29 July, 2009

Akashwani - Voice from the Sky

I learn/unlearn something new everytime I visit a Bank/ATM/Post Office. I had been to HDFC bank recently to open a Term Deposit. While submitting the application form, I was told that my PAN number was not updated in the bank records(I had given my PAN number at the time of Account opening. Wonder what they did with that?) and that PAN card photocopy was mandatory to make a Term Deposit. I walked away disappointed that I had to visit the bank again. A few minutes later, I got back to office, logged into my HDFC netbanking account website, filled the Term Deposit form and hit 'Submit'. Wow. Term Deposit accepted!

Oracles are very helpful to identify problems in circumstances where the products are inconsistent in their behavior in one way or the other. An Oracle is a principle or mechanism by which we recognize a problem. We can identify that there is a problem with a product if there is an:
  1. Inconsistency with its history
  2. Inconsistency with the organization's image
  3. Inconsistency with Comparable products
  4. Inconsistency with the Claims made about the product by very important people
  5. Inconsistency with User Expectations
  6. Inconsistency with Presumed or Intended purpose
  7. Inconsistency with Standards and Statutes
  8. Inconsistency with itself in two or more places
Here is an interesting fact about Oracles from India. In ancient India, an Oracle was known as Akashwani, literally meaning "Voice from the Sky" and was related to the message of God. Emotions(Voice from within YOU!) of a Tester play a key role in using oracles effectively. It enables the Tester in going through the same feelings that an end user or potential customer would go through while using the product. The outcome of these feelings can either construct/destruct the future of that product. Get Emotional while testing because its a powerful tool.

Listen to Akashwani - the Voice within YOU,
Happy Testing,
Pari

Addendum on 8th Oct 2012
Being a Woman and a mom of 2 children, I find it extremely normal to be forgetful of many things in life. Forgetting a few things helps as it avoids burning down energy on some useful and some not-so-useful stuff. One such thing happened last week. I forgot my netbanking password. Again, one of the banks I bank with provides following options to regenerate the password:

  1. Generate the password online instantly
  2. Generate the password online instantly after two level authentication process
  3. Generate the password by submitting a form online
  4. By calling them on their support line
  5. By visiting the bank and raising a request
Options (3), (4) and (5) obviously come with delays. I started with option (1). Here goes my experience:
While generating the password, I keyed in all details after which I was asked to select my Debit card number. The debit card number continued to reflect the old debit card number issued to me by my first company and not the recent one I had.

I jumped to option (2). Still, the same problem. Interestingly, my first debit card had expired and I had got a new one. Another interesting part is the fact that my second girl had hid my debit card in her secret cupboard  (TV cabinet). I had blocked it thinking I had lost it :-). No card, no netbanking option, no money!

I received a new debit card a week later which I activated by using in the ATM. Immediately, I rushed back to my netbanking page. My account continues to reflect my first debit card. I am procrastinating about checking (4) and (5) for now. Good reason to take a day off! :P

Keep listening to this Akashvani. Lots of stuff coming!

Regards,
Parimala Hariprasad


4 comments:

  1. After reading this writing, I get many questions in me and trying to answer them. The few questions are:

    >> People -- can be an oracle?
    >> Question is to learn, understand and know, for the extent we can rely on the oracle -- 'People'?
    >> If did so, when, how, why and for what to reply upon?
    >> What or which oracle (heuristic) identifies problem with an oracle?
    >> what do I understand by 'People' and who are those 'People' in my context?
    >> An Oracle 'People' have emotions -- looks like emotion(s) can also act as a trigger heuristic.
    >> Does the oracles if any other than oracle 'People' have the emotions? If yes, how they are expressed?
    >> So, the oracles (heuristics) have the emotions?



    >> Consistency and in consistency for how long?
    >> If a gap between 'in' and 'consistency' is removed, which was 'in consistency' turns to be 'inconsistency'.
    >> What is that gap? I am learning them. How do I recognize and differentiate between 'in consistency' and 'inconsistency' when I pronounce them in my talk?

    >> How does this can be understood by others? Which (when, how, why) is 'in consistency' and which (when, how, why) is not
    'inconsistency'?
    >> Appears to me sometimes written words can be ambiguous which I learned.Then what about the pronounced or spoken words ('in consistency' and 'inconsistency')?


    >> What oracles and heuristics helps me to identify this gap?
    >> What oracles (heuristics) can be used here or can be identified or discovered here or can be invented or reinvented here?


    I am learning and helping myself to look for, the questions to the questions, answers to the questions and questions to the answers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment box appears to have different behavior with Firefox 3.5.1 and IE 6.0.

    Was unable move the arrows keys in the comment text area on entering comments of minimum one line or more or for the 2 newlines with no contents in the Firefox. Also it was not possible to paste the text contents using keyboard keys 'CTRL + V' and using mouse.

    Where as in IE it was able to move the arrow keys in the comment text area on entering comments of minimum one lines or of single line. Was able paste the text contents using keyboard keys 'CTRL + V' and with mouse too.

    The time taken to display the text area of this comment layout to enter the comments was around 55 seconds. The same was not observed in the other comment GUI layout provided by Blogger using IE as well as Firefox.

    Time taken to show the preview content with this comment GUI was around 21 seconds, which was not observed in the other comment GUI of Blogger using IE as well as Firefox.

    If the user needs to enter the italics or bold text(s) or to add achor for the being entered text, it will not display, what to use or hot to use as in the pop out comment GUI of Blogger.

    The 'Edit' hypertext available in the preview mode was not functional in IE. It was functional i.e., it was able to use 'Edit' in preview using Firefox.

    User needed to wait on each action that is done. The same was not observed in the other comment GUI of Blogger using IE as well as Firefox.

    To be observed and to investigate -- is these behavior is experienced and witnessed by other readers and users of Blogger.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Correction of my Typo error:

    If the user needs to enter the italics or bold text(s) or to add anchor for the being entered text, it will not display what HTML tags to use or how to use the HTML tags for the entered text or being entered text.



    >> I missed this -- Moving of cursor is possible in the comment GUI using Firefox, on editing the entered content. But, it will was not possible to move the cursor using arrow keys for the first time after entering the text in comment text area.

    All these behaviors were observed on the machine that I used. Other environment, may have or may not have these behaviors.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pari,

    Did you report this problem to the HDFC?.

    -Sharath.B

    ReplyDelete