Stockholm, the city where Rene Descartes spent his last days, and which now hands out Nobel prizes, is also now becoming a capital of Context-Driven testing thinking. The cool kid of the North. (Oh, … [Read more...] about My Stockholm Syndrome
Shiva is Annoyed with My Questions
A person named Shiva contacted me on Skype back in May. Then he didn't say anything for several months, until yesterday we had this exchange. Shiva: Hi James! James: Hi. Shiva: I wanted to set … [Read more...] about Shiva is Annoyed with My Questions
Introducing Thread-Based Test Management
Most of the testing world is managed around artifacts: test cases, test documents, bug reports. If you look at any "test management" tool, you'll see that the artifact-based approach permeates it. … [Read more...] about Introducing Thread-Based Test Management
What Exploratory Practitioners Are Called
An exploratory DOCTOR is known as... a "doctor." An exploratory WELDER is known as... a "welder." An exploratory PILOT is known as... a "pilot." An exploratory WRITER is known as... a "writer." An … [Read more...] about What Exploratory Practitioners Are Called
Two “Scoops” of “Bugs”
I have often said something like "We found a hundred bugs!" Lots of people have heard me say it. Statements like that are very valuable to me. But we should ask some vital questions about … [Read more...] about Two “Scoops” of “Bugs”
How Challenging Each Other Helps the Craft
Regular readers know that I'm dissatisfied with the state of the testing industry. It's a shambles, and will continue to be as long as middle managers in big companies continue to be fat juicy targets … [Read more...] about How Challenging Each Other Helps the Craft
A Six-fold Example from Pradeep Soundararajan
Pradeep blogged this, today. I need to amplify it because it provides a nice example of at least six useful and important patterns all in one post. This is why I believe Pradeep is one of the leading … [Read more...] about A Six-fold Example from Pradeep Soundararajan
Heuristic Value is a Relationship
One of the comments on my post about The Esssence of Heuristics went like this: “An excellent example of a heuristic is a hammer.” Ecstasy is your friend: it picks you up at the … [Read more...] about Heuristic Value is a Relationship
Three New Testing Heuristics
A lot of what I do is give names to testing behaviors and patterns that have been around a long time but that people are not systematically studying or using. I'm not seeking to create a standard … [Read more...] about Three New Testing Heuristics
The Essence of Heuristics
Excellent testing requires skill, but heuristics give structure to that skill. Heuristics help us access our skills under pressure. A heuristic is a fallible method of solving a problem or making a … [Read more...] about The Essence of Heuristics