCheckWebsite.com, which makes it extremely easy to check SEO Goodness, Accessibility and basic functional issues on other websites. There are many interesting components in the whole system

Crawler

• Analyse whole website
• Focus on a section of website
• Avoid specific sections of website

Rule Engine

• Accessibility checks - http://www.icheckwebsite.com/product-demo/accessibility-testing-monitoring
• On page SEO goodness - http://www.icheckwebsite.com/product-demo/seo-testing-monitoring
• Quality related checks - http://www.icheckwebsite.com/product-demo/better-quality-monitoring
• Custom checks - http://www.icheckwebsite.com/product-demo/easy-quality-testing-monitoring

Schedular

• Daily, weekly or monthly
• On-demand

Reporting

• Charts
• Usage History

Account Management * Basic Operations * Upgrade

So what's the challenge?

This service is already live and there is a free version available which gives you ability to execute 1000 tests for checks related to SEO goodness, Accessibility and basic quality on any website. You need to find defects in iCheckWebsite while ensuring that you do not cross the number of credits allocated to you.

If you like testing web applications - this might be a good opportunity for you and nice favor to me - every defect you find will help me improve the product.

So you ask - What's in it for me?

• Well, for every legitimate defect you find (Before 21'St Sep 2011), I will add 100 credits in your account. Just send your defects to anand AT iCheckWebsite DOT com along with your username / first name and last name.
• You make yourself familiar with possibly one of the simplest tool for testing websites.
• If you are involved in testing websites and have releases in odd hours, you can use http://www.iCheckWebsite.com to perform sanity testing with free credits automatically.
• If you are part of content migration, platform migration etc related to project for any website and need to check sanity of entire website - you can do that with free credits.
• And above all, it's a nice little web application - and any testing outside your job is your opportunity to get better at finding defects :-)

So hope you like this application and find many interesting defects in it. Just drop me an email at Anand AT iCheckWebsite DOT com Please share it with other people who might be interested in getting better at software testing or testing web applications.