Testing, 1-2-3

I knew that today was going to be full of testing for the project that we are hoping to launch any minute now. But apparently, I forgot to do any testing before I left the house.

In the darkness of my bedroom this morning, I reached for a blue undershirt that I often wear under a specific striped golf shirt (that’s about the extent of my color coordination). But without being able to see very well, I grabbed a similar colored shirt my sister-in-law gave me that has a huge yellow “Pitt” logo on the front (she goes to the University of Pittsburgh). It wasn’t until I was washing my hands this morning at DDA and looking in the mirror that I noticed that the logo was clearly visible underneath my nice orange and blue golf shirt.

Ah, it must be Thursday…

But back to the topic at hand. At or near the end of almost every project we complete here at DDA, we dive into the testing phase. Whether it’s a website design and development project, a customized application, a virtual trade show display, or even a video production, there is always the need for extensive testing.

Never has that been more true than with the large-scale, fast-paced project that we are on the verge of completing. As I’ve explained before, this project allows different types of users to log onto a website, create personal profiles, find other people, upload videos, photos, statistics, documents, test scores, and all kinds of personal information. Given the complexity of the site, the testing phase never seems to end — and for good reason.

With so many different ways to log in, register, search, edit information, etc., there is literally no way to see every possible page of the site in one sitting. And you have to test even the things you’d never really think about, like intentionally forgetting a password, or entering the wrong login name, just to see if what happens is what was supposed to happen. Of course, once the site is live and released to the general public, it doesn’t mean we can’t make any changes. I’m sure a glitch or two will appear at that point, it’s just the nature of programming such a complex and detailed site. But hopefully, our extensive testing process will reveal all the bugs, glitches, and inconsistencies so we can fix them before launch.

As I’ve said multiple times throughout this project, I have developed a great appreciation for wesite programming. Watching Amy, Reggie, Tyler, and the DDA team work their magic on this site has been a sight to see. Considering the endless lines of code and seemingly endless string of tiny glitches that pop up, it’s no wonder that I often find Amy in her office with one hand on the mouse and the other hand rubbing the side of her head.

But it’s Thursday, and at DDA, and that means the end of the week (and exactly two weeks until Christmas!). So hopefully Amy’s headache will have time to subside, we all will have time to catch up on some sleep, and our new website project will be in its final stages.

Entry by: Steve