"A point that I think many miss is that this is not just about individual testers.
50 years ago (more or less) testING began fighting a rather arduous battle to establish an identity separate from developMENT. This, eventually, led to testERS establishing an identity separate from developERS.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Context-Driven Testing Crossroads: Addendum
I guess I wasn't as done talking about this as I thought. Earlier today, I posted the following comment (except with a few extra typos that I chose to fix below) on Tim Western's blog in response to his post Is the Context Driven School of Testing - Dead?:
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
A Context-Driven Approach to Delivering Business Value
This is Part IV in a series of entries inspired by the following quote from the "about page" of context-driven-testing.com hosted by Cem Kaner:
So far I've established that I'm a Context-Driven guy. For completeness, I should also share that I'm a guy who is most comfortable operating as part of a healthy team that embraces Agile principles, but who recognizes that Agile is not the most appropriate or effective answer for all organizations, teams, or situations.
I've also noted that I find the notion of "product" in both Context-Driven and Agile principles to be too subtle of a reference to the fact that the propensity of software is developed in a business context for my tastes. This is mostly due to many, many personal observations of individuals involved in the process of developing and delivering software emphasizing some aspect of the software over business value -- from individuals who self-identify as Context-Driven, Agile or neither.
The reality that I have lived in since beginning my career as a technologist is that, business is the primary context-driver behind the development of the propensity of software and that money is the primary context-driver behind business (yes, I know, that's a broad generalization, with somewhat ambiguous qualifiers -- I'm going to ask you trust that I'm happy to support and specify that statement if needed, but for the time being, please accept the premise... at least while reading the remainder of this post.)
"...However, over the past 11 years, the founders have gone our separate ways. We have developed distinctly different visions. If there ever was one context-driven school, there is not one now..."And James Bach's blog update (Context-Driven Testing at a Crossroads):
"I’m the last of the founders of the Context-Driven School, as such, who remain true to the original vision. I will bear its torch along with any fellow travelers who wish to pursue a similar program."If you haven't done so already, I recommend starting with:
- Part I: Is Testing Dead? Dunno, but the Context-Driven School Is
- Part II: With the Context-Driven School "closed" what's next?
- Part III: Context-Driven School (of thought): "I'm not dead yet... I feel happy!"
So far I've established that I'm a Context-Driven guy. For completeness, I should also share that I'm a guy who is most comfortable operating as part of a healthy team that embraces Agile principles, but who recognizes that Agile is not the most appropriate or effective answer for all organizations, teams, or situations.
I've also noted that I find the notion of "product" in both Context-Driven and Agile principles to be too subtle of a reference to the fact that the propensity of software is developed in a business context for my tastes. This is mostly due to many, many personal observations of individuals involved in the process of developing and delivering software emphasizing some aspect of the software over business value -- from individuals who self-identify as Context-Driven, Agile or neither.
The reality that I have lived in since beginning my career as a technologist is that, business is the primary context-driver behind the development of the propensity of software and that money is the primary context-driver behind business (yes, I know, that's a broad generalization, with somewhat ambiguous qualifiers -- I'm going to ask you trust that I'm happy to support and specify that statement if needed, but for the time being, please accept the premise... at least while reading the remainder of this post.)
2 Cents on Ethics
I really had no plan to chime in on the blog conversation between Michael Bolton and Cem Kaner, but after the amount of time I've spent today having email discussions with folks who (apparently) were interested in my 2 cents, I've decided to go ahead and share. I feel it important to point out that as I have spoken to neither of them regarding this conversation, I most certainly don't want to give the impression that I am speaking for either of them.
(As a side note, I'm seriously beginning to wonder if I shouldn't just add a "Notes and Disclaimers" box to my blog... then again, that would be about the same as prefacing all my notes and disclaimers with "Allow me to provide some context" -- which would seem rather redundant coming from me. {grin})
Anyway, it would seem that it all started with Michael's post Why Pass vs. Fail Rates Are Unethical (Test Reporting Part 1) that, if not inspired, certainly contributed to Cem's post Contexts differ: Recognizing the difference between wrong and Wrong which, unsurprisingly, triggered the following post by Michael I Might Be Wrong (But Not For Me)
Ok, all caught up? Good. Lemme share what I think might be happening here and while I'm at it share my model for approaching ethics-related situations in business environments (testing or otherwise).
(As a side note, I'm seriously beginning to wonder if I shouldn't just add a "Notes and Disclaimers" box to my blog... then again, that would be about the same as prefacing all my notes and disclaimers with "Allow me to provide some context" -- which would seem rather redundant coming from me. {grin})
Anyway, it would seem that it all started with Michael's post Why Pass vs. Fail Rates Are Unethical (Test Reporting Part 1) that, if not inspired, certainly contributed to Cem's post Contexts differ: Recognizing the difference between wrong and Wrong which, unsurprisingly, triggered the following post by Michael I Might Be Wrong (But Not For Me)
Ok, all caught up? Good. Lemme share what I think might be happening here and while I'm at it share my model for approaching ethics-related situations in business environments (testing or otherwise).
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Context-Driven School (of thought): "I'm not dead yet... I feel happy!"
This is Part III in a series of entries related to the following quote from the "about page" of context-driven-testing.com hosted by Cem Kaner:
Ok, so maybe not "happy" but I couldn't resist the Monty Python reference.
James Bach stated on his latest blog update (Context-Driven Testing at a Crossroads):
"...However, over the past 11 years, the founders have gone our separate ways. We have developed distinctly different visions. If there ever was one context-driven school, there is not one now..."If you haven't done so already, I recommend starting with:
- Part I: Is Testing Dead? Dunno, but the Context-Driven School Is
- Part II: With the Context-Driven School "closed" what's next?
Ok, so maybe not "happy" but I couldn't resist the Monty Python reference.
James Bach stated on his latest blog update (Context-Driven Testing at a Crossroads):
"I’m the last of the founders of the Context-Driven School, as such, who remain true to the original vision. I will bear its torch along with any fellow travelers who wish to pursue a similar program."
Thursday, March 1, 2012
With the Context-Driven School "closed" what's next?
This is Part II in a series of entries related to the following quote from the "about page" of context-driven-testing.com hosted by Cem Kaner:
Much like when one completes an educational program at one institution and ponders whether or not to enroll in another program (and if so, which one), or to enter the workforce and continue their learning along the professional development or self-education path, I think it's fair for those who have come to self-identify as members of the Context-Driven School to be asking themselves similar questions.
And much like completing an educational program does not equate to losing the lessons learned (as opposed to the lesson's taught) in the program, the Context-Driven Principles and the lessons many of us have learned by studying in (or, for that matter, rebelling against) the Context-Driven School remain despite Cem's announcement that (in my words) the school is now closed.
"...However, over the past 11 years, the founders have gone our separate ways. We have developed distinctly different visions. If there ever was one context-driven school, there is not one now..."If you haven't done so already, I recommend starting with Part I: Is Testing Dead? Dunno, but the Context-Driven School Is
Much like when one completes an educational program at one institution and ponders whether or not to enroll in another program (and if so, which one), or to enter the workforce and continue their learning along the professional development or self-education path, I think it's fair for those who have come to self-identify as members of the Context-Driven School to be asking themselves similar questions.
And much like completing an educational program does not equate to losing the lessons learned (as opposed to the lesson's taught) in the program, the Context-Driven Principles and the lessons many of us have learned by studying in (or, for that matter, rebelling against) the Context-Driven School remain despite Cem's announcement that (in my words) the school is now closed.
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