Author Archive

In search of the potato… Rikard Edgren 4 Comments

When preparing for EuroSTAR 2009 presentation I drew a picture to try to explain that you need to test a lot more than the requirements, but we don’t have to (and can’t) test everything and the qualitative dilemma is to look for and find the important bugs in the product. Per K. instantly commented that […]

Notes from EuroSTAR 2009 Rikard Edgren 5 Comments

It was Stockholm again this year. Good to not have to travel far, but since you are travelling I wouldn’t object to something more exotic, and warmer. Next year it is Copenhagen, again. I had a full-packed program with 4 days of tutorials, workshops, tracks, short talks, test-labbing, conversations, so in total it is quite […]

Exploratory Testing vs. Scripted Testing – rich terminology Rikard Edgren 2 Comments

Exploratory Testing in its purest form is an approach that focus on learning, evolution and freedom. Cem Kaner’s definition is to the point: “Exploratory software testing is a style of software testing that emphasizes the personal freedom and responsibility of the individual tester to continually optimize the value of her work by treating test-related learning, […]

When do you feel productive? Rikard Edgren 5 Comments

I believe that it is impossible to objectively capture important things about a software tester’s productivity. On the other hand I don’t believe there is a big difference between feeling productive and being productive. I feel productive when I * test a feature that is good, but not perfect * review specifications * do pair […]

Seven Categories of Requirements Rikard Edgren 9 Comments

I like to use categorizations to structure my understanding of a subject; and after the simplifications are made and I think I understand it well; the structures can be ripped apart, and you get a bit less confused by the complexity of reality. There are many forms of requirements, these are some a tester should […]

YouTube Premiere! Rikard Edgren 2 Comments

At EuroStar 2008 I presented Testing is an Island – A Software Testing Dystopia. Fritz shot the pictures, Henrik wrote the music, and I uploaded it on YouTube: The accompanying paper can be found at http://www.thetesteye.com/papers/redgren_testingisanisland.doc

Alternative usage of Test Process Improvement Rikard Edgren 1 Comment

Last week I attended SAST VÄST seminar (Gothenburg section of Swedish Assocation for Software Testing) with two interesting presentations. One of them was about experiences of TPI, Test Process Improvement, and a sneak peek of the improved TPI Next. I am not fond of TPI, or TMM, or CMM, or anything else that tries to […]

What’s so special about software testing? Rikard Edgren 6 Comments

There are some things about software testing that are special, but not unique: * you are never done, and there is always something to do * you have to be creative very often * you are dependent on new, different and conflicting technologies, users, objectives It’s not easy to be a tester, thank God for […]

TEST IDEA TRIGGERS Rikard Edgren 5 Comments

When you come up with a new test idea, you are using your knowledge and experience, but there is also some sort of stimuli that triggers the idea. Something you see, hear, understand or think about. You seldom think in totally new ways, you rather combine things in a new way. These are my favorite […]

The Importance of Resolution in Bug Systems Rikard Edgren 3 Comments

This post was triggered by blog post Resolved as Not Repro – http://thetesteye.com/blog/2009/06/resolved-as-not-repro/ I believe that bug systems too often are used with onlý a this-project-right-now approach, where you care most about just getting all items dealt with. This is perfectly fine for one-off type of projects, but does not work fully for software where the […]