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Alternatives to “Manual Testing”: Experiential, Interactive, Exploratory

This is an extension on a long Twitter thread from a while back that made its way to LinkedIn, but not to my blog. Update, 2022/12/07: James Bach and I have recently changed “attended” to “interactive”, to emphasize the tester’s direct interaction with the product that happens during so-called “manual” testing. “Interactive” is more evocative of what’s going on than “attended” is, but it’s also true the tester’s interaction might … Read more

Test with Brains or Bots

Fireside chat with Michael Bolton | QA TechTalks Community 0:10 / 55:43

Topic: Would you prefer to test with brains or bots? An interactive short talk & discussion about test with brains or bots or both with best practices, evidence, proofs, examples, and inputs. A weekly fireside chat series to share with the community.

Speaker: Michael Bolton I help people and organizations find product problems and solve testing problems quickly and expertly with Rapid Software Testing. developsense.com / rapid-software-testing.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-b…

Takeaways:
1. Real-time examples
2. Tools & Techniques
3. Rapid Software Testing
4. Best practices and strategies
5. Advantages & disadvantages with manual and automation testing
6. Scope of testing in future

More details here: https://www.tech-talks.info/registration

Exact Instructions vs. Social Competence

An amusing video from a few years back has been making the rounds lately. Dad challenges the kids to write exact instructions to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and Dad follows those instructions. The kids find the experience difficult and frustrating, because Dad interprets the “exact” instructions exactly—but differently from the way the kids intended. I’ll be here when you get back. Go ahead and watch it. Welcome … Read more

Testers: Focus on Problems

A tester writes: “I’m testing an API. It accepts various settings and parameters. I don’t know how to get access to these settings from the API itself, so I’m stuck with modifying them from the front end. Moreover, some responses to specific requests are long and complicated, so given that, I have no idea how to test it! Online examples of API testing tend to focus on checking the response’s … Read more

Unlimited Charges

I noticed something interesting while reviewing my credit card bills a couple of evenings ago: monthly charges for $9.99 from “Amazon Downloads”, going back several months. I buy a lot of e-books. I looked for receipts from Amazon in email. I found a bunch, but none from Amazon for $9.99. I never delete email receipts; I put all of them into a separate folder so that I can collate them … Read more

Tech Talk with Amit & Rinat – Episode 026 – Rapid Software Testing

Software is everywhere. And good quality software has become very important and sometimes even critical as well. But with rapid progress in development cycle, testers don’t often get enough time to test software. What if there is a better way to test software without compromising quality, which is more focused and which can be completed rapidly.

In this week’s #TechTalk, Amit and Rinat talk with Michael Bolton, co-author (with James Bach) of Rapid Software Testing (RST), about software testing, context driven testing, Rapid Software Testing, and a lot more!

“Manual Testing”: What’s the Problem?

I used to speak at conferences. For the HUSTEF 2020 conference, I had intended to present a talk called “What’s Wrong with Manual Testing?” In the age of COVID, we’ve all had to turn into movie makers, so instead of delivering a speech, I delivered a video instead. After I had proposed the talk, and it was accepted, I went through a lot of reflection on what the big deal … Read more

Suggestions for the (New) Testers

A friend that I’m just getting to know runs a training and skills development program for new testers. Today he said, “My students are now starting a project which includes test design, test techniques, and execution of testing. Do you have any input or advice for them?” Here’s my reply. Test design, test techniques, and execution of testing are all good things. I’d prefer performing tests to “test execution”. In … Read more

Evaluating Test Cases, Checks, and Tools

For testers who are being asked to focus on test cases and testing tools, remember this: a test case never finds a bug. The tester finds a bug, and the test case may play a role in finding the bug. (Credit to Pradeep Soundararajan for putting this so succinctly, all those years ago.) Similarly, an automated check never finds a bug. The tester finds a bug, and the check may … Read more