When a programmer builds a product, should he release it to the testers right away? Or should he test it himself to make sure that it is free of obvious bugs? Many testers would advise the programmer … [Read more...] about Should Developers Test the Product First?
Test Strategy
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
How to Investigate Intermittent Problems
The ability and the confidence to investigate an intermittent bug is one of the things that marks an excellent tester. The most engaging stories about testing I have heard have been stories about … [Read more...] about How to Investigate Intermittent Problems
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
Amateur Penetration Testing
It's traveling season for me. London, Amsterdam, New Zealand, Australia, and so forth. That means I'm killing time in a lot of airports and hotel lobbies. And THAT means I'm testing software on kiosks … [Read more...] about Amateur Penetration Testing
To Repeat Tests or Not to Repeat
One of the serious social diseases of the testing craft is the obsession with repetition. Is that test repeatable? Is that test process repeatable? Have we repeated those tests? These questions are … [Read more...] about To Repeat Tests or Not to Repeat