A couple of weeks ago, I taught Rapid Software Testing in Seoul, South Korea. I was there at the invitation of Wonil Kwon, executive director of STA Consulting. It was a professional operation in all respects. Mr. Kwon even brought in a team of translators to help. It was like the United Nations, […]

The world of testing is divided into camps. Those camps argue with each other, sometimes. Mostly they ignore each other. These camps are like religions of software testing. They are determined and persistent patterns of belief, speech, and behavior. They could be called paradigms. In my community, we call them “schools.”
I didn’t create the […]

I will be embarking, soon, on a series of classes and speaking engagements in several countries.
October 20-22, I’ll be in South Korea, for the first time, teaching rapid software testing.
After that I’ll be in different parts of Sweden for most of my trip, through December 3rd. However, on November 3rd I will be in Amsterdam, […]

My brother, Jon, is now a test manager at LexisNexis after being a consultant with Quardev for some years. Jon is one the best test managers in the business, so I’m excited about this. His role will enable him to apply context-driven testing and exploratory testing methodology on long term projects. His team– whether they […]

At the Star conference, this week, the lady at the ASTQB booth was executive director Lois Kostroski. The ASTQB is the American chapter of the ISTQB. Here’s the gist of the conversation we had about certification…
James: “Do you need any experience to get certified?”
Lois: “No, you just have to pass the exam.”
James: “What are the […]

I don’t understand the mentality of bloggers like this guy. His view of the history of testing is a fantasy that seems designed to insult people who study testing. It applies at most to certain companies, not to the field itself.
He says we need a better way to test. Those of us who are serious […]

I’m thinking of having badges made which say “Conscientiously Uncertified.” It’s for those of us who want to resist the dumbing down of our craft by cynical consultants promoting bogus tester certification programs.
For me, when I see that someone is certified as CSTE, ISEB, ISTQB, or CSTQE, I immediately think “there goes someone who was […]

Alan Richardson writes this commentary from inside one of the stupidest of the certification programs: the ISTQB (well, he says “ISEB”, but by all accounts, it’s being taken over by ISTQB stormtroopers).
Long ago I also tried to change a certification program from the inside. I also failed. Now I do my best to cultivate the […]

My new book is done! Sort of.
I finally have a complete draft of How I Learn Stuff: Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar.
All I need now is a publisher.

I had the idea for a book like this 26 years ago (original title: “School Kills”).
I had the idea for this specific book 18 years ago.
The oldest text in […]

Jason Gorman uses a golf analogy to talk about estimation.
I like his analogy, but he didn’t take it far enough for me. He left out a key element: we may not be playing golf.
A typical sin committed by people who do studies of schedule slippages is to discuss average amounts of time to do X […]