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
Testing Culture
The CAST Testing Competition
I sponsored the testing competition at CAST, last week, awarding $1,426.00 of my own money to the winners. My game, my rules, of course, but I tried to be fair and give out the prizes to deserving … [Read more...] about The CAST Testing Competition
Who says ET is good for Medical Devices? The FDA!
In a new guidance document discussing the clinical testing of medical devices, the FDA includes a long section about the value of exploratory testing: The Importance of Exploratory Studies in Pivotal … [Read more...] about Who says ET is good for Medical Devices? The FDA!
Bach Brothers Legion of Testing Merit
My brother and I are instituting a new award at the CAST conference on Monday: The Bach Brothers Legion of Testing Merit. We will give this award periodically in recognition of certain testers who, … [Read more...] about Bach Brothers Legion of Testing Merit
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
Immaturity of Maturity Models
Maturities models (TMMi, CMM, CMMi, etc.) are a dumb idea. They are evidence of immaturity in our craft. Insecure managers sometimes cling to them as they might a treasured baby blanket. In so doing, … [Read more...] about Immaturity of Maturity Models
What Testers Find
While testing at eBay, recently, it occurred to me that we need a deeper account of what testers find. It's not just bugs. Here's my experimental list: Testers find bugs. In other words, we look for … [Read more...] about What Testers Find
The Dual Nature of Context-Driven Testing
The Context-Driven School of software testing is a way of thinking about testing, AND a small but world-wide community of like-minded testers. There are other, larger, schools of testing thought. But … [Read more...] about The Dual Nature of Context-Driven Testing
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
How Challenging Each Other Helps the Craft
Regular readers know that I'm dissatisfied with the state of the testing industry. It's a shambles, and will continue to be as long as middle managers in big companies continue to be fat juicy targets … [Read more...] about How Challenging Each Other Helps the Craft