June 2022 Summaries

A retrospective is an essential part of any product team's process, allowing teams to trial and error new processes, keep iterating on how they work together, and learn from mistakes. Running a retrospective remotely can be done with minimal adjustments, requiring fewer people than usual due to the safety and space for open discussion it provides. The key steps in running a remote retrospective include deciding who needs to be present, getting buy-in, scheduling the retro, choosing a format, setting up the tool, starting the retro, running the retro, being the time keeper, sending out notes, and thanking everyone for participating. With the right approach, retrospectives can be game-changing for teams, helping them grow, learn from mistakes, and improve their collaboration.

A traceability matrix is a table used in project management to track business requirements vs product features, or test cases vs product requirements or features. It helps ensure that all original business requirements are met and that 100% of the product's features are tested. The matrix can be used for tracking revisions of requirements over time, determining what should be included in testing, and making sure 100% test coverage is achieved. There are three types of traceability matrices: forward (maps requirements to test cases), backwards (maps test cases to requirements), and bi-directional (maps both). To create a traceability matrix, one needs to note down all product requirements, create a table with columns for requirement ID, type, description, test cases, and extra information, add rows for each requirement, and save it as a living document.

Smoke testing is a preliminary test or check that verifies if the most crucial aspects of a product are working, whereas sanity testing aims to establish if a product is in the working state users expect. The primary objective of smoke testing is to verify basic functionalities, while sanity testing focuses on determining if the product works roughly as expected after it's already built. Smoke tests assess the entire product from end to end but are not in-depth, whereas sanity tests cover key parts and dive deeper into specific areas. Sanity testing is usually undocumented and unscripted, typically carried out by QA testers or developers in a formalized setting.

A free bug reporting template is available to help QA and PMs effectively report bugs. The template includes essential information such as title, URL, environment, system details, console logs, steps required to reproduce the bug, expected results, actual results, severity of the bug, and priority. This template can save time and make bug reporting easier by providing a checklist to ensure all critical information is included in the report. Additionally, new tools like Jam can automate this process, capturing key details such as console logs and network requests, making it faster and more efficient for developers to understand and fix bugs.

Chrome extensions can significantly enhance a developer's productivity by providing essential tools such as code analysis, debugging functionalities, and performance optimization features. These extensions streamline workflow and offer valuable functionalities crucial for efficient development processes. From bug reporting and cross-browser testing to performance optimization and design assistance, each tool addresses specific needs in the development process. Ultimately, the choice of productivity tools depends on individual project requirements, team preferences, and specific development workflows.

The devtools landscape has shifted from utilitarian products to productivity tooling that prioritizes ease of use and craftsmanship. Chrome extensions have become indispensable tools for developers, offering functionalities such as bug reporting, code navigation, performance analysis, and design assistance. The top 15 picks include Jam, a bug reporting extension with one-click reporting and collaboration features; ModHeader, a header modification tool with customizable profiles; EditThisCookie, a cookie management extension with import and export functionality; Web Developer, an all-in-one development toolkit with a comprehensive set of tools; Clear Cache, a cache clearing extension with customizable settings; uBlock Origin, an ad-blocking and content filtering extension with efficient performance; OneTab, a tab manager that converts open tabs into a single list; Dark Reader, a dark mode extension for websites; Page Ruler, an element measurement tool with customizable rulers; WhatFont, a font identification tool with fast and accurate results; ColorZilla, a color picker and gradient generator with advanced features; Lighthouse, a website performance and accessibility auditing tool with comprehensive reports; Wappalyzer, a technology profiler that identifies technologies used on websites; and Lorem Ipsum Generator, a placeholder text tool for design mockups. These extensions offer a range of features to suit various needs and are mostly free or have affordable pricing plans.

BugMagnet helps with testing forms by allowing users to quickly test different edge case inputs, saving time. Window Resizer makes it easy to test a website across various device sizes and screen resolutions. Check My Links automates the process of identifying and reporting broken links on a site. Fake Filler is another useful extension for testing forms, auto-filling input fields with randomly generated fake data. Jam is a fast Chrome extension that allows users to capture and report bugs quickly, connecting to issue trackers like Jira.

Scrum is an agile development methodology that breaks down large tasks into smaller, manageable chunks, allowing teams to work in short sprints with clear goals and priorities. Scrum's core values include courage, focus, commitment, respect, and openness, and its 12 principles of agile development guide the process. The scrum team consists of a Scrum Master who oversees each sprint and ensures the team follows the framework, and a Product Owner who represents the users and product stakeholders throughout the sprint. Key artifacts used in scrum include the Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment, Sprint plan, and Scrum task board, which provide structure and organization for the team's work. The scrum process involves dividing the workload into sprints, selecting features for each sprint, and releasing new versions of software at the end of some sprints. Scrum events include Sprint planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective, which facilitate communication, collaboration, and continuous improvement among team members. With its emphasis on flexibility, scalability, and user needs, scrum has become a popular choice for many development teams seeking to improve their product development process.

