Eusebiu blindu - testing seen through a puzzle

Testing is like solving puzzles

Puzzle

"...In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put

together pieces in a logical way in order to come

up with the desired solution..." -(wikipedia)

Testing

"investigating a product with the purpose of

getting useful information that is relevant to

stakeholders"

"put together pieces" ~ "investigating"

Examples of "testing puzzles":

Find a bug

Examples of "testing puzzles":

Find the reproducing steps/patterns of a bug

Examples of "testing puzzles":

Hack an application ( ex: upload a message/picture to a

normally unauthorized part of a website)

Examples of "testing puzzles":

Prove that all known expected

behaviors of the

application are met

Examples of "testing puzzles":

Find the most efficient way to cover the application from

the testing perspective based on time, priorities and risk

Puzzles

Micro-puzzles

Macro-puzzles

Micro -puzzles

Find an input that is not a prime number, but the application is validating it as being prime

~5 min

It looks like testing

and

It looks like solving a puzzle

Puzzles:

1)try to reproduce

2)find the pattern

Patterns

Go to http://www.testalways.com/3

Puzzle: List all the relationships that you can find

between entered input and generated image

Click on slide to go to video demo

Click slide to go to video demo

Macro -puzzles

Multiple possible analogies for hidden image puzzle:

bugs that were found for a defined area of a product

Multiple possible analogies for hidden image puzzle:

bugs that were found for the whole project

Multiple possible analogies for hidden image puzzle:

bugs that were found by testers relative to all the bugs

and issues reported eventually (including developers,

users, clients etc)

Puzzles

Micro-puzzles

Macro-puzzles

Conclusions:

References:

Concept:

James Bach – http://satisfice.com – dice game

Exercises:

Markus Gärtner - http://www.testing-challenges.org/

Environments:

Ajay Balamurugadas –http://weekendtesting.com

Feedback

http://www.testalways.com/feedback

or eusebiu.blindu@testalways.com