PAIR TESTING - FIGHT BUGS TOGETHER!

In rapid development processes like agile methodology its important to identify and prevent the bugs in earlier stages of the product development. QA activities should start earlier in the product life cycle.  Pair testing is one of the techniques that can detect the bugs in early stages of development.

What is Pair testing?

Pair testing also called as Buddy testing is an approach where two team members sit together for an exploratory testing session by sharing a single computer and they test the same application.  One of the member executes the test (Has the control of the keyboard and mouse) and the other suggests ideas, notes the observations, record the bugs etc. A pair testing session can last from 60-90 minutes.

Between 2 Testers- Testing-Tag team

Here two testers sit for an exploratory session sharing a single screen. They test a feature by mutually sharing ideas.The two testers involved may or may not be of the same knowledge level. It can be the Test lead and a Jr tester. Pair testing can benefit both of them. The junior tester can learn and explore the application with the expertise of his senior. The junior tester can come up with different test ideas than his senior who has been testing the same module for long time. This helps the senior to update the test ideas and look at the application in a different angle.

How does it mutually benefit?

• Pair testing ensures that there is exchange and generation of new ideas.

• Pair Testing is the best approach to mentor and train the newbies in the team.

• Testing in pairs increases coordination between the testers.

A tester working alone may jump to incorrect conclusions but in pair testing there will always be another person who can verify it. Two pairs of eyes are always better than one.

Between Tester and a Developer

When a developer develops a feature, he runs the unit tests and also a quick round of testing to ensure that the feature is working. He then invites the tester to test the functionality on his machine. If the tests pass then developer commits the code to the master. The tester performs further tests in the testing environment. If the tests fail then the developer continue to fix the issues. In this way pair testing saves a lot of time and identify the bugs in early stages.

There is a huge contrast in the mindset of a developer and a tester. The best part of pair testing is that it eliminates the barrier between the tester and the developer. The tester need not have to log the bug and explain the steps to replicate since the communication is direct it saves lot of time.

How it helps Developer

• The developer can learn more about the application by exploring with the tester.

• PT session will make the developer to come up with great testing scenarios by their own. 

• PT session helps to analyze and find the root cause of the bug.

How it helps the tester

As a tester you will encounter weird bugs that are inconsistent and occur randomly. In a Pair testing session with a developer you might find a pattern with the developers knowledge.The developer can then link between the issues as its his own code.

Developer can find out which portion of the source code is affected by the bug. This can help you to focus your testing on impact areas in the future tests.
There can be several other people that can be be a part of pair testing session based on the project needs (Like a business analyst and a tester).Pair testing is effective when a developer and tester are teamed.

Conclusion

Pair testing has proven to be successful when the deadlines are close and we need a quality product in a short span. Pair testing can help the team to get together, share ideas and be benefited by each others strengths. 

It's really cool when a tester and a developer work together to ensure one common goal "a quality product".