Tarun Lalwani, author of well-received book “QuickTest Professional Unplugged”, just released a new book titled “And I thought I knew QTP!”.  I just finished it, and am very impressed with the content!

For starters, this is not your typical reference book.  In fact, it’s far from it.  Instead, this is being appropriately coined as a “technical novel.”  The words “technical” and “novel” seem to mix as well as “oil” and “water”, so how could any technical book be a novel?  It all boils down to how the content is presented.

This latest work by Tarun follows the story of Nurat, a consultant in India who finally finds himself with some extra time on his hands after completing a high-pressure consulting engagement.  The thought of being on bench is oddly overwhelming as he tries to keep himself occupied and catch up with friends.  The timing could not have been better for Nurat to receive a phone call about an opportunity at a new company.  Not just any company… his dream job!

The bulk of the story follows Nurat as he encounters a series of interviews for the new position.  It is through these discussions that the technical aspect of the novel begins to shines through.  The author uses the “question and answer” style of an interview to introduce and address various challenges of automating with QuickTest® Professional.  With each question asked by the interviewer, I found myself searching for the right answer before continuing with Nurat’s response.  Mixed in with the back-and-forth conversation are detailed code samples as well as notes from the author to supplement and inaccurate or incomplete answer.  The natural language with which each topic is presented is a refreshing approach that made this book an easy read from cover-to-cover.

While this is a novel, it is still full of a lot of technical information.  The one downfall of the novel-based approach is you will not find a detailed Table of Contents or Index to use as a cross-reference for all the topics discussed.  I advise everyone to read this book with either a highlighter or note paper at your side so that you may mark the many sections of the book to which you will later want to refer.  You will certainly want to re-read some topics of the book, and having notes will be easier than flipping pages to visually scan for the right text.

I hope I never face an interview process as grueling as this. If I ever do, I hope to perform half as well as Nurat!

Those just getting started or with limited experience in QTP will find a lot of useful information in this book.  Even experienced users of QTP will find this book as a validation of the knowledge you have attained over the years.  No matter your experience level, it would be difficult to read this book and not learn something new.  In fact, most of you will probably end up thinking “And I thought I knew QTP!”

You can order the book at Amazon from the following URL:

http://amzn.to/vXSdX5

You can also order the book off Lulu at the following URL:

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/and-i-thought-i-knew-qtp---qtp-concepts-unplugged/17580430