What makes a tool a testing tool? – 30 Days of Tools, Day 2

It’s Day 2 of the 30 Days of Tools challenge and here’s an interesting question for you! :thinking:


What makes a tool a testing tool?

  • What’s your definition of a testing tool?
  • How do you know it’s a testing tool?
  • What things help you decide if a tool is not a testing tool?

Some helpful resources:

To help you with this challenge, here is an interesting conversation on Quora about what tests tools are:


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Day 2

What’s your definition of a testing tool?

I like the Michael Bolton definition of testing - that testing is about uncovering risk to the completion of the project, or risk to the ongoing success of the product. (I’m probably butchering the quote there, but it was something like that.)

So, I’d define anything that helps uncover those risks, as a testing tool. I think that covers a wide range of tools. Automation, IDEs, Source Control tools, CI/CD tools, browsers, hardware, most anything.

How do you know it’s a testing tool? (and…) What things help you decide if a tool is not a testing tool?

I struggle with these questions because I don’t think it bothers me if something is a ‘testing tool’ or not.
If I’m using it for my job as a tester, I guess it’s a testing tool.

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  • What’s your definition of a testing tool?

A tool that can show the small change in the application when a new feature is introduced or when a change is made.
My first choice of such a tool would be
– an exploratory testing
– CI/CD pipeline
– a team members new perspective

  • How do you know it’s a testing tool?

All these times, I have been told to use such and such testing tools. Did not really get to explore, compare and choose one.
Having said that, in my experience I have found a few points to consider to know if it’s a testing tool.
– that which can show any subtle changes in he application. For eg: Change in the text content of a page.
– that which will reduce the routine repeated testing steps
–that which guides me to think from a different angle. For eg: from a user researcher point of view, designers view, stake holders need is helpful. So, I prefer to be part of their discussion around a feature.

  • What things help you decide if a tool is not a testing tool?
    – when during a change I am told there is nothing much to test around this is not very helpful.
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  • What’s your definition of a testing tool?
    Any tool which can help with any kind of testing, in my book, can be consider a testing tool. If you like to take notes with pen and paper, while doing exploratory testing, that that is a testing tool for you.

  • How do you know it’s a testing tool?
    If by using it our testing is easier to conduct.

  • What things help you decide if a tool is not a testing tool?
    If it’s hampering the testing progress or it’s not intended to be used for testing and there are more efficient alternatives available.

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I feel @mirza has nailed it for me and I agree that a testing tool can be defined as something that assists my testing. What I like about a definition is that it doesn’t limit my tool use and focuses onto my thinking around what testing is and my intentions in testing.

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When using digital or analog tools in my testing I have never asked myself, if this is a testing tool in terms of a definition.
I guess I’d go with the motto, whatever floats the testing boat is a tool for testing.

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Do you mean
1/ The main goal of the tool is testing?
2/ Or can I use it in order to test?

1/ RTFM :innocent: (Testlink, Squash TM, Zephyr, Xray, Selenium, Cypress,…)
2/ Can I compare with it? Can I have quality indicators? Does the tool can be used by someone for testing activities? (Jenkins, Docker, GitLab, Sonar, Lighthouse,… and Excel, paper, slack)

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I found Mirza’s response to be very well thought out.

I don’t believe I’ve ever asked myself (or anyone else) “What is a testing tool?” Rather I tend to ask, “What tool will help me better accomplish this task?” For instance, I’m one of those “pen and paper” dinosaurs Mirza mentioned. I just think better and process data better when I can manually write it out. However, seeking a “better way” I have begun using a note app on my tablet. I can still write the notes out, but they are now digitally accessible, and I can tag them for easy searching. So, that’s a testing tool.

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I think that a testing tool is any tool that can help you to discover more about your product, to prod it for more information to decide if you have stumbled across a problem. So aside from obvious testing tools for automation or making API calls etc. that can include tools that aren’t traditionally used or marketed “testing tools” such as monitoring tools, comparison tools, analytical tools, database tools etc.
I guess if I had to decide on whether a tool was not test tool, I’d say that if a tool never helps you to find a problem, it’s probably not a testing tool… but to be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever come across one of those.

