thoughts from the test eye

This is a follow-up on a previous post about Rapid Test Preparation. Some of the commenter’s asked for an example; I’ve tried to go half-way at least. Added some new sections based on some good feedback from Henrik Emilsson. Test Proposal – <area> See the test proposal as a work in progress document to enhance […]

The delegates of the first Swedish Workshop on Exploratory Testing were: Torbjörn Ryber, Simon Morley, Christin Wiedemann, Petter Mattsson, Anders Claesson, Oscar Cosmo, Johan Hoberg, Rikard Edgren, Henrik Emilsson, Martin Jansson, Ann Flismark, Henrik Andersson, Michael Albrecht, Johan Jonasson, James Bach. This write-up surely contains mistakes and important omissions, and it might be too heavy […]

I saw an interesting interview with Rob Sabourin today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZRXdaN7gkY  (Thanks for the tip, Jon Bach!) One thing he says in this video is: “… There are a lot of template junkies out there. [Testers are]  filling out templates and not actually testing. That frustrates testers…” Hey, isn’t this the same thing that happens in strictly scripted testing […]

I thought of this the other day when rethinking a situation that was described in the experience report from Petter Mattson on “Swedish Workshop on Exploratory Testing” (SWET1). Let’s say that you have 100 Paper Airplane builders in your team. They all follow scripted instructions on how to fold a paper in order to create […]

At many bigger companies where you have several teams working with the same test scope there is often a need to communicate how you intend to test something and what areas you intend to cover. It is common that you have a test plan and perhaps a test strategy, they usually do not go into […]

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, […]

Let me begin by a quote from T.S. Eliot: We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. One of the most important things with Exploratory Testing is that it allows for you to learn something […]

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” […]