This was on my old site as an HTML file for a long time. I've re-edited and corrected it for modern times. A classic question asked about test strategy is "How much testing is enough?" If you're … [Read more...] about How Much is Enough? Testing as Story-Telling
Test Strategy
Round Earth Test Strategy
The "test automation pyramid" (for examples, see here, here, and here) is a popular idea, but I see serious problems with it. I suggest in this article an alternative way of thinking that preserves … [Read more...] about Round Earth Test Strategy
Rethinking Equivalence Class Partitioning, Part 1
Wikipedia's article on equivalence class partitioning (ECP) is a great example of the poor thinking and teaching and writing that often passes for wisdom in the testing field. It's narrow and … [Read more...] about Rethinking Equivalence Class Partitioning, Part 1
We. Use. Tools.
Context-Driven testers use tools to help ourselves test better. But, there is no such thing as test automation. Want details? Here's the 10,000 word explanation that Michael Bolton and I have been … [Read more...] about We. Use. Tools.
Reinventing Testing: What is Integration Testing? (part 2)
These thoughts have become better because of these specific commenters on part 1: Jeff Nyman, James Huggett, Sean McErlean, Liza Ivinskaia, Jokin Aspiazu, Maxim Mikhailov, Anita Gujarathi, Mike Talks, … [Read more...] about Reinventing Testing: What is Integration Testing? (part 2)
Re-Inventing Testing: What is Integration Testing? (Part 1)
(Thank you, Anne-Marie Charrett, for reviewing my work and helping with this post.) One of the reasons I obsessively coach other testers is that they help me test my own expertise. Here is a … [Read more...] about Re-Inventing Testing: What is Integration Testing? (Part 1)
TestInsane’s Mindmaps Are Crazy Cool
Most testing companies offer nothing to the community or the field of testing. They all seem to say they hire only the best experts, but only a very few of them are willing to back that up with … [Read more...] about TestInsane’s Mindmaps Are Crazy Cool
Justifying Real Acceptance Testing
This post is not about the sort of testing people talk about when nearing a release and deciding whether it's done. I have another word for that. I call it "testing," or sometimes final testing or … [Read more...] about Justifying Real Acceptance Testing
Programmer Pairing with a Tester
My sister, Erica, is not a programmer. Normally she's not a tester, either. But recently she paired with me, playing a tester role, and spotted bugs while I wrote in Perl. In the process, it became … [Read more...] about Programmer Pairing with a Tester
Behavior-Driven Development vs. Testing
The difference between Behavior-Driven Development and testing: This is a BDD scenario (from Dan North, a man I respect and admire): +Scenario 1: Account is in credit+ Given the account is in … [Read more...] about Behavior-Driven Development vs. Testing