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What’s your definition of a testing tool?
TLDR - Something that helps testers contribute to the speedy delivery of usable code/features.
Based off the general definition of a tool being a thing, especially one held in a hand, used to carry out a specific function, I’d say a Testing Tool has to be a tool testers use (although obviously not necessarily a physical one) to achieve their goals.
So I’d say something like a spreadsheet counts as a testing tool because it is used by testers - in the same way as a hammer can be used by a carpenter, panel-beater or decorator.

How do you know it’s a testing tool?
A tester is using it.

What things help you decide if a tool is not a testing tool?
I guess if I interpret this as “How do I know if a tool might help me with my testing?” I’d say:
Keeping an ear out for what my friends in the testing community are recommending.
Googling for a solution to a particular problem and trying it out.
Periodically asking myself if the tools I am currently using are still up to the job (as priorities and requirements of my testing shift & new tools become available).

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Context, Context, Context!

If I’m testing an API a mobile emulate isn’t going to help much, same for if I need to test a Command Line Utility, browser dev tools won’t be much help. But there is always better and worse tools for the task at hand.

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@mirza Happy to see that pen and paper is mentioned as a testing tool in your post. :+1:
I use it a lot when I do exploratory testing . My test design thinking starts with a pen and paper.

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  • What’s your definition of a testing tool?

Any tool that assists with testing, it’s a broad category. UI automation frameworks, IDEs, whatever.

  • How do you know it’s a testing tool?

If I use it to help with testing, it’s probably a testing tool

  • What things help you decide if a tool is not a testing tool?

I guess if it’s the opposite of the above :joy:

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Well the definition of a testing tool for me it’s any tool that can help any testing activity.

An IDE can be a testing tool, a notepad if you write test cases there can be a testing tool.

Based on that, I know something is a testing tool because someone it’s using it on a testing activity for testing purposes.

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Any tool that assists you in the activities required of a tester would count. So anything that helps you explore, simplify, or structure your ability to test. Coding, notes, mind maps are all things I believe help me in testing. A tool is anything that assists you in a particular endeavor.

As stated above, there is really no need to get specific. If a paperclip assists you with testing in someway. It by definition is a “testing” tool. Some out of the box things could be a standing desk, calming focusing music, or coffee.

If the tool doesn’t allow me or hinders my ability to test something, then it is not a testing tool. For me, getting into the flow is important as an automation engineer. So my choice of music can affect this. For instance, chill pop or soundtracks help me focus, while works with lyrics or catchy guitar riffs tend to distract me.

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Depends what you mean with ‘testing tool’ if the means are to test a system then assertions & reporting are a must have. It doesn’t need to be automation or manual, it can be test management, mine map tools… anything really as long as it assists you in your testing capabilities.

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What’s your definition of a testing tool?

Anything really that improves allows the team (engineers included) to deliver software at speed and with confidence in its quality.

How do you know it’s a testing tool?
What things help you decide if a tool is not a testing tool?

I’m not too into strict definitions, keeping it ambigous might help uncover some unexpected use cases. Especially in automation I see a lot of benefit in blurring the line between engineer and tester, same goes for tools. Here’s an example: Logstash, overhelming majority would say that is not a testing tool - it is used to sift through application logs and analyze them. Logs are a side-effect, an output of an application that indicates it’s health, something that can be asserted on to see when a task completed, how timely was the execution, where there any unexpected warnings/exceptions etc. things that are hard to perform/catch/reproduce manually. All of that data can be used in the quality assurance process, we just have to tune use the tool, tune in and assure quality.

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I love this! :smiley:

Such a cool definition.

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  • What’s your definition of a testing tool?

It’s a tool that I use primarily for testing. It might not have the stated intent of being a tool for testing, but if I use it for testing, it’s a testing tool to me. Actual usage trumps intent.

  • How do you know it’s a testing tool?

See above.

  • What things help you decide if a tool is not a testing tool?

The corollary of the above, if I don’t use it for testing, it’s not a testing tool for me. That means, rather strangely, that things like Selenium, Postman and the like are not testing tools for me since I don’t operate in the web space. However tools like PuTTy and GCC are absolutely tools I use every day in testing.

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  • What’s your definition of a testing tool?
  • How do you know it’s a testing tool?
  • What things help you decide if a tool is not a testing tool?

I don’t really care if a tool is a testing tool. If a tool can help me achieve a goal I don’t care what it’s designed purpose is. Having to determine if a tool is for testing doesn’t help us achieve better software. It could hold back some people to use it and lose information.
Tools are have no class, everyone can pick them up and use them.

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