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A New Agile Testing Ecosystem

A New Agile Testing Ecosystem – EuroSTAR – Michael Bolton

Over the last several years, a set of ideas and activities have been dumped into a steamer trunk called Agile software development. Agile development has hit mainstream recognition, even though there is often uncertainty and turmoil around what “Agile development” means, in theory and in practice—and that uncertainty and turmoil affects Agile projects and the people in them.

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What Do You Mean By “Arguing Over Semantics”?

Commenting on testing and checking, one correspondent responds: “To be honest, I don’t care what these types of verification are called be it automated checking or manual testing or ministry of John Cleese walks. What I would like to see is investment and respect being paid to testing as a profession rather than arguing with ourselves over semantics.” My very first job in software development was as a database programmer … 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

I Might Be Wrong (But Not For Me)

Jerry Weinberg tells a story (yes, it’s me; I’m telling yet another Jerry Weinberg story) of meeting an old friend who looked distraught. “What’s the matter?” Jerry asked. The fellow replied, “Well, I’m kind of shellshocked. My wife just left me.” “Was that a surprise?” “Yes, it really was,” the fellow said. “I mean, we had had some problems, but I thought they were all settled.” Jerry paused for a … Read more

Should Testers Play Planning Poker?

My colleague and friend Eric Jacobson, who recently (as I write) did a bang-up job on his first conference presentation at STAR West 2011, asks a question in response to this blog post from 2006. (I like it when people reflect on an issue for a few years.) Eric asks: You are suggesting it may not make sense for testers to give time-based estimates to their teams, but what about … Read more

Testing: Difficult or Time-Consuming?

In my recent blog post, Testing Problems Are Test Results, I noted a question that we might ask about people’s perceptions of testing itself: Does someone perceive testing to be difficult or time-consuming? Who? What’s the basis for that perception? What assumptions underlie it? The answer to that question may provide important clues to the way people think about testing, which in turn influences the cost and value of testing. … Read more

The Best Tour

Cem Kaner recently wrote a reply to my blog post Of Testing Tours and Dashboards. One way to address the best practice issue is to go back to the metaphor and ask “What would be the best tour of London?” That question should give rise to plenty of other questions. Are you touring for your own purposes, or in support of someone else’s interests? To what degree are other people … Read more