Session Tester
User Guide
Introduction
Session Tester is a tool for managing and recording Session-Based Testing. Session Tester has a timer so you can keep your test sessions at the desired length, and it provides an easy way to record session notes. Notes are stored in an XML format in a ".sessiontester" folder in your user directory. (On Windows, that would be something like: "C:\Documents and Settings\Jonathan\.sessiontester". Session Tester can generate HTML versions of these reports as well.
Session Tester also has resources to help kick start your thinking. We have included an exploratory testing cheatsheet that was created by Elisabeth Hendrickson. Select Help > Cheat Sheet... from the file menu to load it. Session Tester also has an Idea Priming feature to help you if you get stuck. If, while testing you feel like you have run out of ideas, click the "Prime Me!" button. A short strategy to help prime your creative thinking will appear. If that phrase doesn't help you, try generating more.
Prerequisites
To use the tool, users will need to install the 1.6.0_06 or greater version of the JRE (Java Runtime Environment) or JDK which includes the JRE.
- Download the JDK 6 Update n from here: Java SE Downloads Page. (Where "n" is the latest update.)
- Be sure to select either: Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 Update n
- or: JDK 6 Update n
If you are unfamiliar with Session-Based Testing, read this article by Jon Bach: Session-Based Test Management.
Getting Started
This tool should work on Windows, Macs and Linux machines, as long as you have the right JDK installed.
Installation
Step 1 - Install The Correct JRE or JDK
On Windows, the simplest way to install the JRE is to download the version 6 JRE and follow the installation directions. Make sure that your JAVA_HOME variable is correct. (Check your environment variables.) To test, open a command prompt and type: "java -version" and hit enter. The output should look something like this:
java version "1.6.0_06"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_06-b02)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 10.0-b22, mixed mode, sharing)
Step 2 - Install Session Tester
Unzip Session Tester into a working directory, such as C:/Tools/SessionTester. Be sure you have the lib and resources subdirectories in that directory, in addition to the SessionTester.jar file.
Run Session Tester: Windows - double click on the "SessionTester.exe" file in your Session Tester directory to start it. Or select it from your Start menu.
Older Versions:
Run Session Tester: Just double click on the "SessionTester.jar" file in your Session Tester directory to start it. The jar file is an executable.
To run from the command line, type "java -jar Session Tester.jar":
Or
Running from the command line means you will be able to see any stacktraces that ST generates if it has problems.
Configuring Your Test Session
Once you have startedSession TesterSession Tester, the application should open with some options for you to fill in.
Session Settings
Before you start the timer and begin recording notes, buts, ideas, thoughts, etc. Session Tester requires you to fill in some information.
Required Tester Field
Enter the name(s) of the tester(s) involved in the session. It may just be you, or you may have a pair or a trio.
Required Mission Field
This field records what you are going to test for your session.
Examples might be: "test the login of the new intranet page" ...
Required Session Length Drop-down Entry
Choose the length of your test session here. Session Tester maxes out at 120 mins.
Optional Mission Reminder Setting
This is the "are we staying on track" nagging device. Often when testers are working in sessions, they tell me that they got off track for a long period of time and would like to have some sort of reminder. Here it is - you check the box to turn on the reminder and set it to remind you every few minutes.
This sets a reminder frequency. Every n minutes, you will be notified and reminded of what your session is.
Optional Session End Warning Setting
This will notify you when your session is nearing the end.
Now n minutes before the end of your session, you will be notified that your session time is running out.
Click Start to Begin
Once you have the required fields filled out and are ready to get going, just click the button:
Running Your Test Session
Features:
Note Taking Field
Once you have started your session, most of the application space is dedicated for note-taking. You can write anything you need to track here through your session. There are several "tags" thatSession Tester uses to format the output files in XML and HTML if needed. The Notes field has your mission above it, and will default with an "@notes" tag that you can begin typing under.
Timer
At the bottom of the screen, you will see a timer that shows you how much time is remaining in your test session.
Stopping or Pausing
You may have an interruption, or need to take some time to get things sorted out before continuing for whatever reason. In that case, use the Pause button:
To resume your session, and reactivate the timer, click the "Resume" button.
