Software Testing Content The 3 Amigos in agile I’m exploring the 3 Amigos in agile at the moment, as I feel it may be in need of a makeover. But first, the traditional view of the 3 Amigos. I know, there’s already loads of articles on the 3 amigos, but I thought it might be useful
Software Testing Content The Scab Picker As I child I received the usual number of knocks and bumps, cuts and the inevitable scabs that grew as my body healed itself. I enjoyed nothing more than spending time picking away at these scabs. I wanted to explore and uncover, pick and observe in fascinating as the pink
Software Testing Content The beginning of discovery Lisa Crispin [https://lisacrispin.com/] picked up on this small seemingly innocent sentence about the importance of ‘shallow tests’ in discovery > “These [shallow] tests are often essential beginnings to discovery”Anne-Marie Charrett“Shallow Testing gets a bad rap” [https://mavericktester.com/2018/10/17/bos-series-shallow-testing-gets-a-bad-wrap/] I’m glad she did,
Software Testing Content 2020: The year of dumping old heuristics When software testing, it’s handy to use mnemonics/heuristics to refer to. They can be useful as generators of test ideas, or reminders to test in a particular way, or to consider some aspect. What’s a heuristic? Think of a heuristic as a rule of thumb that helps
Software Testing Content Indulge the Hunch Have you ever been in a new city or town and been tempted to take a shortcut that you don’t know will actually be short? A hunch tells you it will be quicker. What do you do? Will you take the risk and go with your gut? Or, will
Software Testing Content Under the Hood - Learning APIs New to API’s and want to learn how to test them? Here’s some learning strategies to help you get started on your way. Feel the fear…and do it anyway For many, opening up the bonnet of a UI and staring at the underneath and the API and
Software Testing Content Lethal Weapon I’ve spent a day testing a scheduler using a semi-automated technique. It’s a task that is cognitively demanding. It requires creating sophisticated test data, loading it into a scheduler, then identifying if the output is as anticipated. Sound’s interesting right? It is. There are lots of different
Software Testing Content Embrace your inner strange “Everybody Wants Some!!” It’s a nostalgic coming of age movie for male base ballers set in the 1980’s. The following conversation ensued between Jake and Willoughby (both pitchers): Willoughby: ..let me tell you something, Jake. It is lonely out on the bump, man. You know, hitters, they got
Software Testing Content Who moved my risk? We know quality is ‘value to some person’, so it stands to reason that risk is also subjective. If we use risk as a factor to determine what to test, then how you test, what you test and your testing strategy will evolve and change. Is it though? Think of
Software Testing Content Black Box Testing Like many young children, my niece Emily was a little scared of going into the ocean. It was a beautiful Irish June day, and my mother could see she wanted to join all the other children splashing about and having fun. She took her by the hand and led her
Software Testing Content Software Testers: Simply the best Software Tester’s are a rare breed. We perform a role that can be difficult and not always fully appreciated or recognised. We are often the sceptic on the team, raising difficult questions when no one wants to hear them. We discover unplanned work, we question design, we uncover ambiguity.
Software Testing Content Shallow Testing gets a bad rap In my Exploratory Testing class, I talk about shallow and deep exploration. When you say the word exploratory testing, many think, ‘just playing around’ on the product. And to some extent that’s true, a good true. So when I talked about shallow exploration it seemed to fit. Different from
Software Testing Content How to avoid being fooled in software testing As software testers, our role is to avoid being fooled by stuff that is potentially fooling others. For instance, we try to avoid being fooled by the product, we do that by testing with more than one piece of data. We try to avoid being fooled by stories as they
Software Testing Content Free Online Coaching on software testing [the offer for free coaching is now closed. Coaching is available but a fee applies] I’m offering free online coaching on software testing this week and next week. The coaching session is approximately 90 minutes where you will test something for me and we will then review and discuss
Software Testing Content Five Crimes against Testing Five crimes against testing that I see repeatedly executed. Testing and Quality are the same things Just because you test, it doesn’t mean you have a quality product. Sounds obvious right? But why then is quality assigned to one person. Why have a Quality Gatekeeper? Testing shines a light
Software Testing Content A different perspective on Boundary Testing The book ‘Boundaries after a pathological relationship [https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00NHTXEOK/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title]‘ by Adele Birch has a load of practical advice on boundaries in relationships. As Trish Khoo [https://trishkhoo.com/] who recommended it to me said: “even if you don’t
Software Testing Content Nuance on leaving testing to the experts Yesterday I wrote a blog post entitled “Leave Testing to the Experts” [https://www.annemariecharrett.com/leave-the-testing-to-the-experts] to which Maaret quickly reacted online and by a post where she strongly disagreed with the sentiment. Disagreement is a very useful tool to clarify your thinking, so thanks Maaret!. It’s allowed
Software Testing Content Leave the testing to the experts Why is it that in a company almost everyone has an opinion and knows the best way to test? What makes so many of these people feel they know how testing ought to be performed? Business people tell me, the tester: > “You should be writing test cases and reporting against
Software Testing Content The Base Camp Heuristic The ‘Base Camp’ heuristic is the work required to find any bug. Typically ‘Base Camp’ bugs tend to be low lying fruit and can be found quickly, especially if a tester is experienced. In the world of Daniel Kahneman [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-and-slow], these bugs are found
Software Testing Content Paying Attention to Paying Attention to Detail One question I often ask a tester in an interview is what they believe are the essential skills that differentiate a good tester from a great tester. One of the common replies is “Paying attention to detail”. But what does that really mean? Start with detail. What do you mean
Software Testing Content Hi, my name is Done and I'm conflicted If there is ever one word that highlights the difference between a tester and a developer’s mindset it has to be the word done. Developers¹ tend think of done as a form of sign off. A story is done when the code is complete. For many developers, it’s
Software Testing Content Take the 'Crappy Work' Litmus Test We’ve placed a ban on crappy work within my test team. From now on, we declare that the testing team will refuse to do crappy work. The challenge is in knowing how you're doing good work or crappy work? This is why I’ve created this simple 5 minute
Software Testing Content The fine art of being precise Jon Bach this morning wrote a post about how we need to be precise in our thinking. Thank you Jon, its a lovely honest piece with lots of wisdom. But it got me thinking how sometimes precision can let us down too. For instance, we can get fooled into thinking
Software Testing Content Scientia potentia est “Knowledge is power” Jerry Weinberg cites courage as the most important trait in a tester. Quoting Kipling, Jerry says testers [http://blog.utest.com/testing-the-limits-with-gerald-weinberg/] need to “keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.” But I see another type of courage at
Software Testing Content Are you serious? Seriously, how serious are you about testing? Let's presume you study the craft of testing. Does that make you a serious tester? If you answer yes to this question, congratulations. You are on your way to becoming a serious tester. Now ask yourself this question: “Do you take yourself seriously?
