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Our Software Testing Newsletter
Browse our archive of newsletters for interviews, news and notes from the wide world of software testing.
Back for another session of Testing the Limits is James Bach - one of the most widely recognized figures in the testing universe. Here are a few quotable quotes from this must-read interview
After years of interviewing some of the greatest minds in QA for our Testing the Limits series, we thought it was a good time to take a look back at some key lessons worth repeating. In this series recap, we revisit some in-depth discussions on the Victims of Fake Agile; How Google Tests Software; the Real meaning of QA and more.
"What I have learned through the years, is that cheaper hourly rates and “free” open source tools do not always translate into lower overall costs. In a large organization, if you skip testing or take shortcuts, the long-term costs can quickly outweigh any short-term gain.
"The biggest surprise is the whole ostrich 'head in the sand' attitude that exists. The tools and techniques are there, the information is readily available, but security still takes a lower priority until an incident happens.
"You should see our drawing room floor at Google, it’s a graveyard of failed experiments. We purposefully try to do things differently to make sure we’re not missing some great new idea or technique."
It’s a replay of the old tension between closed and open systems. Closed can be more tightly integrated and tends to have better usability because the entire system is architected as a whole. Open tends to be more unruly and confusing, but also offers a wider selection of choices.
"With any big methodological shift, start simple and start small toward solving an authentic problem. There are several notions of Agility. With the capital A method, pick some notions of it to start with and try them for two weeks.
"Fake agile is dangerous: it removes all the external controls that made traditional practices work without instilling any of the team-centered disciplines that make agile work."
"I once saw a company take 50 employees with their laptops, stick them in a conference room, and have one guy orchestrate a manual performance test of 50 users with a stopwatch and a script."
With over 20 years of experience Matt is uniquely qualified to address the most pressing issues in testing today - making this two-part interview a must-read for testers, developers, managers and executives alike.
There's a big difference between "agile" and "Agile" says testing author Rex Black - and he should know. The 25-year industry veteran and former president of ISTQB sat down with us for our latest Testing the Limits interview. Here are some highlights:
Jeff Papows sees trouble ahead for the software industry. We recently interviewed the former CEO of Lotus Development Corporation as part of our Testing the Limits series, where we discussed the growing severity of software bugs
What should you do if your software bugs become famous (in a bad way)? James Bach has a suggestion: come clean! A noted author, speaker and entrepreneur, James is one of the software industry's most compelling figures - which is why we invited him back for another Testing the Limits interview
Generally speaking, having standards is a good thing (like on the dating scene). When it comes to software testing, however, this isn't necessarily the case. According to Ben Simo - aka "Quality Frog...
After more than 30 years in the software industry, Dr. Cem Kaner has witnessed some remarkable innovations in programming and design - but NOT in testing.
What does James Whittaker - noted author and Test Director for Google - think about the future of cloud-based test automation?
Having spent the last ten years as Quality Lead for Adobe, Lanette Creamer (aka "Testy Redhead") knows a testing fad when she sees it. We recently asked her to...
Do You NEED to Go Agile? As one of the original signers of the Manifesto for Agile Development, you'd think that Scott Barber would advise anyone who would listen to make the move to agile - but you'...
"Effective today, 'Quality Assurance' is now 'Quality Assistance.' Try it. Watch what happens when you start using it." This decree was issued by QA expert and author Jon...
Launch On Time, Every Time We recently interviewed Patrick Copeland - the Sr. Engineering Director of Google - as part of our Testing the Limits series. In addition to other hot topics, we were able...
Who's in Charge - You or Your Metrics? We recently interviewed testing expert Michael Bolton to get his thoughts on the latest trends in software quality. One of the many things he touched upon was...