My work is greatly influenced by fellow students of the craft. My friends are critical to my education.They help me focus my attention and they stir up my ideas. Here are some substantive examples … [Read more...] about My Life With Colleagues
Testing Culture
Skaters Redux
An open letter to James Whittaker: You wrote: "I had an amicable hallway conversation with James Bach. His blogger angst at my use of the title 'Exploratory Testing' didn't spill over to a … [Read more...] about Skaters Redux
The Drunken Gold Rush
This comes from an ISTQB advertisement they spammed me with, today: "To ensure the quality of any software system, testers and QA professionals must thoroughly test the product. But how do you know … [Read more...] about The Drunken Gold Rush
G2 Test Labs: Cry “Certification!”
A salesman from G2 Test Labs just called me. He said he was from India. He wanted to know if my testing company needed to partner with an offshore lab like his. I'm writing this now, while the memory … [Read more...] about G2 Test Labs: Cry “Certification!”
Pradeep Pulls The Tail of the ISTQB
Pradeep Soundararajan got threatened with lawyers when he criticized Testing Experience magazine for being under the thumb of the ISTQB (for those who don't yet know, the ISTQB are the guys who want … [Read more...] about Pradeep Pulls The Tail of the ISTQB
Tawney Gowan: A New Colleague is Born
I'm well known for promoting philosophy. By philosopher, I mean someone skilled in the exploration, analysis and clarification of meaningful ideas and the processes by which we arrive at those ideas. … [Read more...] about Tawney Gowan: A New Colleague is Born
Quality is Dead #2: The Quality Creation Myth
One of the things that makes it hard to talk about quality software is that we first must overcome the dominating myth about quality, which goes like this: The quality of a product is built into it by … [Read more...] about Quality is Dead #2: The Quality Creation Myth
Schools of Testing… Here to Stay.
The world of testing is divided into camps. Those camps argue with each other, sometimes. Mostly they ignore each other. These camps are like religions of software testing. They are determined and … [Read more...] about Schools of Testing… Here to Stay.
We Need Better Testing Bloggers
I don't understand the mentality of bloggers like this guy. His view of the history of testing is a fantasy that seems designed to insult people who study testing. It applies at most to certain … [Read more...] about We Need Better Testing Bloggers
Conscientious Uncertification
I'm thinking of having badges made which say "Conscientiously Uncertified." It's for those of us who want to resist the dumbing down of our craft by cynical consultants promoting bogus tester … [Read more...] about Conscientious Uncertification