After several days of bank account chaos for RBS/NatWest/Ulster Bank account holders – as most people probably had already guessed - RBS have now admitted the problem was caused by a failed software upgrade. Many customers have had problems withdrawing cash and problems with payments into and out of their accounts.
Makes you wonder what testing was done on the software upgrade before it was released – not much by the sound of it.
I’ve recently been using Mind Mapping concepts to keep track of the main points I’ve been learning whilst studying for the ISEB/ISTQB Foundation certification. The main ISEB course book covers many areas and a wealth of information, so it sometimes becomes a struggle to remember everything.
I’ve found Mind Maps help you to list the main points for a topic in a more memorable way than just writing them down or using a bullet list.
While looking for Memory Map software, I found quite a few different programs but most had a cost of some sort. Then I found FreeMind, which is a free/open source Java program. After a fairly simple download and install process, I began using FreeMind and found it a very good program, easy to use and allowed me to create Memory Maps very quickly. (Screenshots)
I would definitely recommend FreeMind if you’re looking for Memory Map software thats free and easy to use.
In some of my jobs I’ve used MS Visio to create diagrams of all types, such as system diagrams and processing flow diagrams. It’s always been a good tool for creating these diagrams but is not part of MS Office package, therefore requires a separate purchase, which isn’t always possible.
Recently, I discovered a great open source (thus free) program called Dia. This provides almost all the features of Visio that I actually used and is highly recommended. According to their homepage, it runs on GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Unix and Windows – I’ve used the Windows version with no problems. You can see some screenshots here.
I’ve been using Dia to create a Software Testing diagram, so that I can visualise the various stages of Software Testing, as covered in the ISEB/ISTQB Foundation certification that I’m currently studying. Below is an example of a diagram I’m working on, created in Dia.
Dia saves in its own .dia format but you can Export to all sorts of formats, including .png which is the format of the diagram example above.
Dia also looks useful for producing UML diagrams, as it has a specific set of UML drawing tools that can be selected. That feature alone could save users a fortune as many UML-specific programs can be very expensive.
Hopefully, next on the list for Dia’s creators will be an XML Spy style app.
Spelling America as Amercia is a bit of a typo at the best of times, but on the front screen of a new iPhone app for the US Presidential candidate Mitt Romney? That’s some app mishap, on a global level.
Looks like Software Testing must have been <1% on the project plan.
Links: Sky News Yahoo News Washington Post
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