Software Testing Blog

“They want to know if the 91-shot Saturn Missile Battery really fires 91 shots,” writes Cory Matteson of the Lincoln Journal Star. “And, they want to know if 96,000 firecrackers in a pile the size of a bean bag chair will leave the lawn looking like burnt toast if they’re set off all at once.”

Much like software users, fireworks enthusiasts (like the guy in the picture) want a product that functions as expected; that works safely and without any unnecessary complications, regardless of the environment it is being used in. In short, they want a product that has been tested extensively before it was launched released.

So, seeing that it’s Forth of July weekend here in The States, I thought I would direct your attention to some testing fireworks – literally, in the form of this manual from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and figuratively, in form of these recent (and provocative) software testing blog posts. Enjoy.

How Challenging Each Other Helps the Craft – James Bach
“Regular readers know that I’m dissatisfied with the state of the testing industry. It’s a shambles, and will continue to be as long as middle managers in big companies continue to be fat juicy targets for scam-artists (large tool vendors, consulting firms, and certain “professional” organizations) and well-meaning cargo cultists (such as those who think learning testing is the same as memorizing definitions of words and filling in templates).

What I can do about it is to develop my personal excellence, and associate myself with others who wish to do likewise. Someday, perhaps we will attain a critical mass. Perhaps the studious will inherit the Earth.”

The Heart of a Tester – Pradeep Soundararajan
“In 1954, when software testing was just about taking birth, there were two groups that started to form. I was as curious as you are right now, to know what those two groups stood for. One of the groups christened as, “Kuzusu”, had a thought that good testing would reduce the number of billable hours to deliver a good enough product and hence had to be avoided. The other group christened, “Shidachi”, stood for good testing that can save a lot of stakeholders time and money to deliver a good enough product. Things started getting hostile. People from the two groups tried killing each other.”

The Way of Testivus - Alberto Savoia (on the Google Testing Blog)

If you write code, write tests.

Don’t get stuck on unit testing dogma.

Embrace unit testing karma.

Think of code and test as one.

The test is more important than the unit.

The best time to test is when the code is fresh.

Tests not run waste away.

An imperfect test today is better than a perfect test someday.

An ugly test is better than no test.

Sometimes, the test justifies the means.

Only fools use no tools.

Good tests fail.

Is Unit Testing Automated? – Michael Bolton
“Test execution may or may not include reporting, but reporting happens at some point. And when testing is being done well, learning is happening pretty much all the time. This isn’t a strictly linear process, by the way. Depending on your approach to testing, and depending on what you’re these things may happen in the order that you see above, or they may happen in all at once in an organic tangled ball, with lots of tight little loops.”

From all of us here at uTest (and particularly to our ~7,000 US-based testers), have a happy and safe 4th of July weekend!