goal is to find bugs during the development cycle and make clear reports
about them, trying to get them fixed before end users ever know of their
existence. The goal here is product improvement and quality control or
assurance.
These are big tasks. Even with several Canonical employees working on these
full time, it is nearly impossible to test every hardware configuration or use
case. It is also impossible to guess what creative ways users will attempt to
perform tasks that developers have designed to perform differently. Testing as
many of these options as possible is key when the goal is to create a positive
experience for as many people as possible. This is why volunteers are both
welcome and actively recruited.
These are also exacting tasks. Testing and bug reporting (or fixing) require
careful attention so that problems are reported clearly with steps that can be
repeated by developers. This enables them to find where problems lie and
more easily fix them. Not everyone is well suited for this sort of thing, but
those who are able to be clear and precise and who can follow the directions
given in testing plans and procedures are worth their weight in gold. You
might not receive public glory for testing, but you will receive honor from
those working with you in testing if you can do the job well.
You will notice some crossover in the descriptions of the teams that follow
because these teams work together closely. Although each team has a main
focus, the two teams perform similar tasks from time to time. Even the
individual teams’ web pages link to each other and offer similar information
to help coordinate and direct any interested volunteers to the tasks they feel
most equipped to help with.
Ubuntu Testing Team
Members of the Ubuntu Testing Team are probably best known for their work
during a release week, when they help validate all the CD and DVD images.
They also operate on the release cycle testing beta releases and release
candidates. In addition, they test update packages for stable releases before
the packages are pushed out to users. They do this by enabling a new software
repository called -proposed and trying out the software there before it ends
up in the -updates repository. In addition, they help developers by
coordinating communications and actively seeking and connecting additional
volunteers when specific testing needs are encountered.
To join the Ubuntu Testing Team, you need a Launchpad account, and then
you can join the team via the team’s Launchpad page, at