STARCANADA 2019 Tutorial: Critical Thinking for Software Testers

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Tuesday, October 22, 2019 - 8:30am to 4:30pm

Critical Thinking for Software Testers

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Critical thinking is the kind of thinking that specifically looks for problems and mistakes. Regular people don't do a lot of it. However, if you want to be a great tester, you need to be a great critical thinker. Critically-thinking testers save projects from dangerous assumptions and ultimately from disasters. The good news is that critical thinking is not just innate intelligence or a talent—it's a learnable and improvable skill you can master. Michael Bolton shares the specific techniques and heuristics of critical thinking and presents realistic testing puzzles that help you practice and increase your thinking skills. Critical thinking begins with just three questions—Huh? Really? and So?—that kick start your brain to analyze specifications, risks, causes, effects, project plans, and anything else that puzzles you. Join Michael in this interactive, hands-on session and practice your critical thinking skills. Study and analyze product behaviors and experience new ways to identify, isolate, and characterize bugs.

Note: Delegates are encouraged—but not required—to bring a Windows-based computer to this tutorial.

Michael_Bolton
DevelopSense

Michael Bolton is a consulting software tester and testing teacher who helps people solve testing problems that they didn’t realize they could solve. He is the co-author (with senior author James Bach) of Rapid Software Testing, a methodology and mindset for testing software expertly and credibly in uncertain conditions and under extreme time pressure. With twenty-five years of experience testing, developing, managing, and writing about software, Michael has led DevelopSense, a Toronto-based testing and development consultancy, for the past fifteen years. Previously, he was with Quarterdeck Corporation where he managed the company’s flagship products and directed project and testing teams both in-house and worldwide. Contact Michael at [email protected], on Twitter, or through his website.