Real software testing is far more difficult then most people think...

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Real software testing is far more difficult then most people think...     Het dagelijkse leven en het dagelijkse testen.     De experts hebben de functionele testers.     Testproces advies met eigen certificaat     How to A.I. message on a higher level.     Testing at the right level!     The complete overview...      Short movie-clip, big impact.     The pursuit for A.I. testers continues...      Wanneer is iets een bug?      What will A.I. testing look like?      The right feeling for the discussion...     Er bestaat niet zoiets als de perfecte software tester!      "De wereld is nog lang niet toe aan Artificial Intelligence software testen!"      Why the process of software testing is evolving?     Recent privacy scandal is actually just a snowflake on the tip of the iceberg!      Is een tester nou 'specialist' of 'alleskunner'?     Evolution of a testcase!      De reden waarom het uiteindelijk altijd beter is om software testers vroeg in het proces te betrekken.      Iedere feature zijn eigen wasstraat!     De juiste persoon voor mijn organisatie?     This is how a test process should work:     Software testen en het 'Droste effect'.     Software testen als 'weapon of choice'.      De populariteit van software testen.      What is really important in software testing?     

Recently I read a very interesting message on Twitter about software testing. In it, was a picture of how you should look at software testing and how formal or informal the tests could be executed.

But when I see such pictures, sometimes I inherently think:

'Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit "shortsighted?"
This is not the complete picture. This is only a certain % of the total view of how it should be looked at.'

#1: One of the most important things to understand is: that this overview is very dynamic. It's not a solid state. 
So keep in mind you should see the picture more like this:

#2: is that: you're not testing just 1 requirement or functionality of the software.

It's important realize that requirements are connected.

It's important to realize that: requirements have hierarchical connections. Some have high priority, some have low priority. Some are connected to a small amount of others, some are connected to everything.
But they are all connected to eachother in some way.

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So this is more in line with how you should see it in overall.

Example: You're testing software: It has requirements. You start with play and test the most important requirement there is. Then you start to machine check the damn thing. You discover a bug. A new requirement is written, that requirement becomes the new top priority. Could be connected to almost nothing, could be the new most important requirement...

#3: Realize that more formal or more informal testing is something very dynamic regarding to the test object!

Realize that, now we've underlined that fact. That we have left out all other aspects that determine how you should test.

So for example: is a requirement more 'security testing' related?
or
is it more 'performance testing' related?

None of that is yet mentioned in my extension (personal view) on the image 'formal - informal'.

#4: I'm not even mentioning the fact that insights in time regarding a requirement many times change... (what looks like a bug becomes a feature) (which makes it (the pyramid of connections, and how to test it) even more complicated)

In essence!!:

....
Somtimes you need to adjust the strategy of the project. (for example: more A.I.)(or, add other types of software testers for example testers with knowledge of A.I.)

Sometimes you need to adjust the strategy of the tets object.

Sometimes you need to adjust the strategy on some requirements (or bugs, I will get back to that later (in English)!).

Sometimes you need to adjust the strategy on 1 single requirement. (Realize that testing 1 requirement can cause a change of strategy for the.... [ (project, test object, etc...yes it's that complicated! ) ] 

and so forth, and so on....

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So if you have a picture in your head of a test object (software code) that matches something that is static!?

It is NOT! 

A testobject is something very DYNAMIC!

(so in the future, when your "manager" asks: 'why is testing taking so long?' you show him this picture and say: 'because THIS! is what we are testing!'):

Ohw by the way, once you see a test object as something very dynamic, it also is immediately clear why it can be so difficult (time consuming) to automate everything, right?

I'd like to end this blog with a quote:

So don't look at software testing which looks something like this:

DO look at software testing which remsembles something that looks more like this!:

When I see the applications for software testers nowadays ("doctor needed!"). And I look at what the companies are asking for the kind of skills a software tester should have. I'm sorry to say but it is not in line with what I would like to see in a software tester. Not even for 60%...

(So if you would like to scout for the real good software testers in the field, and you'd like to hear my vision about what a real software tester should have in the backpack as skills?

Send me a message and I gladly tell you all about it!)

or,
You'd like your recruuters to just have a cup of coffee (a talk) with me!? I can elucidate my vision regarding software testers and help them find the more suitable persons for the concerning applications more easily (faster and better).

Yours sincerely,
Ing. Valentijn Peters