Collaborative Software Testing

A Software Religion Strikes Again?

Jim Coplien has an interesting blog post: Religion's Newfound Restraint on Progress. If you are interested in "Agile Testing" and Test-Driven Development, this post is worth a read.

Coplien raises some important ideas:

"The answer for industry, I think, is to focus on Quality and to find the techniques that work best and are the most cost-effective for your project."

"It's about thinking, not about checklists."

While we might diverge on ideas for solutions, I agree with Coplien's message here. We need to have broad objectives and goals, and use the effective tools and processes at hand to reach those goals, rather than get lost in silly either/or debates about adopting tools and processes because they are an unalloyed good. We have enough folklore in software development without creating new myths and "best practices." We need to share success stories and failures, instead of reinforcing ideals and discouraging thoughtful criticism born of experience. Being honest and realistic helps push the craft forward. Being overly idealistic pushes us towards religiosity.

We don't all have to agree, but we need more of the kind of writing that James is doing here. It's not so much that he is correct or incorrect, but that he has the guts to speak publicly about his misgivings and ideas. I don't have to agree with what he says, but if he makes me think about what I'm doing, and challenges my beliefs, that's a good thing. Sometimes in the face of a challenge and evidence, I change my mind, other times, I have to clarify my own thinking about a belief, which strengthens it. Support your local skeptic, and discourage those who scoff at and bully them.

"Cooler Heads Must Prevail"

Philippe Kruchten has written an excellent article: Voyage in the Agile Memeplex for ACM Queue. I recently reviewed the article, and I'm pleased to see it published and freely available on the web. This article is worth the read; Kruchten's insights helped clarify my thinking on the Agile movement. A printer-friendly version is here.

Update

My blog has been quiet lately, and several of you have asked me what I've been up to. Since I last posted I've:

• Created an all new Exploratory Testing course from scratch, and presented it for a corporate client, with more on the way.
• Created a condensed version of the course for STARWEST that I'll be presenting as a tutorial.
• Written an article on Interactive Automated Testing for Better Software magazine (watch for it in the December issue.)
• Presented a short Exploratory Testing Explained talk for two Agile user groups. One in Edmonton, and another for a conference in Vancouver.
• Taken on a technical editing role with Better Software magazine. (Have great article ideas on testing, software development or management? Let me know - we're always looking for great content.)
• Had rewarding client work helping teams develop ET skills and lightweight test automation solutions.

I'll be presenting at STARWEST in Anaheim later this month, and in Sweden at Oredev in November. If you see me at either conference, stop and say hi.