If I consider these people as first generation of modern thinkers that influenced software testing, Jerry would second generation and you (James Bach) I think would be in third generation. It really great to read the works of people like you… It is mind boggling

I would be wondering who first figured out the connection between works of Boulding, Bateson, Jerry and others to Software testing … Is that you? Or Jerry?

Shrini

[James’ Reply: Jerry himself makes that connection. Those were his influences. In personal correspondence, he also identified the following people as people he worked with who greatly influenced him in his early career: Fred Brooks (author of Mythical Man-Month), Ken Iverson (creator of APL), Anatol Rapaport (chairman of his doctoral committee).

To quote Jerry: “Perhaps the biggest influence on my approach to testing was Bernie Dimsdale, who worked with John von Neumann at Aberdeen. Bernie learned technical reviewing from Johnny, and passed his learning on to me. He also introduced me to Johnny’s works on computer design, with its emphasis on error prevention and detection. I consider Johnny my “grandfather” in computing, though I never had the pleasure of meeting him in person.”] 

I’m sure you’ll find a lot of things worth playing with and/or studying in the next four, six, or ten years.

I think the point of reading Jerry Weinberg’s stuff is that it has a lot more to do with what is actually going on with the people you are going to be “interfacing with” than many technically savvy people give credit to.

That is to say, the number of job interviews you are going to get because (let’s say) you’ve put Weinberg books on your resume, or even A.Y.E. conferences attended, might be vanishingly small. But the number of horrible jobs you can avoid interviewing for–and the number of difficult work situations you can “aikido” yourself out of–because you understand the kinds of cues Weinberg books clue you in to might be significant indeed.

Listening to what’s /not/ being said in a workgroup meeting, for instance, is not the kind of skill most HR people (or even tech managers, unfortunately) rate as highly as whatever specific technical fad they are pushing, be that .NET or XML or whatever.

But I’ve used that skill to get a lot of things done, including looking for a new job–when I remember to use it.

All best, always,

ytf

“read Weinberg if you want to be a programmer, too?”
LoL, thank’s, have a great day, or night, or evening, or after noon, which ever.
See ya
Steven

You know, this blog should have been titled:

“There’s something about Jerry”