Muhammad Saad wrote an interesting scenario on LinkedIn. I will represent it here in italics and comment on it... Imagine yourself on the first day at your job as a tester. You are presented with an … [Read more...] about I’m a Tester, Not an Automation Manager
Testing vs. Checking
What Could Kill Testing?
(I wrote this several years ago with Michael Bolton, but never got around to publishing it... UPDATE: Oh! I did publish this as an editorial in Tea Time for Testers. Well, anyway this is an … [Read more...] about What Could Kill Testing?
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.
Agile Testing Heuristic: The Power of Looking
Today I broke my fast with a testing exercise from a colleague. (Note: I better not tell you what it is or even who gave it to me, because after you read this it will be spoiled for you, whereas if … [Read more...] about Agile Testing Heuristic: The Power of Looking
A Test is a Performance
Testing is a performance, not an artifact. Artifacts may be produced before, during, or after the act of testing. Whatever they are, they are not tests. They may be test instructions, test results, … [Read more...] about A Test is a Performance
Testing and Checking Refined
This post is co-authored with Michael Bolton. We have spent hours arguing about nearly every sentence. We also thank Iain McCowatt for his rapid review and comments. Testing and tool use are two … [Read more...] about Testing and Checking Refined
Why Scripted Testing is Not for Novices
...Unless you want bad testing. Claire Moss writes: I am surprised that you say that scripted testing is harder for novice testers. I would have expected that having so much structure around the … [Read more...] about Why Scripted Testing is Not for Novices
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
A Nice Quote Against Confirmatory Testing
Most of the technology of "confirmatory" non-qualitative research in both the social and natural sciences is aimed at preventing discovery. When confirmatory research goes smoothly, everything comes … [Read more...] about A Nice Quote Against Confirmatory Testing
When Does a Test End?
The short answer is: you never know for sure that a test has ended. Case in point. The license plate on my car is "tester." It looks like this: On December 20th, I received this notice in the … [Read more...] about When Does a Test End?