Session Tester is now available for download. This is a beta release, so we expect bug reports and usability issues, as well as feature requests. Feel free to share any of those ideas on our . Please contribute to the community there. We will also be looking for contributors to the project itself. Session Tester was written in Java, so it should run on any operating system that has a recent version of the Java Runtime Environment. We have tested with Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS X and Linux.
About
Session Tester is a tool for managing session based testing. Currently, we are building a tool for individual testers to use to take notes, manage their sessions, and review their session files in XML format. Eventually, we will extend this to team management.
Current Features
- a timer to keep track of your session length
- note taking that is automatically saved and formatted into XML, with extra tags for more organization
- optional reminders:
- mission reminder so you don't lose focus
- session end reminder so you can start winding your session down
- an idea primer for those times when you get stuck when trying to generate test ideas (thanks to Michael Bolton for contributing to the current list)
- an exploratory testing cheatsheet, supplied by Elisabeth Hendrickson (check under the Help menu)
Our goal with this tool is to help train testers on how to do session-based testing, and make the practice easier for everyone. We also thought hard about the idea generation part of testing, and try to use the interruptions for note taking as opportunities idea generating or focusing tools, instead of just annoyances.
This is a beta release, so we don't have proper installers yet. For now, you will need to ensure you have a recent version of the Java Runtime Environment installed. Go to the Sun site for a new version. We used update 11, but anything recent should work: Java SE Downloads. There are also instructions on installation and usage in the user guide.
Thanks to Patrick Lightbody for generously providing the space and for supporting this project, as well as to James and Jon Bach for creating SBTM, Antony Marcano for the inspiration and useful feedback, and to Jared Quinert and Mike Kelly for their usability feedback. Thanks to Michael Bolton for the inspiration for the idea primer, and for contributing test phrases to it, and thanks to Elisabeth Hendrickson for granting us permission to provide her cheatsheet as a thinking reference for testers who are using the tool.
Questions?
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