In a new guidance document discussing the clinical testing of medical devices, the FDA includes a long section about the value of exploratory testing: The Importance of Exploratory Studies in Pivotal … [Read more...] about Who says ET is good for Medical Devices? The FDA!
Satisfice Blog
Technique: Paired Exploratory Survey
I named a technique the other day. It's another one of those things I've been doing for a while, but only now has come crisply into focus as a distinct heuristic of testing: the Paired Exploratory … [Read more...] about Technique: Paired Exploratory Survey
Avoiding My Curse on Tool Vendors
Adam Goucher noticed that I recently laid a curse upon commercial test tool vendors (with the exception of Hexawise, Blueberry Consultants, and Atlassian). He wondered to me how a tool vendor might … [Read more...] about Avoiding My Curse on Tool Vendors
Bach Brothers Legion of Testing Merit
My brother and I are instituting a new award at the CAST conference on Monday: The Bach Brothers Legion of Testing Merit. We will give this award periodically in recognition of certain testers who, … [Read more...] about Bach Brothers Legion of Testing Merit
The Euthyphro Dilemma in New Zealand
I recently had the opportunity to converse about tester certification with Carol Cornelius, who's on the board of the New Zealand version of the ISTQB. The discussion went well in one respect: she did … [Read more...] about The Euthyphro Dilemma in New Zealand
Immaturity of Maturity Models
Maturities models (TMMi, CMM, CMMi, etc.) are a dumb idea. They are evidence of immaturity in our craft. Insecure managers sometimes cling to them as they might a treasured baby blanket. In so doing, … [Read more...] about Immaturity of Maturity Models
What Testers Find
While testing at eBay, recently, it occurred to me that we need a deeper account of what testers find. It's not just bugs. Here's my experimental list: Testers find bugs. In other words, we look for … [Read more...] about What Testers Find
The Dual Nature of Context-Driven Testing
The Context-Driven School of software testing is a way of thinking about testing, AND a small but world-wide community of like-minded testers. There are other, larger, schools of testing thought. But … [Read more...] about The Dual Nature of Context-Driven Testing
When Does a Test End?
The short answer is: you never know for sure that a test has ended. Case in point. The license plate on my car is "tester." It looks like this: On December 20th, I received this notice in the … [Read more...] about When Does a Test End?
This is What We Do
In the Context-Driven Testing community, the testing craft is a living, growing thing. This dialog, led by my partner in Rapid Testing, Michael Bolton, is a prime example of the life among us. Read … [Read more...] about This is What We Do