STARWEST 2023 - Exploratory Testing
Wednesday, October 4
Exploratory Testing As Code
What if testing followed the lead of revolutions in infrastructure and configuration management. What if testers treated exploratory testing like developers do code? Exploratory testing is a powerful and effective technique. However, its acceptance is inhibited because there isn’t a common structured process that enables the traceability and transparency to make it a standard across the software industry. In this session, Brendan Connolly will introduce the tooling and process needed to implement a light-weight, scalable, transparent, and traceable approach to managing exploratory testing...
The Theatre of Exploratory Testing: Going Off Script
PreviewAsk a handful of testers to define exploratory testing. Some will respond that it’s simply poking around—try something, see what breaks, and then try something else. Many will identify it as an iterative process of learning and experimentation. But ask about what makes exploratory testing hard, and you find that practitioners are challenged in knowing where to start, what to test, when to stop, and how to know if they’ve found a bug. What makes for good exploratory testing? Join Philip as he examines the techniques of the actors of the Commedia dell'Arte, the 16th century approach...
Thursday, October 5
How My Testing Skills Served My Personal Life
Kristoffer Nordström faced one of the most challenging and emotional times of his life when his daughter was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening disease. As a caregiver, father, and primary project manager, he had to learn everything he could about her illness, treatment options, and potential outcomes. The skills he acquired as a tester helped him manage this overwhelming amount of information, make sense of it, and develop a plan of action while still being a loving and ever-present parent. He asked questions, researched, and analyzed data to make informed decisions about his...
Are We Done Testing? A Metrics Dashboard
In many cases, it takes multiple metrics to get a complete picture of the status of a process, product, or service. A metrics dashboard accumulates a set of metrics associated with a decision. A dashboard allows the metric's customer to see, in a single collection, the relevant information. In this session, Linda Westfall will use the question, "are we done testing?" to illustrate an example of a metrics dashboard. She will also discuss each individual metric that makes up the dashboard and how they contribute information to help answer this question. These metrics will include testing...