Drawing on the future of testing
Back in March I was exploring my artistic side. While reading a book on drawing I noticed similarities to software testing. I wrote up my thoughts and sent them to STP Mag. They decided to publish what I had.
Drawing on the Future of Testing
Writing the article was an interesting exercise. I find it fun to take two seemingly unrelated activities and tie them together in a way that makes sense to me. The writing gave me a change to work with Michael Hunter
They wouldn’t post my email or website so it’s been difficult to know how my article was interpreted. I’d love to get something back on it. What do you think of it? Am I onto something? Am I out ot lunch? Does it make sense to you? Ever experience someting similar? Is it good writing? Engaging? Poorly written? Boring? Help me out here!
May 28th, 2009 at 2:35 AM
Hey Adam, the article is great!
It’s easy to read and understand and brought some ideas to me plus inspired me to look up the book or something similar!
thanks!
/Carsten
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Cool article…it made me think.
Hmmm. At first I agreed with you. I think of myself as a creative guy who can see the big picture. I would like to think it helps me be a better tester. But folks I work with always say “You’re so logical, that’s why you’re a good tester”
I think good testers switch between R-mode/L-mode activities.
(L-mode)Which Feature should I test first?
(R-mode)How can I quickly determine if Feature A works?
(R-mode) I encountered a blocking bug, how can I work around it?
(L-mode)What I am witnessing is a bug b/c it violates specs?
(R-mode)I thought it was a bug but now I’m thinking the users do not actually know what they want.
It’s tough to pigeon hole these brain modes. I’m not convinced it’s worth getting hung up on. Maybe I’m missing something.
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:09 PM
I enjoyed the article.
One thing that came to mind is that often, with testing, we often force ourselves in to left brain (L-mode) thinking because everybody (mgmt, project managers) is asking “how much,” “how long,” “how bad,” etc. Then we report on the numbers to justify the how much, how long, how bad questions.
The article is a good reminder to use our brains to not only lay things out but then figure out new, creative ways to test that latest piece of software. That’s when a tester starts to have fun!