Economic Times are tough indeed. Security is hard to find. Yet there are some people who seem to always succeed despite tough times – and no, I am not talking […]
When should a test run unattended? – III
First off, I’ve revised the title of of the series. I’m all for automating work that can be described and /precisely/ evaluated. For example, let’s say you have a PowerOf […]
Programming Parables
There are certain stories that should simply be a part of every technologist’s background – they explain a kind of thinking about the world. Most of them, like the story […]
Sometimes, words aren’t enough
(Sidebar: More coming the test automation series. Really. Just not today.) Some people learn through explanation. Some have emotional reactions and enjoy anecdotes. Some like statistics, and others go for […]
On Being An "Old Dude"
Some thirty-year-old just put a post up on theJoel On Software Forum: Should I get out of tech while I’m reasonably young? Now, our youth-obsessed North American Culture bugs more […]
Asperger’s Syndrome
A fried of mine recently sent me this article, with a subject like something like “An Aspie comes out of the closet.” The reason? I’m one of a small community […]
Cloud Computing is the new XML
In April of 2000 I took a development course and got a free copy of XML Magazine. I didn’t get what the actual value of the technology was. A few […]
Blank Sheet of Paper Syndrome
(No, I haven’t forgotten about Test Automation. I’m just trying to leverage my time in the best possible way. Most of this post came out of a recent discussion on […]
So what’s a Privateer Scholar, anyway?
A few months back, I changed my LinkedIn title from dev/tester (or whatever it was) to “Privateer Scholar.” The title is derived from James Bach, who took it from Buckminster […]
When should a test be automated – II
Before we can dive in, let’s take a step back. When people talk about automation, they typically mean replacing a job done by a human by a machine – think […]
When should a test be automated – I
I stand behind my last post on the Holy Grail, but it was often mis-interpreted as “no test automation.” Now, certainly, that’s silly. At Socialtext, we use all kinds of […]
Complete test automation is the Holy Grail?
Recently, Phil Kirkham mentioned a comment he’d heard that he was puzzling over: “Of course, complete test automation is the Holy Grail of software development.” The speaker was talking about […]
New Annoucements up
(See below the “Creative Chaos” banner and description. You know, the text that’s always the same that your brain filters out? It’s different this time. Really.) Working at an innovative […]
Where in the world is Matthew Robert Heusser
For those who don’t know, the engineering team at Socialtext has been very busy putting the finishing touches on our next-generation product. And there’s video. You can sign up for […]
This isn’t the agile you’re looking for – Part II
Unfortunately the industry has latched on to the word “Agile” and has begun to use it as a prefix that means “good”. This is very unfortunate, and discerning software professionals […]
Tester Education – II
The basic idea behind my tester education post was very simple – I would love to publish a book, and the time for it may be coming soon. At the […]
This isn’t the agile you’re looking for – Part I
In the land of software development, Steve McConnell is arguably a giant among men. Seriously – this is the guy who was a developer-contractor-project-manager at Microsoft back when they were […]
Associations
I am card-carrying member of the Association for Software Testing (AST). AST memberships cost $50 USD per year, and are about to go up to $85. I also pay ~ […]
Tech Debt from the IntarWebs
Once again, IT people thinking we’re all unique and special flowers. Call center rearranges the cubes to fit eight more people in. They don’t have power or LAN drops where […]
Research Project on Tester Education
I’ve got my owner personal ideas of what the pain points are in software testing, and my own personal recommendations – and I talk to a lot of people. Still, […]