For QASymphony, Quality Jam 2017: Michael Bolton “A Ridiculously Rapid Introduction to Rapid Software Testing”
Structured Programming, Total Quality Management, Agile, Scrum, Devops—and after all this time, projects still stumble and products still drive us crazy.
Why? Part of the reason is surely that many projects are flying blind, without sufficient awareness of the status of the product and the problems in it. And why is that? Part of the reason is that the craft of testing is stuck in ideas that we out of date 30 years ago, and are even more out of date today.
Rapid Software Testing (RST) is an approach to software testing developed by James Bach and Michael Bolton. The approach is targeted towards the fastest, least expensive testing that still completely fulfills testing’s mission — to reveal the status of the product through critical thinking, exploration, and experimentation. While process models, artifacts, and tools have roles to play, RST puts the mindset and the skill set of the individual software tester at the center of testing work.
Despite the name, Rapid Software Testing isn’t just testing with a speed or sense of urgency; it’s mission-focused testing that eliminates unnecessary work, tells the story of the product, and constantly asks what testing can do to help speed the project as a whole—no matter what the development model might be.
Want to reframe your ways of thinking about the craft? Join Michael for a whirlwind tour through some of the principles and tactics of Rapid Software Testing.