The difference between Behavior-Driven Development and testing: This is a BDD scenario (from Dan North, a man I respect and admire): +Scenario 1: Account is in credit+ Given the account is in … [Read more...] about Behavior-Driven Development vs. Testing
Exploratory Testing
A Nice Quote Against Confirmatory Testing
Most of the technology of "confirmatory" non-qualitative research in both the social and natural sciences is aimed at preventing discovery. When confirmatory research goes smoothly, everything comes … [Read more...] about A Nice Quote Against Confirmatory Testing
Who says ET is good for Medical Devices? The FDA!
In a new guidance document discussing the clinical testing of medical devices, the FDA includes a long section about the value of exploratory testing: The Importance of Exploratory Studies in Pivotal … [Read more...] about Who says ET is good for Medical Devices? The FDA!
Technique: Paired Exploratory Survey
I named a technique the other day. It's another one of those things I've been doing for a while, but only now has come crisply into focus as a distinct heuristic of testing: the Paired Exploratory … [Read more...] about Technique: Paired Exploratory Survey
What Testers Find
While testing at eBay, recently, it occurred to me that we need a deeper account of what testers find. It's not just bugs. Here's my experimental list: Testers find bugs. In other words, we look for … [Read more...] about What Testers Find
This is What We Do
In the Context-Driven Testing community, the testing craft is a living, growing thing. This dialog, led by my partner in Rapid Testing, Michael Bolton, is a prime example of the life among us. Read … [Read more...] about This is What We Do
Introducing Thread-Based Test Management
Most of the testing world is managed around artifacts: test cases, test documents, bug reports. If you look at any "test management" tool, you'll see that the artifact-based approach permeates it. … [Read more...] about Introducing Thread-Based Test Management
What Exploratory Practitioners Are Called
An exploratory DOCTOR is known as... a "doctor." An exploratory WELDER is known as... a "welder." An exploratory PILOT is known as... a "pilot." An exploratory WRITER is known as... a "writer." An … [Read more...] about What Exploratory Practitioners Are Called
Three New Testing Heuristics
A lot of what I do is give names to testing behaviors and patterns that have been around a long time but that people are not systematically studying or using. I'm not seeking to create a standard … [Read more...] about Three New Testing Heuristics
New Version of the ET Dynamics Lists
Michael Bolton, my brother Jon, and I have produced a new version of our Exploratory Testing Dynamics document. We unveiled it last week at STPCON. This document describes the elements of exploratory … [Read more...] about New Version of the ET Dynamics Lists