Cool new tool – Hexawise

I just checked out a new tool called Hexawise (hexawise.com).  It certainly has peaked my interest!!  In a nut shell, if you are testing an application that has a lot of configuration options, it gives you a simple, clean interface to load all of your config options and then the tool will generate test scenarios [...]

Diary of a Live Process and Quality Improvement Initiative

I just made a move out of the consultant world. I just joined a small company (about 35 folks). They have been in business for almost 5 years and do consulting and contracts mostly for NASA and the FAA. The company has grown quite a bit in the last year and recognized [...]

Quick, great read on agile testing

This blog post by Simon Baker is excellent and does a great job describing the role of a tester on an agile team.  http://www.think-box.co.uk/blog/2008/05/testers-in-our-agile-team.html

Manual Testers vs. Automation Engineers – Why the Divide?

I just got back from the stp conference in San Francisco (www.stpcon.com).  After attending several talks and speaking one on one with folks there, I started to notice a recurring undercurrent.  There seems to be a divide in the testing community between manual testing and automated testing.  I am noticing more and more that papers, [...]

STP Conference Day 2

The morning started off with a Keynote from Robert Sabourin called “What is so Different about Testing in Scrum.”  I wouldn’t say the title of the talk really fit the talk itself but it was a good kick-off for the day.  If you have seen him speak before, then you know he is high energy [...]

STP Conference – Day 1 review

I am currently in San Francisco at the STP Conference (www.stpcon.com).  I am really starting to clearly see what I consider a divide in the testing world between automated and manual testing that I believe is negatively affecting all development methodologies.  I am currently collecting my thoughts on this for an upcoming blog post….stay tuned [...]

Book Review: Test Driven .Net Development with FitNesse

I just finished Gojko Adzic’s book called Test Driven .Net Development with FitNesse.  I have used FitNesse on .Net projects and I still learned a ton from this book.  I highly recommend it for anyone working with FitNesse on a .Net project, even if you are already comfortable navigating the waters of FitNesse.  If you [...]

Who gets to decide when to ship software?

I recently got in a lengthy debate with some folks over this very topic.  As I quickly found out, most folks have a very strong opinion on this.  And here I thought I was the only oneJ.  It seems as though most folks fall into 3 different camps: 
Camp #1 – The Testers decide 
This “camp” was [...]

Should we be called QA Analysts?

I have been thinking a lot about titles lately and just how much I detest them :)  I do love the fact that my current title (QA Architect) is something most people have never heard of so it prompts them to ask me what I really do.  It gives me a chance to explain to folks [...]

“I am an Agile Tester” article

I have been actively recruiting to find agile testers for over a year now at different companies I have worked for.  This has been a very hard position to fill.  As part of the recruiting process, I had to come up with a job description for an agile tester.  Not a trivial task J  So, [...]

Software Testers: Have we become our own worst enemy?

More and more companies are either switching to agile practices or talking about switching to them.  Agile development highlights high-quality software delivery and yet the testing community seems to be the most resistant to adopting agile.  Have the qualities that make us great software testers become our own worst enemy when it comes to adopting [...]

TISQA 2007 Conference Review

I spent the day yesterday at the TISQA conference in Chapel Hill, NC.  It is a one day local conference that the TISQA group puts on every year. 
The opening key note was from Jon Bach.  As usual, it was a great talk.  I love listening to him talk about exploratory testing.  I always learn something new.  [...]

Taking Ownership of Quality with Outsourcing

I have recently had the opportunity to speak to some QA folks at different companies.  During our conversations, the topic of quality and QA practices came up with regards to outsourcing.  I have never personally worked on a project that involved development from outsourced companies so I have never had to deal with this first hand.  [...]