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 … [Read more...] about What if Software Development isn’t Golf?
Critique
The Future Will Need Us to Reboot It
I've been reading a bit about the Technological Singularity. It's an interesting and chilling idea conceived by people who aren't testers. It goes like this: the progress of technology is increasing … [Read more...] about The Future Will Need Us to Reboot It
Terminologizing and Danger Words
I just read this on another blog: "Regression testing is usually seen as the poorer cousin of 'proper' domain-abstracted assertion-based testing. Often rightly so!" In twenty years of doing … [Read more...] about Terminologizing and Danger Words
Suggested Best Practices?
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?
How to Ask (and Not Ask) for Free Consulting
Strangers contact me on a regular basis, asking questions about testing. I don't mind answering questions. In fact, until the day I get paid for answering questions, it will remain one of my favorite … [Read more...] about How to Ask (and Not Ask) for Free Consulting
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?
Sometimes it Gets Personal
Recently, a colleague of mine felt stung by something I said in an argument. He complained that I was making an "ad hominem" argument. I want to clarify this issue, because it's a common mistake: what … [Read more...] about Sometimes it Gets Personal
“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”
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
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”