Asking questions is rightly regarded as important for testers. But I seldom here anything about what we should do with the answers. Not that I believe anyone would ask the question, then not listen to the result, but I think we take for granted that we will understand the answers, and that we can use […]
More than 3 years have passed since we published the first version of our Software Quality Characteristics. It is quite popular, and it is now translated to 8 languages by testing enthusiasts. But it’s about time to talk a bit more about how to use the list, where there are at least three typical scenarios: […]
I am always at the lookout for new testing exercises, since I teach a lot. Today I found a programming exercise at http://imranontech.com/2007/01/24/using-fizzbuzz-to-find-developers-who-grok-coding/ that I thought could be turned into something for testers. Since it doesn’t fit any of my current teaching schemes, I blog about it instead of putting it in the closet. Instructions: […]
When I test software I try to start friendly, to see the good things about the system, and to not focus too much on problems, that might not be important for the whole. So I did this for the new ISO 29119 testing standard, where I have read the three parts that were published September […]
Our minds are fantastic, but can be biased and make dubious decisions. As I read Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow, I thought about test strategy and found some interesting stuff, based on mistakes I have seen, and done. Answering An Easier Question “How could we possibly test everything important?” is a very difficult question. It […]
To me, a test strategy is about “what to test and how” and “ideas that guide testing towards the testing missions“. It is an ongoing process, not necessarily a document, and important for the results of the test effort. A good test strategy should be unique for the situation, but there are som general properties […]
For the first 10 years of my testing career I wrote lousy test strategies. I believe the actual test strategies, what we tested and how, were adequate, but the way it was communicated, as part of test plans, was not good. As many strategies, they more or less just stated different functionalities, and that they […]
Harry Collins’ Tacit and Explicit Knowledge is a book about scripted and exploratory testing. Explicit knowledge is what can be told and is able to transfer knowledge. Tacit knowledge is what can’t be told (yet), knowledge transferred in other ways than reading/listening. There is nothing strange or mystical about this, “experience goes along with having […]
* Take any product, or a part of it. * Choose one category of the quality characteristics. * Go through each sub-category and consider if it is relevant. * For these, write a quality objective anchored in the product, that is useful to many roles. * Design and execute tests that challenge these objectives. * […]
Hi Thanks for your request of a high level summary of software testing. You would get different answers from each tester, and here’s what I think you should know. 1. Purpose of software Software is made to help people with something. If people don’t have use of it, the product doesn’t work. This is complex, […]