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
Satisfice Blog
Dead Bee Heuristic
Have you ever had a software problem that disappeared even when you did nothing to correct it? Or have you ever fixed a bug by doing something that seems as if it shouldn't have fixed … [Read more...] about Dead Bee Heuristic
Peer Conferences and Learning
In the past two years, "Peer conference" and "exhibition conference" are terms I've come to use a lot. A peer conference is a get together among practitioners of a particular discipline for the … [Read more...] about Peer Conferences and Learning
Against Certification
What follows is a somewhat grumpy argument against tester certification programs. I have mixed feelings about writing this, because I know a lot of otherwise friendly people who are involved in … [Read more...] about Against Certification
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
On Answering Questions About ET
People ask me a lot of questions about ET. I want to be helpful in my answers. A problem I struggle with is that questions about ET often come with a lot of assumptions, and the first thing I have to … [Read more...] about On Answering Questions About ET
Why Talk About Exploratory Testing?
So, there I was at the Dutch Testing Day, last year. I was a featured speaker, talking about exploratory testing. ET is one of my favorite subjects. It is helpful and powerful, and yet by some strange … [Read more...] about Why Talk About Exploratory Testing?
Stuart Reid Says “It’s Better Than Nothing”
I was watching Dr. Stuart Reid talk about model-based testing, some months ago. During the presentation, he complained that so few people used UML for model-making. Why don't more people use UML, he … [Read more...] about Stuart Reid Says “It’s Better Than Nothing”
No Best Practices
Dear Reader, I would like you to give up, henceforth, the idea of "best practice." Thank you. I want to stamp out "best practice" for several reasons: There are no best practices. By this I mean … [Read more...] about No Best Practices