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This fall is full of exciting testing events. Gothenburg seems to be the center of testing hosting not only EuroSTAR but also another RST class with James Bach!

If you are a tester and feel that you need to get inspiration and learn about solving problems fast, I recommend taking the RST-class in November in Gothenburg. We have manged to get James Bach to do a class again. Read this blog post from a very satistfied student.

I have been in the SW industry for more than 17 years now and I still learn something new all the time. I realise I cannot know everything and because of that it is important to be able to learn new things fast when requried. It is equally important to understand how to think, analyse and solve problems in general. My goal is to constantly keep on learning in order to be consistently valuable for anyone that wants to have my services. Both because a find it thrilling to solve problems and in the end - I need a job!

Part of this plan is to participate in at least one new class every year. I does not have to be in Testing but in something I find useful in general. Last year I finally took the Effect-Managing IT class which was great.  The class before that was Corporate Story-Telling. I have taken the RST-class twice and learned something new also the second time.

If you are a tester and feel that you need to get inspiration and learn about solving problems fast, I recommend taking the RST-class in November in Gothenburg. We have manged to get James Bach to do a class again. Read this blog post from a very satistfied student.

A more specific testing problem is how to effectively manage Exploratory testing. You do not only have t be able to test but also to plan, analyse and continually make progress. How DO you plan and manage today? In Scrum we do retrospectives in order to get better. In ET we do debriefings in order to get better at testing. If you are a tester or a test manager and want to get a hands on experience with SBTM - Session Based Test Management - take a look at the SBTM Clincic we arrange with James in November in Stockholm

Hope to see you there!

Notes from a context-driven tester

We call ourself context-driven testers. Since you are reading this we assume you like the ideas about rapid testing. Maybe you like to do test sessions on your own or in pairs. You feel that exploring a product is very effective for finding problems and you are really bothered by running test cases with detailed steps. At the same time there is a need to keep track of what you and your colleagues are doing without reverting to the old methods of counting test cases and bugs. No need to worry, there are plenty of ways to both plan, execute and report a more exploratory way of testing. It may be different from what you are used to but it is not harder.

Instead of obsessing about detailed test cases we try to find a better way of preparation. This may be in the form of a mind-map, a test charter or a list of test ideas. Most of the time we believe that the detailed procedures found in test cases are an obstacle for efficient testing. We don´t mind details – just the wrong details in the wrong place.

When executing tests we prefer to do it in sessions. This means that we sit down uninterrupted and focus totally on what we are doing. It is a bit exhausting at times but very rewarding and it is great to feel the flow! Best of all – it is fun!

As a test manager you are required to report status to the team and to your project manager. Instead of handing out detailed description of bug counts we rise a level and use the low-level dashboard. It has less detail but gives a better view of what is really going on. We count sessions but we also analyse them in detail in regular debriefings. We know very well what is going on! We feel more part of a team than a separate function. We practice explaining why a bug might be serious for a user and we work on building working relationships with developers.

This class presents some key elements for managing an exploratory team of testers. Regardless of you are a tester or a test manager – this is a golden opportunity of learning more about how to manage an efficient test team. Is presented to you by the man who has done the most thinking, discussing, writing and fighting on the subject the last 15 years.

Organizers:
Torbjörn Ryber, Fearless Consulting and Claremont AB.

Course application:
The fee is 11 900 SEK + VAT. (coffee and lunch included)
Apply to: Hanna Källgren, email hanna.kallgren@claremont.se
Latest by October 28, 2011

Dear colleagues.

I have decided to make my book Essential Software Test Design available for online reading or download for free. No registration needed, no donation asked for, no strings attached at all!

The book was originally written for the Swedish Market and originally published almost five years ago. There are parts regarding testing where I know a lot more today but I have not planned for a new revision anytime soon. The best part of the book is Part II - Test design! Have fun reading, hope you find it useful.

Read online or download your own copy in pdf-format for free!

If you really liked this book and want to buy a paper copy it is available on Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk or Adlibris.se

Since the earlier place for downloading the Swedish version no longer works the Swedish version is now also available here!

If you liked the book you can pick up a paper copy on Adlibris.se