If you need to end early, use the Stop button to save your work and end the session. Your session file will be saved at this point.
Idea Priming
You may find that you get stuck and have trouble generating test ideas during a test session. In that case, use the Prime Me! button:
It may seem a bit odd at first, but if you are struggling for ideas, try it out. You may be surprised at how it helps your brain trigger new strategies and test ideas.
Thanks to Michael Bolton for introducing the idea to us, and for contributing to the idea priming resource file.
Cheat Sheet
Try this in addition to the cheatsheet that is activated by going to Help > Cheatsheet...
Recording Notes
The power of SBTM is the ability to record your thoughts and observations, and Session Tester provides a custom solution for testers to be able to do this. Different categories are determined by the use of tags. Tags tell Session Tester how to organize your output file.
Tags
Your session notes are organized into categories.Session Tester defaults to "Notes", signified by the @notes tag at the top left of your notes section. You can enter all your information under this tag, or use multiple tags (the "Tags" Dropdown in the top right corner contains the permissible tags.)
To use tags, either type the name of the tag and begin entering information under it, or select it from the "Tags" dropdown box. You can use as many or as few as you like. These tags are used by the application to create the XML output, so if you put in a tag thatSession Tester doesn't recognize, it will just put your information inside the last tag you selected.
Notes - @notes
This is the default tag, and anything you enter below this tag will be saved in the <notes> </notes> section of the XML document. To use this tag, just type below it, and save your session file.
Typical notes are thoughts, observations and ideas you get while testing the software.
Issue - @issue
Either select this tag from the tags dropdown, or just type in: "@issue" and begin typing beneath it. Anything you enter below this tag will be saved in the <issues> </issues> section of the XML document.
Typical issues are items that prevent you from testing, or behavior that should be investigated later to see if it is a bug or not.
Bug - @bug
Either select this tag from the tags dropdown, or just type in: "@bug" and begin typing beneath it. Anything you enter below this tag will be saved in the <bugs> </bugs> section of the XML document.
Enter in anything that bugs you here.
Data - @data
Either select this tag from the tags dropdown, or just type in: "@data" and begin typing beneath it. Anything you enter below this tag will be saved in the <data> </data> section of the XML document.
Any special data files, or database or other persistence setup that was used can be entered here, or special kinds of data you used in testing can be recorded here.
Task - @task
Either select this tag from the tags dropdown, or just type in: "@task" and begin typing beneath it. Anything you enter below this tag will be saved in the <task> </task> section of the XML document.
This can be used to show the task breakdown used when testing.
Help
The Help file menu has standard help (this file for example) but also has a link to Elisabeth Hendrickson's exploratory testing cheatsheet. It is full of heuristics, test data and other great ideas to help prime your brain in your test sessions.
Output File
Session Tester session files are stored in your user folder, in a folder called ".Session Tester". The subfolders are arranged by year, month and date. The output files are in XML format, with a date-based naming convention.
Here is a very simple example of an output file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<testingSession>
<start>Sat Jul 26 22:02:38 MDT 2008</start>
<end>Sat Jul 26 23:02:38 MDT 2008</end>
<duration>60 minutes</duration>
<tester>Jonathan</tester>
<mission>TestSession Tester's new parser mechanism</mission>
<tasks />
<data />
<notes>Things seem to be working well. </notes>
<issues />
<bugs />
</testingSession>
For regulatory compliance, XML can be just fine, but check with your subject matter expert in your company to see what they prefer to use. XML is a lingua franca, so you can write your own parser to extract into other formats if you wish. Session Tester also allows you to output all your session files to HTML which your users may find easier to read. To generate HTML files, simply go to your "Actions" file menu and select "Generate Web Report" which will convert and output all your session files into HTML, and store them in a folder of your choosing.
HTML Output
If you would like to output all of your session files on your machine into HTML, go to your File menu, and select "Actions" > "Generate Web Report". This will create a new report folder, and will have HTML copies of all the XML session files in your ".sessiontester" folder.
Glossary
TBDFeedback
Questions? Comments? Need more note taking tags? The development team like to hear your comments and suggestions for improvement. Feel free to use the OpenQA Session Tester forums to share your ideas, and ask questions.