I just found Jeff Atwood's Coding Horror blog. He's an interesting writer and thinker. One of his postings presents a good example of the subtle role of skill even in highly scripted activities. He … [Read more...] about Studying Jeff Atwood’s Paint Can
Defining Agile Methodology
Brian Marick has offered a definition of agile methodology. I think his definition is strangely bulky and narrow. That's because it's not really a definition, but an example. Those of us who've … [Read more...] about Defining Agile Methodology
“Use Version Control”
Darrell Norton says that "version control" is a best practice. I disagree with him about that, but his blog posting gives me an opportunity to show how context-driven reasoning works. Darrell … [Read more...] about “Use Version Control”
Some Useful Definitions
I use the following. I find these definitions to be flexible, inclusive, and consistent with the dictionary: Technique: method. Method: a way of doing something; an idea or ideas that specify … [Read more...] about Some Useful Definitions
Exploratory Testing Research
Good research on testing is hard to find. Why? One reason is that testing does not belong to the field of Computer Science. I mean, sure, some of it does. There is some value to describing and testing … [Read more...] about Exploratory Testing Research
Surprise Heuristic
At the recent Workshop on Training Software Testers, Morven Gentleman showed us a chart of some test results. I was surprised to see a certain pattern in the results. I began to think of new and … [Read more...] about Surprise Heuristic
Dead Bee Heuristic
Have you ever had a software problem that disappeared even when you did nothing to correct it? Or have you ever fixed a bug by doing something that seems as if it shouldn't have fixed … [Read more...] about Dead Bee Heuristic
Peer Conferences and Learning
In the past two years, "Peer conference" and "exhibition conference" are terms I've come to use a lot. A peer conference is a get together among practitioners of a particular discipline for the … [Read more...] about Peer Conferences and Learning
Against Certification
What follows is a somewhat grumpy argument against tester certification programs. I have mixed feelings about writing this, because I know a lot of otherwise friendly people who are involved in … [Read more...] about Against Certification
Quick Oracle: Blink Testing
Background: In testing, an "oracle" is a way to recognize a problem that appears during testing. This contrasts with "coverage", which has to do with getting a problem to appear. All tests cover a … [Read more...] about Quick Oracle: Blink Testing