Testing in 2019, according to my Twitter bookmarks
I’m not a particularly active twitter user, but I do find it a great way to get a wider perspective on software testing and development. I’ll often bookmark interesting tweets or threads as I come across them so I can remember to come back to them, either to read later or to think more about…. Read more
The paradox of why we automate
One of the most important challenges in test automation is figuring out what is actually worth automating. Not all things can be automated, not all things should be automated. But some can, and presumably some should. So inevitably we need to ask, why automate this thing and not that thing? That question came up in… Read more
Can tests cause bugs?
Some of the best podcasts about testing aren’t about testing at all. Enter: last week’s episode of 99% Invisible on Cautionary Tales. The episode is about examples of things going horribly wrong, and why. Obviously there some superficial connection to testing already: one reason we test software is to help prevent things from going horribly… Read more
Agile+DevOps: The Agile Acid Test and Observability
Recently I’ve been talking to various groups about “technical agility”. That is, the technical aspects of our processes and products that enable us to be “agile” in our software development. I’ve been finding it very useful to borrow terms and concepts from DevOps circles to make certain points. Perhaps unsurprising given how closely related they… Read more
A demonstration of Mutation Testing
Test coverage is one of the simplest possible metrics to help gauge quality of testing, which makes it one that is often targeted (don’t commit any code with less than 80% coverage) and potentially gamed. A lot of people dismiss it entirely for those reasons. While there is a good defence to be made for… Read more