Alas! regardless of their doom, The little victims play; No sense have they of ills to come, Nor care beyond to-day. That is part of a poem by Thomas Gray, and I'm thinking about it now as I sit in … [Read more...] about Covid-19 Reminds Us Why Testing Matters
Testing Culture
Assess Quality, Don’t Measure It
How to measure quality is a popular question. The answer I want to give is easy to say, but not so popular: “Stop! Quality can’t be measured, but it can be discussed and assessed. Focus on that … [Read more...] about Assess Quality, Don’t Measure It
Let’s Encourage Live Thinking
In one of my classes, I start things off by challenging the students to "make a diagram of testing." Some people make complicated pictures, some make simple ones. Some are literal, some are … [Read more...] about Let’s Encourage Live Thinking
Why I Am a Tester
Alex Bunardzic asked me a question in a comment that inspires me to do a new post: "To me (and I’m sure you’ll find ways to convince me how wrong I am), if someone is intent on improving the … [Read more...] about Why I Am a Tester
What Could Kill Testing?
(I wrote this several years ago with Michael Bolton, but never got around to publishing it... UPDATE: Oh! I did publish this as an editorial in Tea Time for Testers. Well, anyway this is an … [Read more...] about What Could Kill Testing?
Jerry Weinberg’s Last Worry
Jerry Weinberg has died. Jerry was my teacher more than any other single person. As I have told my students and clients for years: my work is an elaboration and improvisation on his work. In November … [Read more...] about Jerry Weinberg’s Last Worry
Facebook and the AI Apocalypse
I hate Facebook. Hate is a strong word. It is too strong for Facebook, for instance. I had a Facebook account for about 30-minutes before I was banned, apparently by an algorithm. After locking down … [Read more...] about Facebook and the AI Apocalypse
The Next Step In “Test Automation” is Pure Bullshitting
I defy any responsible, sober technical professional to visit this website and discover what the "MABL" tool is and does without reaching out to the company to beg for actual details. It has an … [Read more...] about The Next Step In “Test Automation” is Pure Bullshitting
Six Things That Go Wrong With Discussions About Testing
Talking about software testing is not easy. It’s not natural! Testing is a “meta” activity. It’s not just a task, but a task that generates new tasks (by finding bugs that should be fixed or finding … [Read more...] about Six Things That Go Wrong With Discussions About Testing
Regression Test Tool for Trash Walking
My recent flirtation with trash-pickup-as-physical-exercise has led me down a familiar path. Even though it is not my responsibility to clean a public road in the first place, once I do it, I find … [Read more...] about Regression Test Tool for Trash Walking