Test Guide
Making the invisible visible since 1987
Wordsmithing
A few weeks ago I read a suggestion by somebody somewhere to stop saying the word "but". Much of the...
Author: humbugreality Date: 05/02/2007
It Depends
My previous post stirred up a bit of controversy and spurred a bit of discussion. Fun stuff! The...
Author: humbugreality Date: 04/25/2007
And Now For Something Completely Different
I am excited to announce that today is my first day on...yet another top secret V1 project. As a...
Author: humbugreality Date: 04/23/2007
Automate This!
How much of your testing do you automate? How do you know whether you have automated enough - or too...
Author: humbugreality Date: 04/11/2007
Let's Go Bust Some Silos!
Who plans the tests for your product? Who writes them? Who executes them?On some product teams,...
Author: humbugreality Date: 04/04/2007
Driver Wanted
I was walking along, minding my own business, when a sign in a shop window reached out and grabbed...
Author: humbugreality Date: 03/28/2007
Super Dev
[With apologies to Rick James...]She's quite the super devThe kind who tests and tests and tests...
Author: humbugreality Date: 03/21/2007
Test Trimming
This week's profound thought on testing doesn't come from me. Instead, I point you to the AYE...
Author: humbugreality Date: 03/07/2007
Sign + Cup = Teaching Moment
I learned/had remembered to me several interesting things by posting that street sign. (Yes, Warren,...
Author: humbugreality Date: 02/28/2007
Brain Overload
Tell me, please, when exactly it is OK to park here? This is perhaps the most complicated set of...
Author: humbugreality Date: 02/23/2007
They're (gasp) Everywhere!
Recently I was shopping for music at a well-known online store. This store often suggests other...
Author: humbugreality Date: 02/21/2007
Payback Time
One thing I think is super important is stopping work on the important projects I am doing, and...
Author: humbugreality Date: 02/14/2007
Hot Fix Heaven
How do you handle emergency fixes to your software? Hot fixes, patches, QFEs (Quick Fix Engineering)...
Author: humbugreality Date: 02/07/2007
Shampoo Testing
Eric writes:How can I help my devs help me determine what is ready to test so I can help...
Author: humbugreality Date: 01/31/2007
Tag I'm It
Harry writes,Hi Micahel,I'm a regular reader of your blog. I run a blog on requirements and software...
Author: humbugreality Date: 01/24/2007
Micahel?
People often ask me why my blog URL is "micahel" rather than "michael". Here's why:Years ago I had a...
Author: humbugreality Date: 01/23/2007
This Is Your Brain On RST
Last week I took Rapid Software Testing from Michael Bolton. The three days of stuffing my brain in...
Author: humbugreality Date: 01/17/2007
Resolving Resolutions
Anu asks:[C]ould you post an entry on when to resolve a bug as "Dupe" or "No repro". I've been...
Author: humbugreality Date: 01/03/2007
Software Wonderland
[To the tune of "Here Comes Santa Claus"]Here comes a developer, here comes a developer, Right down...
Author: humbugreality Date: 12/20/2006
Testing In Five Easy Steps
James Bullock recently presented his Big Book Of Testing at the Seattle QA SIG. I'm sorry to have...
Author: humbugreality Date: 12/18/2006
Can Developers Test?
Diligent Reader Ayaz asks:Everywhere there is talk about the tester mentality and how the testers...
Author: humbugreality Date: 12/13/2006
Systin Testing
Jerrad is cooking up Systin, which he's building on top of Systir. All terribly exciting, but wait...
Author: humbugreality Date: 11/28/2006
Might Means
Eric writes:[I]t seems the main problem [in automating software testing] is getting the test data -...
Author: humbugreality Date: 11/15/2006
The Three Most Important Considerations
Eric writes:There's a lot of debate over automating software testing (ie is it worth it, will it get...
Author: humbugreality Date: 11/08/2006
Mistaken Opportunities
Sometimes I miss a meeting. This is rarer than it used to be. Each time I miss a meeting I identify...
Author: humbugreality Date: 11/01/2006
Tester Mentality
I tech screened a tester this morning for a position on my team. I always ask the candidate to...
Author: humbugreality Date: 10/18/2006
NOK? ACK!
Reader Geth writes to ask that I talk about what he refers to as NOK - Not OK - testing. The basic...
Author: humbugreality Date: 10/11/2006
How'd Ya Miss That?
Have you ever missed an obvious bug? One of those sit-up-and-smack-you-in-the-face problems that you...
Author: humbugreality Date: 09/27/2006
Pawn Takes King
At some point every product team reaches a point where the features are (allegedly, anyway) all...
Author: humbugreality Date: 09/20/2006
Colombia, Here I Come!
I am excited to announce that SQA has asked me to fly down to Colombia to give my talk Hallmarks of...
Author: humbugreality Date: 09/15/2006
Fantasy Island?
Recently one of my teammates was showing off a WPF application he had built. Since it's easy to do,...
Author: humbugreality Date: 09/06/2006
Ideaful Idealists
The last of Keirsey's Four Temperaments is the Idealist.Recall that Idealists - or NFs - tend to be...
Author: humbugreality Date: 08/30/2006
Artful Artisans
Today I'll cover the Artisan Temperament.Recall that Artisans - or SPs - tend to be concrete in...
Author: humbugreality Date: 08/16/2006
Eight Miles An Hour
Today I Trikked the Burke-Gilman (left half of my route) and Sammamish River (right half of my...
Author: humbugreality Date: 08/15/2006
Irrational Rationals
Continuing on with Keirsey's Four Temperaments, I'll do one post each going into the details of each...
Author: humbugreality Date: 08/09/2006
Temper Temper Temperament
As I've talked about before, one of my current areas of study is personality types. In particular,...
Author: humbugreality Date: 08/02/2006
Forty Miles?
No real post today, as I'm attempting forty miles on my Trikke:I'm starting (#0) just south of...
Author: humbugreality Date: 07/26/2006
Take One Down, Try It On, Ninety-nine More Possible Metrics On The Wall
Anutthara comments on my "Fast Today Or Fast Tomorrow" post:How am I to convince myself or others...
Author: humbugreality Date: 07/19/2006
Bad Dev Lead! Bad! Bad!
A Diligent Reader has a doozy of a question:As a test team lead, have you come acress scenarios...
Author: humbugreality Date: 07/12/2006
"Developer" Diary
Dr. Dobb's Journal recently started a new column titled "Developer Diaries", where they interview a...
Author: humbugreality Date: 07/07/2006
Fast Today Or Fast Tomorrow - Your Choice
My trainer has me timing my morning workouts as one way to track my progress. One day I realized...
Author: humbugreality Date: 07/05/2006
Purple Dragons Designing
I want to give a shout out to my wife Kaylyn. Kaylyn is a fabulous artist, and she is now selling...
Author: humbugreality Date: 06/26/2006
Tablet Gaming
I've been thinking about gaming on Tablets. Card games, Whack A Mole-like pound games, and board...
Author: humbugreality Date: 06/16/2006