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
Satisfice Blog
My Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm, the city where Rene Descartes spent his last days, and which now hands out Nobel prizes, is also now becoming a capital of Context-Driven testing thinking. The cool kid of the North. (Oh, … [Read more...] about My Stockholm Syndrome
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
Stuart Reid’s Bizarre Plea
Stuart Reid is planning to do a talk on how we should use "evidence" in our debates about what works and doesn't work in testing. A funny thing about that is Stuart once spent 30 minutes trying to … [Read more...] about Stuart Reid’s Bizarre Plea
The Drunken Gold Rush
This comes from an ISTQB advertisement they spammed me with, today: "To ensure the quality of any software system, testers and QA professionals must thoroughly test the product. But how do you know … [Read more...] about The Drunken Gold Rush
What the Certification Sales Lady Said…
At the Star conference, this week, the lady at the ASTQB booth was executive director Lois Kostroski. The ASTQB is the American chapter of the ISTQB. Here's the gist of the conversation we had about … [Read more...] about What the Certification Sales Lady Said…
Conscientious Uncertification
I'm thinking of having badges made which say "Conscientiously Uncertified." It's for those of us who want to resist the dumbing down of our craft by cynical consultants promoting bogus tester … [Read more...] about Conscientious Uncertification
Confused Methodology Talk #1
This posting by Corey Goldberg illustrates an interesting and all too common kind of confusion people get into when discussing methods and practices. It's worth pondering. On SQAForums, someone … [Read more...] about Confused Methodology Talk #1
Francis Bacon’s New Organon
It would be an unsound fancy and self-contradictory to expect that things which have never yet been done can be done except by means which have never yet been tried. This reminds me of that … [Read more...] about Francis Bacon’s New Organon
Sometimes it Gets Personal
Recently, a colleague of mine felt stung by something I said in an argument. He complained that I was making an "ad hominem" argument. I want to clarify this issue, because it's a common mistake: what … [Read more...] about Sometimes it Gets Personal