Closing the loop on testing.

[dfarning at gmail.com]

I just wanted to close the loop on the method behind the madness of the smoke tests.

Last semester we found that it was very difficult to generate good bug report while in the classroom.  I would go as far as to say that many of the reports from the GPA did as much harm as good.  (I consider it a lesson learned)  The A room full of squirmy kids who are hungry or need to go potty it is not the _optimal_ time for generating good bug reports.

The smoke test provides test for many of the common things which happen in a classroom, yet allows testers and debuggers to work through the issues in a more controlled setting.  Once a release passes the smoke test, it gives teachers a level of confidence that it is ready for further testing in the field.

What we want to do is create a process where we gradually add variables to the testing process as we get more and more bugs worked out.

The interesting results of the last couple of weeks were _not_ the bug reports themselves, but the feed back that the installation methods, bug reporting methods, and documentation pages were so poor that tester were unable to get things working well enough in a class period to generate bug reports.

Hopefully, the new VirtualBox VM and improved organization on Launchpad and the wiki will help.... always keep the feed back coming.  Jeff's self-effacing style of criticism is particularly welcome after a long day:)

david
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