Years ago I sat next to the Numerics Test Team at Apple Computer. I teased them one day about how they had it easy: no user interface to worry about; a stateless world; perfectly predictable outcomes. … [Read more...] about Floating Point Quality: Less Floaty, More Pointed
Satisfice Blog
Rethinking Equivalence Class Partitioning, Part 1
Wikipedia's article on equivalence class partitioning (ECP) is a great example of the poor thinking and teaching and writing that often passes for wisdom in the testing field. It's narrow and … [Read more...] about Rethinking Equivalence Class Partitioning, Part 1
Accountability for What You Say is Dangerous and That’s Okay
[Note: I offered Maaret Pyhäjärvi the right to review this post and suggest edits to it before I published it. She declined.] A few days ago I was keynoting at the New Testing Conference, in New York … [Read more...] about Accountability for What You Say is Dangerous and That’s Okay
How Michael Bolton and I Collaborate on Articles
(Someone posted a question on Quora asking how Michael and I write articles together. This is the answer I gave, there.) It begins with time. We take our time. We rarely write on a deadline, except … [Read more...] about How Michael Bolton and I Collaborate on Articles
CC to Everyone
I sent this to someone who's angry with me due to some professional matter we debated. A colleague thought it would be worth showing you, too. So, for whatever it's worth: I will say this. I don't … [Read more...] about CC to Everyone
The Bestselling Software Intended for People Who Couldn’t Use It.
In 1983, my boss, Dale Disharoon, designed a little game called Alphabet Zoo. My job was to write the Commodore 64 and Apple II versions of that game. Alphabet Zoo is a game for kids who are learning … [Read more...] about The Bestselling Software Intended for People Who Couldn’t Use It.
The New Testing Conference
Anna Royzman is starting a new testing conference which she has decided to call the New Testing Conference. Anna has asked me to tell you about some of the ways we will be trying to live up to that … [Read more...] about The New Testing Conference
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.
Reinventing Testing: What is Integration Testing? (part 2)
These thoughts have become better because of these specific commenters on part 1: Jeff Nyman, James Huggett, Sean McErlean, Liza Ivinskaia, Jokin Aspiazu, Maxim Mikhailov, Anita Gujarathi, Mike Talks, … [Read more...] about Reinventing Testing: What is Integration Testing? (part 2)
The Man Who Opened the Door
I just heard that Ed Yourdon died. In '93 or early '94, I got a strange email from him. He had heard about me in Mexico and he wanted to meet. I had never been to Mexico and I had never met or spoken … [Read more...] about The Man Who Opened the Door