A search on Google for the exact phrase "suggested best practice" turned up 9,230 hits, while "suggested best practices" turned up 30,300. I wonder what the difference is between a suggested practice … [Read more...] about Suggested Best Practices?
Context-Driven Testing
Question: How to Rapidly Test Maintenance Releases?
A correspondent writes: "I have a test management problem. We have a maintenance project. It contains about 20 different applications. Three of them are bigger in terms of features and also the specs … [Read more...] about Question: How to Rapidly Test Maintenance Releases?
Could the Military Be Waking Up?
Ever since I got into the testing field, almost 20 years ago, it's been a truism that military software development is moribund. It's not that they love process, it's that they love bad process. … [Read more...] about Could the Military Be Waking Up?
Question: How Many Times Should You Run a Test?
Kevin asks: What is the best or industry standard for how many times a test case should be run? There are questions that should not be answered. For instance, "What size unicorn do you wear?" or "How … [Read more...] about Question: How Many Times Should You Run a Test?
Question: Tester’s Freedom of Thought
Subha asks: A tester is usually bound by the constraints of specifications when he does functional testing. But what about usability? How much should the tester's imagination be allowed to … [Read more...] about Question: Tester’s Freedom of Thought
“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”
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
On Answering Questions About ET
People ask me a lot of questions about ET. I want to be helpful in my answers. A problem I struggle with is that questions about ET often come with a lot of assumptions, and the first thing I have to … [Read more...] about On Answering Questions About ET
Stuart Reid Says “It’s Better Than Nothing”
I was watching Dr. Stuart Reid talk about model-based testing, some months ago. During the presentation, he complained that so few people used UML for model-making. Why don't more people use UML, he … [Read more...] about Stuart Reid Says “It’s Better Than Nothing”