Improve your testing using Observation and Interrogation
Alan Richardson
I help teams develop software better. Programming, Automating, Testing, and Marketing.
It is very important to analyse our own approach to Software Testing and identify our own models and unique perspectives.
One distinction that I noticed from my testing was Observation in contrast to Interrogation.
I make a distinction between Observation and Interrogation.
This helps me when I test and explore.
Observation in real time. Interrogation after the act.
I uploaded a YouTube video showing this distinction in Action, while testing The Pulper test application.
As I test, and when I act, I Observe, in real time.
I spot confirmation or divergent signals as I act.
Having acted, I then want to check if something happened.
I pause and Interrogate the system to identify conformance or divergence.
Interrogation offers me the ability to go deeper into the system and spot the impact of actions.
Observation requires tools that help ‘divergence’ stand out, and potentially filter more noise than Interrogation.
When I reflect on:
- "How can I Observe more?"
- "What am I not noticing?"
- "What impacts am I not checking?"
I can expand my test investigation.
And expand my model and understanding of the application.
You can read more about the distinction in the following blog post "Observation vs Interaction"
https://www.eviltester.com/blog/eviltester/2020/03/23-observation-vs-interrogation/