More Articles
Is Testing a Service? – There are circumstances where we sell testing as a service, but I believe it's often a bad idea to call testing a "service to the project". Read why, in this article I wrote jointly with Jerry Weinberg.
Changing the Ground: Testing an Infrastructure Upgrade – We need to test infrastructure upgrades carefully, but does that always mean a massive regression test? I suggest a whole-team alternative.
Tester, Know Your Product – Should you diligently produce multiple big documents before testing begins? I believe you should do that only if documentation is your product as a tester.
The Wrong End of the Stick – When we don’t understand what the words we use could mean to our customers and business stakeholders, we can trigger misunderstanding or strong emotional reactions that impair working relationships.
Delivering Difficult Messages – Basic tips on delivering potentially unwelcome news about a product or project to managers —a task most testers have to do at some point.
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast – Lying of various kinds is quite common on software projects. Lying is damaging to people and to projects, so why don’t we just stop it?
Revisiting Basics: Test Strategy – A test strategy is the set of big-picture ideas that constitute the design behind your plan. You should be able to communicate your strategy clearly to stakeholders using a lightweight, flexible medium.
Mindmapped Test Strategy – an example. (Developed for my "Mind, Map and Strategy" session at the EuroSTAR Virtual Conference, Sept. 13, 2011.)
Click here for the video presentation.
Put a Load on It – By running functional and load testing as completely separate activities, we risk missing high-impact functional bugs that manifest only under load.
The Sceptical Tester – Testers are people who ask questions, think critically about the answers, and then ask more questions—repeatedly. Our success depends upon a healthy scepticism.
Other Publications
SOFTWARE TEST & PERFORMANCE magazine - Jan 2010 special issue "Women of Influence". I had a lot of fun guest-editing this special themed issue celebrating the work of women testers internationally, soliciting articles from 9 terrific women testers (plus writing my editorial). The cover story features 13 of the world's top women testers. You can download the magazine free by registering on the STP Collaborative site.