testingReflections.com - The mind-share information resource for software testing, agile testing and test-first/test-driven development

Testing is like rally

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:49:15 -0600

Breaking (crashing) rally car does not make you champion. Learning the limits does.

No, seriously. There are so much in common
- It is partially-scripted “During the actual rally, the co-driver reads the pace notes aloud”
- Well, I could only guess from car racing games, but I believe you have to learn to use your instincts as well as (theoretical) knowledge.
- There is neither best car nor best driver. You need good car and a skilled driver who could get used to that car. (replace car with tools to get analogy)

How many social networking sites does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:00:14 -0600

I’m a frequent user of some of the online networking services, but there are just so many of them, I only focus on a few. A recent communication led me down a convoluted trail through several of them.It started with with a message from a new contact on LinkedIn, saying I might be interested in [...]

Gorman's Law of Tacit Architecture

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:00:22 -0600

Nat Pryce recently posted his collection of laws of software development, and well worth a read it is, too.

I have my own law to add, of course:

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GORMAN'S LAW OF TACIT ARCHITECTURE

The c

My Unified Theory of Bugs

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:01:13 -0600

by Miško HeveryI think of bugs as being classified into three fundamental kinds of bugs.

Logical: Logical bug is the most common and classical "bug." This is your "if"s, "loop"s, and other logic in your code. It is by far the most common kind of bug in an application. (Think: it does the wrong thing)
Wiring: Wiring bug is when two different objects are miswired. For example wiring the first-name to the last-name field. It could also mean that the output of one object is not what the input of the next object expects. (Think: Data gets clobbered in process to where it is needed.)
Rendering: Rendering bug is when the output (typical some UI or a report) does not look right. The key here is that it takes a human to determine what "right" is. (Think: it "looks" wrong)

NOTE: A word of caution. Some developers think that since they are building UI everything is a rendering bug! A rendering bug would be that the button text overlaps with the button border. If you click the button and the wrong thing happens than it is either because you wired it wrong (wiring problem) or your logic is wrong (a logical bug). Rendering bugs are rare.Typical Application Distribution (without Testability in Mind)The first thing to notice about these three bug types is that the probability is not evenly distributed. Not only is the probability not even, but the cost of finding and fixing them is different. (I am sure you know this from experience). My experience from building web-apps tells me that the Logical bugs are by far the most common, followed by wiring and finally rendering bugs.

No Good Deed

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:30:25 -0600

Very often I break a simple rule of consultancy, I fix something I wasn't asked to do. For example, I may be drafted in by a company to bring a project back on track or, sometimes, to teach object technologies (I like this type of work). However, if you are working with a group of people and one of them is incompetent or destructive then that, by definition, is the problem you have to solve first. What this means is that you end up doing a little bit of behaviour changing or some management consulting.

Software Craftsmanship 2009 Request For Session Proposals

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:00:28 -0600

So I finally got around to putting out the RFP for the - now confirmed - conference on Feb 26th next year. If any of you out there in eyeball land are considering running a session, here's the invitation that went out today.

(Registration will start on Dec 1st, BTW)

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Dear Software Craftsman,

(Or should that be "craftsperson"?)

Unit vs. System Testing—It’s OK to be Different

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:01:20 -0600

My StickyMinds column, Unit vs. System Testing—It’s OK to be Different was posted on October 20, 2008. Comments are still open, and I’d love to get your feedback either on StickyMinds or here. This is a concept that I first explored as a lightning talk at CAST 2008, and then more fully at a meeting [...]

GameState.equals(SystemState)?

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:27:18 -0600

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I love video games. I've been playing them since the days of Pong, Space Invaders and Asteroid... Over the years games have come along way with enormous detail. My latest acquisition is Gears of War 2 (or Gears2 as us gamers affectionately call it) which I picked up just over a week ago.

What is so impressive about this game is the way it draws you in, the way you care for the characters... the phenomenal graphics! I mean the game could be a animated feature film! Some refer to it not as a game but as an interactive cinematic experience.

We're Doing Agile. So Why Is Our Code Still Crap?

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:07:39 -0600

There's a debate bubbling away on James Shore's blog post about The Decline And Fall of Agile

I waded in a couple of times, and feel so strongly about the points I've raised that I thought I'd copy and paste the second comment here for your delight and delectation:

How testers can practice bug advocacy with developers

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:00:24 -0600

A while ago I answered the following question on SearchSoftwareQuality.com’s Ask The Software Quality Expert: Questions & Answers.What do you do when you find a defect and send it to the developer, but he will not accept that it is a defect? How can we prove that it is a defect?Here is a clip from [...]

Agile Development Practices keynote - James Shore remix

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:00:22 -0600

One important point, in 1/30th the actual keynote’s running time:

Interesting Posts on Agile Challenges

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:30:05 -0600

Scrum Challenges A couple of posts that describe how many teams are flailing and failing with Scrum: James Shore: The Decline and Fall of Agile Rob Bowley: Lean is the new Scrum, and it will fail for the same reasons...

ExpoQA 2008 in Spain

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:39:49 -0600

The week after Oredev, I’ll be presenting at the ExpoQA conference in Madrid Spain. You can read more here.

I’m surprised I haven’t blogged more about both conferences (Oredev and ExpoQA) but have been busy working. And now I need to pack …

Oredev 2008 Conference in Sweden

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:36:37 -0600

I’ll be in Malmo Sweden this coming week teaching and presenting at the Oredev conference. You can read more here.

If you'll be attending the conference or if you're located nearby and want to meet up, send me an email. It's interesting to meet other testers. I feel most fortunate to have the opportunity to be at the conference. It will also be my first time to Sweden, yahoo!

Pex at the Seattle Code Camp – this Saturday at 2.45pm

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:30:06 -0600

We will give a session on Pex at the Seattle Code Camp – Saturday 11/15 at 2.45pm. We will show the new Code Digger and how Pex can help you…