Taking Testing Seriously

APPENDIX DElements of Excellent Testing

Science is testing, and testing is science. The world of commercial product testing differs from the world of science mainly in its object, not its subject or its process: we who test products apply ourselves to the study of an ephemeral human contrivance rather than the natural world. This is a human learning process.

Testing, like science, is an exploratory process that also makes use of scripted elements. The “gears” in the diagram to the left represent activities that evolve over time, feeding each other.

The rectangles are artifacts that result from those activities.

At the center, analysis drives the whole process. The four connection points to analysis are worth examining more closely.

• Learning: The connections between analysis and knowledge might be called the learning loop. In this interaction, the tester is reviewing, thinking about, and applying what they know.
• Testing: The connection between analysis and experiment might be called the testing loop (in the sense of performing tests). It is dominated by questions about the status of the product. It may involve algorithmic processes such as automated output checking.

  

• Collaboration: The connections between analysis and other people might be called the collaboration loop. Testing is always a social process to some degree, and group testing can be very energizing.
• Self-management ...