Boredom: a Testing Smell?
Submitted by Antony Marcano on Thu, 02/06/2005 - 15:26.
general software testing
Somebody I know who was doing some (unscripted) testing spoke of being bored the other day... I have always found boredom to be a sign that something is wrong.
I believe, as has been said by Kaner et al, that testing is a brain-engaged activity. If that is the case, why would I ever be bored?
Borrowing the Smell metaphor... I would say that boredom is a Bad Testing Smell. If it isn't a bad smell, it is a whiff of an underlying bad-smell for sure.
If on the rare occasion I find that I am bored, I'd ask myself:
1. Am I testing this area more than I need to? (if so, why?)
2. Am I losing concentration because my brain is tired? Do I need a break?
3. Is what I am doing so repetitive that perhaps it should be automated?
4. Is there a better way of testing this feature?
If I answer "yes" to any of these, I know that perhaps I need to do something differently. Whether that is feasible in a given context, might be a different story.
I believe, as has been said by Kaner et al, that testing is a brain-engaged activity. If that is the case, why would I ever be bored?
Borrowing the Smell metaphor... I would say that boredom is a Bad Testing Smell. If it isn't a bad smell, it is a whiff of an underlying bad-smell for sure.
If on the rare occasion I find that I am bored, I'd ask myself:
1. Am I testing this area more than I need to? (if so, why?)
2. Am I losing concentration because my brain is tired? Do I need a break?
3. Is what I am doing so repetitive that perhaps it should be automated?
4. Is there a better way of testing this feature?
If I answer "yes" to any of these, I know that perhaps I need to do something differently. Whether that is feasible in a given context, might be a different story.