What is Testing (anyway)? It depends… Lee Hawkins Principal Test Architect, Quest (Melbourne)

My preferred definition From James Bach & Michael Bolton in “Exploratory Testing 3.0” blog post: Testing is the process of evaluating a product by learning about it through exploration and experimentation, which includes: questioning, study, modeling, observation and inference, output checking, etc. (See http://www.satisfice.com/blog/archives/1509)

Definition, but what about perspective? Different stakeholders have different perspectives on what testing is. Resorting to this definition (or any other one) doesn’t necessarily help in conversations with some of these stakeholders. Recognizing these different perspectives might lead you to think differently about how you serve your stakeholders.

Some perspectives

An information service for the project Testing is… An information service for the project Who might have this perspective? A tester embedded in an agile development team. Someone well versed in the Bach/Bolton/CDT view of testing. Some outsourcing vendors (perhaps).

Who might have this perspective? Testing is… Dead Who might have this perspective? CxO types following the latest “big thing” (agile, DevOps, continuous delivery). Testers tasked with nothing but running test cases every day. Newcomers reading LinkedIn posts about testing.

Easy (and anyone can do it) Testing is… Easy (and anyone can do it) Who might have this perspective? Team members who’ve never seen a great tester and the value they can add. “Traditional” IT project managers. Organizations looking to outsource testing to reduce cost. Organizations where testers are rewarded differently to developers, with testing being viewed as a step to becoming a developer.

Who might have this perspective? Testing is… A way to make money Who might have this perspective? Testing tool vendors. Outsourcing companies. Commercial conference organizers.

Who might have this perspective? Testing is… A cost centre Who might have this perspective? CFOs Accountants Organizations who claim they care about “quality” but are not prepared to invest in the people and processes to really achieve good quality.

A process that can be completely automated Testing is… A process that can be completely automated Who might have this perspective? Traditional IT managers. Test automation engineers  Misguided testers who haven’t grasped the difference between “testing” and “checking”. Test tool vendors.

Who might have this perspective? Testing is… Fun! Who might have this perspective? People like us. Testers who love the craft of software testing!

Contact me @therockertester lee.hawkins@quest.com therockertester.wordpress.com