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What’s Comparable (Part 1)

People interpret requirements and specifications in different ways, based on their models, and their past experiences, and their current context. When they hear or read something, many people tend to choose an interpretation that is familiar to them, which may close off their thinking about other possible interpretations. That’s not a big problem in simple, stable systems. It’s a bigger problem in software development. The problems we’re trying to solve … Read more

Where Does All That Time Go?

It had been a long day, so a few of the fellows from the class agreed to meet a restaurant downtown. The main courses had been cleared off the table, some beer had been delivered, and we were waiting for dessert. Pedro (not his real name) was complaining, again, about how much time he had to spend doing administrivial tasks—meetings, filling out forms, time sheets, requisitions, and the like. “Everything … Read more

Time, Coverage, and Maps

Over the last few years, people have become increasingly enthusiastic about the idea of mind mapping to help them describe or illustrate or otherwise consider test coverage. For me, Darren McMillan was the one who really got the ball rolling here, here, and here. More recently there have been other examples to present coverage ideas. Colleague Adam Goucher has weighed in here. But there’s another thing you can do, something … Read more

Premises of Rapid Software Testing, Part 3

Over the last two days, I’ve published the premises of the Rapid Software Testing classes and methodology, as developed by James Bach and me. The first set addresses the nature of Rapid Testing’s engagement with software development—an ambitious activity, performed by fallible humans for other fallible humans, under conditions of uncertainty and time pressure. The second set addresses the nature of testing as an investigative activity focused on understanding the … Read more

Premises of Rapid Software Testing, Part 2

Yesterday I published the first three premises that underlie the Rapid Software Testing methodology developed and taught by James Bach and me. Today’s two are on the nature of “test” as an activity—a verb, rather than a noun—and the purpose of testing as we see it: understanding the product and imparting that understanding to our clients, with emphasis on problems that threaten the product’s value. 4. A test is an … Read more

Premises of Rapid Software Testing, Part 1

In February of 2012, James Bach and I got together for a week of work one-on-one, face-to-face—something that happens all too rarely. We worked on a number of things, but the principal outcome was a statement of the premises on which Rapid Software Testing—our classes and our methodology—are based. In deference to Twitter-sized attention spans like mine, I’ll post the premises over the next few days. Here’s the preamble and … Read more

The Customer Wants To Speak With You. Why Cover Your Ears?

Speaking of oracles—the ways in which we recognize problems… I’m on the mailing list for a company whose product I purchased a while ago. The other day, I received a mailing signed by the product marketing manager for that company. The topic of the mailing is a potential use for the product, but the product doesn’t support that purpose very well at all. In fact, I’ve often wanted to use … Read more

FEW HICCUPPS

Several years ago, I wrote an article for Better Software Magazine called Testing Without a Map. The article was about identifying and applying oracles, and it listed several dimensions of consistency by which we might find or describe problems in the product. The original list came from James Bach. Testers often say that they recognize a problem when the product doesn’t “meet expectations”. But that seems empty to me; a … Read more