Comments on Questioning Software: The Antonym of Testing

Thanks for your valuable information.It was really...

2009-01-03T00:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks for your valuable information.

It was really of use to me.

-Prabakaran.K

www.usjobcareer.com

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Its an excellent article Ben.You have put it very ...

2008-12-08T00:50:00.000-07:00

Its an excellent article Ben.
You have put it very nicely. Even I like calling myself a tester because it better explains the kind of work I am doing.

Though testing is not able to prove the correctnes...

2008-11-17T01:46:00.000-07:00

Though testing is not able to prove the correctness of the software, it adds value by providing useful information on the following:

1) Existing (or resurfaced) problems or interesting situations where the software works in unexpected ways

2) The responsiveness/ capacity/ endurance of the software

3) The ease or difficulty with which the software can be manipulated into exposing hidden information/ functionality or vice versa

4) Advance information about the user's reaction

Excellent. Well said, Ben.

2008-10-05T17:51:00.000-06:00

Excellent. Well said, Ben.

I like the term tester as a description of what I ...

2008-10-02T11:29:00.000-06:00

I like the term tester as a description of what I do. I don't like the terms quality assurance or engineer.

Testing is evaluating. As a tester, I evaluate. I perform experiments (aka tests) to gather information. I investigate.

I also evaluate the results of my testing. I judge which results should be communicated.

I'm also an advocate (think attorney) for the information I communicate. I often have to plead the case for fixing a bug or adding an enhancement.

Testers do many things and there are many titles that could apply to the many things we testers do.

We're detectives. We're investigators. We're evaluators. We're communicators. We're writers. We're critics. We're advocates. We're leaders. We're supporters. We're learners. We're teachers. We're forecasters.

We're testers.

One thing I find interesting is that we call ourse...

2008-10-02T10:33:00.000-06:00

One thing I find interesting is that we call ourselves testers and expect people to understand that we're not validating anything. After all, at least most of my experience with testers outside of my chosen profession is the people who administer tests and judge the results (everything from AP tests in high school to thesis review boards to the guy on the other side of the interview table with the 10 page set of "does this code compile?" questions).

Yet we use the same name for something while asking people to understand that in THIS case tester means "information provider". It seems like we're overloading the word "tester".

Not, I should note, that this means I actually have a better word to offer up - I haven't heard one that really sounds right yet.

"Testing can never prove the absence of errors -- ...

2008-10-01T23:55:00.000-06:00

"Testing can never prove the absence of errors -- only their presence." by Steve McConnell in Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction