Very Short Blog Posts (8): Two Big Questions

Too often testing is focused on getting the right answers, rather than asking worthwhile questions and helping to get them answered.

There are at least two overarching questions that a tester must ask.

While looking directly at the product, at its customers, at the project, at the business, and at the relationships between them, the tester’s first question — and a question the tester must ask continuously, expansively, and tacitly about the product, is “Is there a problem here?”

As the project proceeds, the tester observes the status of the prooduct and the project. The tester gathers and organizes those observations, with a special focus on problems and risks that might threaten the product, the project, or the business. Then the tester asks the testing client and the rest of the project community, periodically, specifically, and explicitly, “Are you okay with all this?”

(This post was lightly updated 2024-05-23.)