That applications have focus on the right place is essential to a good user experience. You have to trust that pressing Del on keyboard will have the intended effect. Problems with this is very common, at least on Windows, and especially in applications with dialogs and panels and stuff of different types. Addressing symptoms agressively […]
When testing software, the very best inspiration and reality check comes from the software itself. It helps you test beyond requirements, and investigate what the software really is capable, and incapable, of. These are my best practices for exploratory testing. 1. understand what’s important – we can’t test everything, and we can’t find all bugs. […]
Some years ago I read about Soap Opera testing too hastily, and started using it at work being convinced that it meant the following: A soap opera test involves normal operations, but a large amount of them, for a long time. As in the TV shows, they go on, and on, and on, and on, […]
It is often said, with right, that you need to consider a lot more than the explicit requirements in order to be able to test a product well. Often a few examples are included, e.g. something about the customer needs, or the necessity of reading the code, or knowing the technology the software operates in, […]
Many testers feel underrated; they don’t think they get the respect they deserve. There are more reasons for this than suggested solutions. One proposed solution is to define the profession more thoroughly, to get standards and certifications that can guarantee more than the bare minimum of test quality. I am confident this isn’t the “good” […]
I think quality criteria/factors/attributes/characteristics are extremely powerful. It helps you think in different ways, and makes it easy to get a broader coverage of your test ideas. See Software Quality Models and Philosophies for McCall, Boehm, FURPS, Dromey, ISO 9126 models, or CRUSSPIC STMPL for a version without focus on measurability. The granularity of this […]
I have written a small article for The Testing Planet about Testing & Creativity. (update: web article here) It contains the potato from this blog, but also some new content on “cheating”. Feel free to add comments here! I think creativity still is too little recognized as an important aspect of our work. We should […]
I stopped myself in the hallway just to ask a few quick questions: Why do you like software testing? – That’s not a short question! But it involves a lot of creativity, subjectivity, serendipity, critical and holistic thinking. What’s your motivation for writing on a blog? – I don’t know, I just can’t stop myself. […]
If you just do what’s on the list of things to do, I think you can accomplish decent things, but nothing great. I don’t dare saying this is a general truth for everybody creating something new, so let’s focus on software development. There are many management models, and many of them boils down to something […]
Usability is an important part of any product (if it’s too difficult to use, it doesn’t matter how great the functionality is) and thereby an important characteristic for the testing team. But when reading about usability testing, it often involves an outside person trying to use a feature for the first time. Now this is […]