Posts Tagged ‘broken window theory’

It’s the little things Martin Jansson 2 Comments

As a tester you find lots of things that bugs you when exploring a system. In some cases these issues only nudge you slightly at first, but after passing over the same issue many times it really starts to drive you crazy. This, at first small issue, has now become something that affect you more […]

Working with the testing debt – part 2 Martin Jansson 1 Comment

This is a follow-up from Working with the testing debt – part 1 [1]. The reason for the clarification is that you so easily come up with a tip without a context or example. Tip 2: Focus on what adds value to developers, business analysers and other stakeholders. If you do not know what they […]

Developers, let the testers assist with the technical debt Martin Jansson 4 Comments

Shipping first time code is like going into debt. A little debt speeds development so long as it is paid back promptly with a rewrite. Objects make the cost of this transaction tolerable. The danger occurs when the debt is not repaid. Every minute spent on not-quite-right code counts as interest on that debt. Entire […]

Turning the tide of bad testing Martin Jansson 7 Comments

Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken. This is as true in nice neighborhoods as in run-down ones. Window-breaking does not necessarily occur on a large scale because some areas are […]

Ignoratio elenchi Henrik Emilsson 6 Comments

“Wouldn’t it be cool if we could come up with a Quality Value for our products?”  said a colleague of mine. “Yes! That would be super!” me and a couple of colleagues answered. We had a lot of categories and data in our bug system; and perhaps most important was that we had a good data […]

Behind the scenes of the test group Martin Jansson No Comments

In your current assignment as a tester, test lead or test manager think about how the situation is for the test group right now. At the stand-up morning meeting with the test group, stop and consider… what is that troubles the group? what obstacles do they see? what is their main concern? what is stopping them […]

Broken window theory and quality Martin Jansson 6 Comments

Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it’s unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside. Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. […]