Karen N. Johnson's blog

Can-Do List: One way to get unstuck. Really.

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:35:56 -0500

I met a person working as a test contractor on a project recently who said to me: "There are no requirement documents so therefore I cannot write test scripts. And this means, I cannot test."

I've heard this before from other test contractors. I don't understand the logic being applied.

I tilted my head and was speechless. I thought I should keep listening to see if I could better understand. But I didn't. In this case, it seemed the tester believed the only way to approach testing was to read and review requirements, write test scripts, and then execute test scripts. Since this one approach was not an option in the environment at that time, the tester felt dead-ended with his work.

recent articles on software testing

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:04:51 -0500

This afternoon I was talking with a friend and colleague who asked me about my writing, more specifically about software testing articles I've written. He was surprised to learn that I had published six articles in the past couple of months - he hadn't realized that I wrote so much or so often. I thought most certainly I had listed the articles on my blog as each article had been released but it doesn't look like it. Here’s a list:

Balance

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:56:12 -0500

Someone asked me recently why I don't participate more in software testing forums. Why I don't blog more often. Why they don't find me "around" virtually as often as they used to. Balance was my answer.

My online life was becoming consuming. And it’s easy to get out of balance especially when you live in a climate like Chicago where its winter for eight months (or at least feels like it.)

Building Alliances: a presentation recording

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:27:18 -0600

I gave a presentation called Building Alliances. It was a non-technical talk focused on working with people. The talk focused on positive alliances we can build at work as well as some of the realities – the good, the bad and the ugly of office politics. The talk was recorded at the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) 2009.

Explaining the other work we do

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:54:38 -0600

I had a technical issue I needed to research for a client. Nothing surprising, I research different bits of information frequently. At the end of my research I realized I wanted to explain what I'd done, I wanted to clarify and present what avenues I had pursued, what information I'd learned, what issues remained and what possible other solutions we might look into. I realized I wanted to share these bits of information with the project team so I set out to write an email.

Here be dragons

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:34:25 -0600

I like maps. I wasn’t sure why maps appealed to me until it dawned on me one day that maps are a form of data visualization. The phrase “here be dragons” was used by mapmakers many years ago in reference to uncharted or unexplored areas. I like the phrase. Maps were marked with dragons and in some cases, other animals were drawn to signify danger or unknown, uncharted territories. I find the concept and the phrase kind of cool in a geeky sort of way. You can read more about this old mapmaker’s phrase here.

I also like SQL. I like being able to access a database and spend time with data. I teach a couple of different SQL classes and one thing I’ve found repeatedly has been people’s intimidation by having to write a join in SQL. It’s amazing how far people will go to avoid the dreaded join – it’s a bit like “here be dragons” - a territory marked with fear and uncertainty.

experiencing a bug as an end user

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:02:31 -0600

It’s been a long time since a software bug agitated me - one that I was hit with as a user not a tester. But I've had one I've been dealing with this past week.

In some ways it’s been interesting to feel like a user. To get whacked unexpectedly with a software bug that impacted my day and took time to resolve. Mostly it’s left me agitated and thinking less of the company.

Blackberry released an upgrade to their software and I took the release. I didn't notice straightaway that the update stomped out my Google sync settings. Wiped out Google sync entirely, I had to reinstall. And impacted my Gmail, calendar and maps.

debriefing alone

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 10:45:37 -0600

I often test alone. But then testing is a rather solitary activity much of the time. So is writing. Not surprising, introverts have a way of finding activities that leave them alone.

When I teach, I talk about using debriefs. I’m frequently surprised at how few people use debriefs.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term debrief , then I’d suggest begin by looking at the basic definition. I like returning to definitions, I find wrapping my head around a core term and definition is a more comfortable way to start learning something. Then expand on from there. James Bach has a great checklist for debriefs, here.

A heuristic for regression testing

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:23:50 -0600

I’ve been doing a fair amount of regression testing. I gained clarity into how I think through regression testing as I explained my thought process to a client. And I've devised a mnemonic: RCRCRC.

Recent: new features, new areas of code are more vulnerable
Core: essential functions must continue to work
Risk: some areas of an application pose more risk
Configuration sensitive: code that’s dependent on environment settings can be vulnerable
Repaired: bug fixes can introduce new issues
Chronic: some areas in an application may be perpetually sensitive to breaking

NLP techniques: anchor & swish. What can be applied to software testing?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:06:38 -0500

I’ve missed blogging. I’ve missed writing. Well, writing what I feel like when the mood strikes which I cannot predict – either the topic or the timing which doesn’t work so well for editors. I’ve been on another one of my productivity kicks where I cut out lots of activities, burrow in and produce stuff. Stuff like articles, classes and assorted matters. But today I woke up super early today (super early is before 5am) before 7am is just early. It happens often enough. Sometimes I’m just very awake. I’ll get up thinking I’ll add an hour or two to my day and that will be great because I can get more done (my productivity-obsession runs deep) but as is often the case, that isn’t how I spent the “bonus” time. Instead I found my mind wandering about. Reading and then looking up related concepts and somehow found myself reading about neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) at 5:30am. Things like that happen.

PNSQC 2009

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:54:41 -0500

At PNSQC 2009, I’ll be talking about “Building Alliances.” For a long while, I have avoided discussing assorted topics especially at conferences that might be viewed as “soft” topics. As a software tester without a developer’s background and being raised in small development companies, I didn’t feel I could take the risk of being viewed as “fluffy.” But now some years later, I want to talk about some of the topics that aren’t technical but are just as essential in getting the job done. I want to share ideas about how to build solid working relationships.

Storied Careers, a book about storytelling and practitioners

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:52:23 -0500

Kathy Hansen, published author and storyteller, has released a new book called: A Storied Career, 40+ Story Practitioners Talk about Applied Storytelling. I’m one of several people Kathy interviewed for her chapter on unexpected applications of storytelling. The book features interviews with people from a variety of professions. Kathy’s book is a good read.

STANZ 2009

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:03:45 -0500

The STANZ conference begins on Monday in Wellington New Zealand and continues through the week ending in Sydney Australia on Friday.

I'll be talking about my use of storytelling with my work in software testing. I'll also be teaching classes in both Wellington and Sydney as part of the conference.

Beautiful Testing

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:15:28 -0500

O’Reilly has announced the book, Beautiful Testing. I’m one of the contributing authors.

I was asked if I would write about my experiences and thoughts on medical software. I have several different project experiences I could have written about. I chose to write about one of the most intense work experiences I’ve had throughout my career.

My chapter is told in the format of a story. It’s based on a previous project experience that was intensified this past year when a personal situation intertwined with my work in unexpected ways.