9/18/13

iOS7 First Thoughts

I updated the iPad at work to iOS7.  Although it's nice, it's not that impressive. 
Simulated parallax view

Some of the things mentioned in the video:
  • Parallax background (looks cool, but is it useful?). 
  • All the OS apps have new icons
  • Some of the new features:
    • Control Center - swipe up to get access to airplane mode, etc
    • Camera UI is revised - square format, panoramic mode, video is integrated, live filters
    • Zoom out from desktop to see the running programs
    • Search & URL bars are unified

It seems like Apple has been creating buzz about the lack of skeuomorphism in the new OS.  This first link, from a Guardian article back in June, 2013, almost sounds like something from The Onion.  "Rather than old-school flatness, iOS7 gives you layers of flatness." (Their italics.)

This more current article from Medical Daily goes even further, saying how the Apple flatness is better than Android's flatness. "By contrast, the brain receives just two elements to decode when presented with the experience of the flatter design of many Android devices on the market and under development, testers say. Although this flatter design may at first appear superior, the brain begins to appreciate the richness of experience amid the melding of man and machine."

Update your iTunes if you're gonna update to iOS7
It reminds me of a quote from Spinal Tap, just replace "black" with "flat."
"There's something about this that's so black, it's like how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black." - Nigel Tufnel

9/9/13

Test Plan / Test Diary

There are two parts to testing software.  The first part is planning what to test. The second part is executing the tests and recording the results in a diary.

A) Here's what should go into each item of a test plan:

  1. Test Name: Name of the test. Consider this to be similar to a newspaper headline. 
  2. Description: High level description, including why this test is useful.
  3. Expectation: Expected results from the test.
  4. Steps: Steps to perform the test. Include context, if necessary.

B) Each test in a test diary should include references to the first four sections and also

  1. Result: Actual results. Describe how it differs from expectations, if necessary.
  2. Build version
  3. Date
  4. Any variables not described in #4 above.

Is this how you create test plans?