I am thinking and talking a lot about ethics, lately. Maybe that's because Context-Driven testing is getting better traction, now. More testers are approaching me, asking for guidance. More testers … [Read more...] about Thoughts Toward The Ethics of Testing
Ethics
How I Invented Sympathetic Testing
I did not invent sympathetic testing. Anyone who says I claim to have invented it will have only read the title of this post, but nothing further. Now you know. I may have been the first in my circle … [Read more...] about How I Invented Sympathetic Testing
Willful Ignorance on Parade
Michael Bolton is accused of hand-waving in this thread on LinkedIn. (See the comment by Peter). Michael and I talk a lot about cognition and exploration. We speak in tropes that come from philosophy … [Read more...] about Willful Ignorance on Parade
A Tester’s Commitments
This is the latest version of the commitments I make when I work with a programmer. Dear Programmer, My job is to help you look good. My job is to support you as you create quality; to ease … [Read more...] about A Tester’s Commitments
Get Thee to the Konditori
I didn't see you at the coffee shop, today. Where were you, tester who told me that you need "certification" because, unlike me, you don't have a public reputation? Where were you, tester who fears … [Read more...] about Get Thee to the Konditori
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
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
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
Stuart Reid’s Bizarre Plea
Stuart Reid is planning to do a talk on how we should use "evidence" in our debates about what works and doesn't work in testing. A funny thing about that is Stuart once spent 30 minutes trying to … [Read more...] about Stuart Reid’s Bizarre Plea
What the Certification Sales Lady Said…
At the Star conference, this week, the lady at the ASTQB booth was executive director Lois Kostroski. The ASTQB is the American chapter of the ISTQB. Here's the gist of the conversation we had about … [Read more...] about What the Certification Sales Lady Said…