Michael Bolton Thanks to the energetic James Lyndsay, a bunch of us are meeting at the conclusion of his Exploratory Testing class and my Rapid Testing class on Friday, June 3 2009, in London, UK. I expect we’ll be there somewhere between 5:30 and 9:00pm. The venue is the Prince Arthur pub, 80-82 Eversholt Street, Euston, London, NW1 1BX, right across the street from Euston Station, north of Euston Road. Three large … Read more
The Difference Between Experience and Experiments with Michael Bolton presented by STAREAST presented by Techwell Happenings.
In this video from the STAREAST 2009 Interactive Lounge, Michael Bolton takes a look at two subjects–a 17th century debate over the air pump and the difference between experience and experiments–and how they relate to the software testing of today and tomorrow.
In a recent posting, I made a mistake: I erroneously stated that James Lyndsay, the genial host of the London Workshops on Exploratory Testing (LEWT), had not attended a LAWST conference before setting up LEWT. Except I was wrong: he had. Shame on me for not checking. If you’re not aware of James’ work, you would do well to know about it. He’s the author of a rich set of … Read more
Last week posted a blog entry on automation and coverage, in which I questioned the usefulness of trying to cover “everything” with automated tests, comparing them to the CCTV cameras that are in use all over the place, but especially in Britain. Despite the limitations of such schemes, there might also be some useful aspects. What might they be? For certain areas that we decide to cover with a camera, … Read more
In 1999, Cem Kaner and Brian Lawrence came up with the idea of having testers and test managers meet to talk about some of the problems that seemed to bedevil all of them. This was, for its time, a radical idea for the testing community. Here’s what they said, after the second LAWST but before the third: This is a process developed by Cem Kaner and Brian Lawrence for technical … Read more
At the STAR East conference, produced by Software Quality Engineering in Orlando, FL, I gave a keynote address on Testing and Noticing. I also gave a half-day experiential workshop on Difficult Testing Questions and How to Answer Them, and a track session called Insource or Outsource Testing: Understanding Your Context. A number of people have asked about the source for the video that I showed. It can now be revealed … Read more
For almost as long as I’ve been a tester, with occasional lapses into process enthusiasm, I’ve been questioning the value of test automation as a presumed good, especially when the automation is deployed against the highest levels of the application. Automation is a tool, and there is great value in tools. But with that value comes risk. The Agile Manifesto, properly in my view, emphasizes individuals and interactions over processes … Read more
If you don’t read the forums on the Software Testing Club, I’d recommend that you consider it. In my view, the STC is one of the more thoughtful venues for conversation about testing. (I’d recommend subscribing to the Software Testing mailing list, too.) A correspondent recently posted a request for help in recommending an automation approach. I answered something like what follows: Need to get a code coverage of at … Read more
I’ll be in London (the U.K., not London Ontario), June 17 2009, to present a keynote, “Two Futures of Software Testing” to the British Computer Society (BCS) Specialist Group in Software Testing (SIGIST; they must have bought a vowel). In the talk, I project a dark future for testing, in which the goal is Making Sure That Tests Pass, and in which processes and tools rule the roost—chillingly reminiscent of … Read more
I don’t know how this slipped in under my radar, but it did until a couple of days ago. Sharath Byregowda is a software tester in Bangalore, and he provides a marvelous experience report here. As I read the report, I’m delighted on a number of levels. First, it’s India! India tends to be a very conservative place when it comes to testing, with many test organizations preferring scripted, document-heavy, … Read more