What’s the difference between a good test and a bad test?
The latest from the Software Testing Clinic
Designing Tests: What’s the difference between a good test and a bad test?
There are many different types of tests and all of them can be of value to a tester; I want to ensure that each one I decide to employ is of the highest quality I can muster. The quality of a test will determine the value of the test.
99 Second Video Introduction to Influencing
In this video, Dan and Mark will introduce you to what influencing is, why influencing is relevant to testers, provide some examples and discuss the pitfalls you should be aware of.
Note Taking
There was a meetup in Glasgow, with the focus being on note-taking. Are you a fan of the latest wave of sketchnotes? Are they useful? Maybe you’re more of a fan of mindmaps and text notes? Which option works for you best?
Upcoming Sessions
- Become a Mentor — Monday 27th November — Glasgow
- Become a Mentor — Monday 11th December — Manchester
- Automation — Wednesday 13th December — London
- Become a Mentor — Wednesday 10th January — Brighton
5 Things We Found Interesting This Month
Each month we will share a few post and articles, both new and old that have caused pause for thought.
What is Agile Testing? The Evil Tester’s Guide To Agile — I really like how Alan defines Agile testing. Thinking about Agile testing as a verb and not a noun can enable successful testing in teams.
Pathway Exploratory Testing — Fabulous list of resources for everyone to learn about exploratory testing.
The End of Manual Testing — Great post from Michael Bolton about “the end of manual testing”. It’s not about “automating all the things”, but is about ending the misnomer behind the name “manual”, as testing is about using your brain, not your hands. Michael also talks about how the misconception that some testing is “manual and bad” and some testing is “automated and good” leads to missed problems that matter to people and thereby diminish the value of a product.
The value of human, exploratory testing — I picked this one, as the last line appears to be a complete contrast to Michaels article title (it ends with “long live manual testing!”). The gist of the post is the same though — exploratory testing is very valuable. But this blog uses slightly different language.
Strategising Testing Using BDD And Exploratory Testing — Our very own Mark Winteringham has written an awesome article about Session Based Test Management. This is part 1 of 4 parts, and the article initially discusses some of the misunderstandings of BDD, but then dives deeper into how BDD can be used to stem testing, from the perspective of testing our imagination relating to the ideas of new software. Mark also discusses how this helps reveal risks.
