Recently I went to parent-teacher night at my 10-year-old stepson's school. Above the door to his classroom is a list of heuristics for solving problems that I think is just dandy for testers. They're not called heuristics there, but that's what they are.

• Use logical reasoning
• Work backwards
• Make a picture or diagram
• Use or look for a pattern
• Make it simpler
• Guess and check
• Use or make a table
• Act out or use objects
• Make an organized list
• Brainstorm