Regression testing is a crucial process that allows developers to catch bugs or errors introduced by recent changes in code, ensuring existing functionality remains intact. It's a way to verify that new features don't have unintended side effects on the product's overall performance. Regression testing can be automated or performed manually, and it's essential for detecting and fixing bugs before software hits the market, reducing costs and user churn. The process involves searching for bugs in previous updates and changes, as well as testing specific features to rectify existing bugs. It's typically performed semi-regularly or before major production releases, with teams choosing the frequency based on their budget and product complexity. There are different forms of regression testing, including unit regression, partial regression, complete regression, retesting, and others. Techniques such as test case prioritization, regression test selection, and retesting all test cases are used to streamline the process.

There are many great Chrome extensions available for designers, but it can be difficult to know which ones are truly useful. We've tried them all and recommend five must-have extensions that will make your design work easier: ColorZilla for quickly identifying colors on a webpage, WhatFont for finding exact fonts used on websites, Window Resizer for testing website content across different devices, CSS Peeper for inspecting CSS styles, and Jam for catching design bugs and sending them to developers with all the necessary context. These extensions are essential tools for designers working with Chrome and can also benefit developers.

The article provides an overview of User Acceptance Testing (UAT), a crucial step in software development that ensures the product meets user expectations. UAT involves testing the product as users would, to identify bugs and UX issues before shipping or accepting a software deliverable. It is typically conducted in a staging environment by internal team members, such as product managers, with input from users, clients, or customers. The process involves setting acceptance criteria, creating a test plan, executing tests, analyzing results, and documenting outcomes. Effective UAT requires industry best practices, including preparing a plan early, setting well-defined criteria, conducting usability testing, and establishing clear communication standards. Additionally, tools like Jam can facilitate bug reporting and tracking during the UAT process.

Creating templates in Jira is an easy process that can significantly streamline issue creation and management. To get started, users need to install the Issue Templates for Jira add-on, which provides access to a library of ready-to-use sample templates. Users can then create their own custom templates from scratch or refine existing ones by editing settings and contents. Once created, templates can be edited at any time with permissions allowing for flexibility in customization. While Jira doesn't include built-in features for customizing templates, external apps like Field Templates for Jira offer solutions to adapt templates to specific needs, such as splitting visibility by project roles and combining templates for faster issue creation. Additionally, tools like Jam can help speed up the reporting process with a single click.

Jira is a workflow tool designed for software teams to help them plan and track their various projects, using agile project management. It's mainly targeted toward software developers and project managers working on software-related projects, offering an easy-to-use interface with customizable features that can be configured by those with technical skills. Asana, founded by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, is a project management tool focusing on effective team collaboration and communication, providing a user-friendly interface with cloud storage and customizable fields. The comparison between Jira and Asana reveals that Jira is better suited for software development teams using the Agile methodology, while Asana is more suitable for marketing, sales, and product design projects requiring easy collaboration.

Scrum and Kanban are two popular Agile methodologies used by developer teams to boost productivity. Scrum is a framework that prioritizes getting a product out the door, using sprints of one to four weeks with predetermined roles and responsibilities. In contrast, Kanban is a visual project management technique that emphasizes continuous improvement, focusing on work flow rather than speed. While both approaches manage work in progress and have short-term goals, they differ significantly in their underlying ideology, team roles, and delivery timelines. Scrum is ideal for projects with clear priorities and deadlines, whereas Kanban suits flexible development projects or those requiring adaptability to change.

A bug bash is a team event where teammates rigorously test and identify bugs in a product, often at the end of the System Development Life Cycle before a feature ships to users. Bug bashes are beneficial as they help teams identify many bugs and improvements in a short time-span, provide an opportunity for cross-functional teams to work together, and get everyone more familiar with the user experience and aligned on ways to improve it. To run a successful bug bash, teams should decide who to include and give everyone a role, schedule the event and define its scope, establish a bug reporting process, and run the event following three stages: introduction, bug hunting, and reflection. Best practices for running a bug bash include limiting the scope of what will be tested and commented on, creating a welcoming environment, and helping people create actionable bug reports.

Writing test cases is an art that can help ensure your product is thoroughly tested before release. A test case describes a set of actions a user will take when interacting with your product, plus what is supposed to happen after those actions. It's essential to include a unique identifier, detailed description, necessary test data, repeatable steps, estimated expected result, actual result, and whether the test was successful or not. By following seven simple steps, anyone can write a good test case that pushes their product to its limits in a good way. The key is to be explicit with descriptions, store all test cases securely, ask teammates to review them, use a standard template, add preconditions and postconditions if applicable, and provide details while being concise. Additionally, using tools like Jam can help automate the process of creating detailed bug reports quickly.

Launching today! Send screenshots to Slack, crazy fast` This new feature allows users to quickly capture and share bug reports directly from the Jam tab without leaving the current tab. The feature is ideal for users participating in bug bashes within Slack channels. It also includes device information, console logs, and network requests with every screenshot sent, making it convenient for engineers. The feature is free and available now.