1. ARE Paul Gerrard WHAT DOING? YOU ARE YOU IT? WHY

5. …to reassess the purpose, meaning and consequences of some testing concepts

7. Tragic case of schoolgirl who died suddenly after a vaccine jab

8.  Website: www.badscience.net and weekly column in Saturday Guardianwww.badscience.net  Daily Express report is one example of 1000s:  Alarmist and sensational interpretation of ‘scientific evidence’  Misrepresentation of the views of reputable scientists  Promotion of the views of disreputable ‘scientists’  All with the aim of …. what? Selling papers?

9.  How many people read this headline?  How many parents decided not to let their daughter be vaccinated as a consequence?  How many will contract cancer in the future?  How many will die prematurely?  A dramatic and tragic example, but we accept such messages from ‘authorities’ all the time.

10.  “Understanding and evaluating reasoning”  Reasoning: the act or process of drawing conclusions from facts, evidence etc.  Critical: we assess strengths and weaknesses of the argument; we are not just ‘being difficult’  We want facts, evidence, underlying causes  We study/analyse arguments, reasoning, claims and conclusions  We look out for vested interests, (in)credible sources, hidden agendas.

11.  Test design techniques (test models)  Exit criteria  Independence Are they gospel, flawed, fake or folklore? What are the facts, reasons, agendas?

12. Why use them? What are they good for? Discuss

13. Level 3: Apply (K3): “The candidate can select the correct application of a concept or technique and apply it to a given context. K3 is normally applicable to procedural knowledge. There is no creative act involved like evaluating a software application, or creating a model for a given software. When we have a given model and cover in the syllabus the procedural steps to create test cases from a model, then it is K3.”

14.  Test design techniques are merely procedures to follow – no creativity  Advanced testers do not choose or invent (or understand) models – they only apply them  Syllabus says:  Exploratory Testing is lightweight, effective, unpredictable, immeasurable, difficult to repeat  Its for experts only (p31)  And yet, Exploratory Testing is a K3 topic.

15.  Creativity and skill exist where testers make choices about the test models they use  Testers need to understand…  The simplifications, assumptions, shortcomings and consequences of test models…  … as WELL as how to use those in the textbooks  Are certification bodies and trainers  Moulding testers to be drones?  Promoting repeatability above accountability?

16. Why use them? What are they good for? Discuss

17.  Uncertainty:  Our sources of knowledge are fallible  We test because the behaviour and reliability of systems are uncertain  Designers, developers, and testers make mistakes  Because of this uncertainty, the plan for any test worth running cannot be relied upon  And yet we predict test progress, the status and number of incidents for a precise date.

18.  Predictions of test status at any future date or time are notional – this our quandary: 1. One can predict test status, but not when it will be achieved; 2. One can predict when a test will end, but not its status  Exit Criteria AREN’T  They make testers hostages to fortune; they send the wrong message  They are just planning assumptions  … UNLESS we know stakeholders will allow slippage  … in ADVANCE.

19. Why is independence good? Discuss

20.  “Developers are lousy testers”  Who says so?  Why?  Did we ever train developers in testing?  Do we ever ask them to test and hold them accountable?  Test-Driven is as old as the hills – but developers are gradually getting the hang of it  Are testers’ jobs threatened?  Is that why testers promote independence?

21.  If developers do the testing, and do it well, where does that leave independent testers?  Do test managers have a role in Agile regimes?  Maybe Test Managers should…  Stop running teams, doing the testing  Oversee the test process as an independent assurer.

22.  Bashing received wisdom and certification doesn’t move us forward  It’s fun, but not forward  If we don’t think critically about what we are told, advised and recommended:  We follow procedures without understanding them  We support hidden agendas and vested interests  We risk wasting time doing useless things  We advocate and argue for lost causes that make us obsolete and redundant.

23. ARE Thank-You! WHAT DOING? YOU ARE YOU IT? WHY