Tester thinking...
Submitted by sbarber on Sun, 09/04/2006 - 21:23.
test analysis
Say you were given the following requirements...
- Users shall be able to enter any of nine predefined data objects
- User interface shall consist of nine blocks of three rows and three columns
- Each row, column and/or block shall accept only one member of each data object
What am I describing?
Ever played Soduku?
While indulging my (hopefully temporary) addiction to this brain teasing virus, I spent a few brain cells thinking about testing. I thought about what requirements might look like and led me to wonder *why* requirements so often look like those above. Why not just add a picture of the playing "board" and rules of the game? Wouldn't that be easier?
I also spent a *lot* of time thinking about test cases, combinatorics, valid and invalid puzzles, puzzles with multiple solutions, automation tools to *help* a person solve the puzzle that wouldn't be considered cheating (as opposed to tools to *solve* a puzzle - which are another set of tools entirely) and on, and on, and on...
I don't know that I've *learned* anything that I can articulate yet, but I think I've just found a fantastic tool for training classes! ;)
- Users shall be able to enter any of nine predefined data objects
- User interface shall consist of nine blocks of three rows and three columns
- Each row, column and/or block shall accept only one member of each data object
What am I describing?
Ever played Soduku?
While indulging my (hopefully temporary) addiction to this brain teasing virus, I spent a few brain cells thinking about testing. I thought about what requirements might look like and led me to wonder *why* requirements so often look like those above. Why not just add a picture of the playing "board" and rules of the game? Wouldn't that be easier?
I also spent a *lot* of time thinking about test cases, combinatorics, valid and invalid puzzles, puzzles with multiple solutions, automation tools to *help* a person solve the puzzle that wouldn't be considered cheating (as opposed to tools to *solve* a puzzle - which are another set of tools entirely) and on, and on, and on...
I don't know that I've *learned* anything that I can articulate yet, but I think I've just found a fantastic tool for training classes! ;)