Essays

Wherein the TOTE (Test Operate Test Exit) model is used to explore the nature of feedback and abstraction of test phases and map the TOTE model on to TDD, Exploratory Testing, Design processes, Analysis, Learning, Decision Making and Problem Solving.

TLDR; The Art of War Chapter 13, on spies, is directly applicable for interpretation in terms of Software Testing.

I was asked a question over email, and I’m paraphrasing the essence as, “given our project issues what tool can we use to automatically pull out all this data and automate the app to let us test it properly?”.

Unfortunately most of the time, when I’m asked this, the answer isn’t what people want to hear.

A great way to start introducing automated execution and tooling into your test process is to conduct a proof of concept (POC).

A POC can often provide, in a few days, far more information than an extended RFP and trial evaluation process, assuming the right people are involved and the aims are clear.

Black Friday means cheap deals.

Testing is already the ‘cheap’ and undervalued relation in Software Development. Testers are paid less than programmers. Testing is outsourced more often and programming because it is seen as less valuable. Testing is viewed as more of a junior role than programming.

Every day is Black Friday for Software Testing.

I find advice interesting.

How much of that advice is based on ’luck’ and how much on ‘deliberate and strategic choices’.

I think most people intuitively know the difference between an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and a POC (Proof of Concept).

But I think that sometimes people start work on an MVP when they should be working on a POC. And sometimes people don’t stop after a POC, they keep adding more features and continue proving more concepts, hoping that they will end up with an MVP.

TLDR; Identify Oracles, automate observation of changes, understand GUI/Mobile differences, harness tool support.

Don’t limit yourself to a set of attributes and words, seek more, develop strategies for identifying new concepts and ways of exploring them for then you have manifested the spirit of Quaere.

I believe that everyone has a unique and personal test process. Also, when we accept this, we can grow our testing skills further and faster than if we pursue the traditional path of learning a common body of knowledge.