Category Archives: storytelling

BI + Agile + ET in a mind map of charter possibilities

Data warehouse/business intelligence (BI) projects are different. The primary reason BI testing is so different (from say web application testing) is that most of the testing within a BI project is data reconciliation testing for which there is no visual … Continue reading

Posted in business intelligence, exploratory testing, heuristics, storytelling | Comments Off on BI + Agile + ET in a mind map of charter possibilities

Storied Careers, a book about storytelling and practitioners

Kathy Hansen, published author and storyteller, has released a new book called: A Storied Career, 40+ Story Practitioners Talk about Applied Storytelling. I’m one of several people Kathy interviewed for her chapter on unexpected applications of storytelling. The book features … Continue reading

Posted in storytelling | Comments Off on Storied Careers, a book about storytelling and practitioners

Working with User Stories: The Existing Parts

Let me digress to make a comparison (in the process I may age myself but so be it) – I think back to the time when desktop publishing was first introduced. With desktop publishing draft copies gained a way of … Continue reading

Posted in storytelling, usability | Comments Off on Working with User Stories: The Existing Parts

Working with User Stories: The Missing Parts

Not long ago, someone emailed me asking me to write about working with user stories. I have a few thoughts about working with user stories. I thought I would write about what I call the “missing parts problem” this time. … Continue reading

Posted in storytelling, usability | Comments Off on Working with User Stories: The Missing Parts

It is complicated

I recently finished reading the novel, Complications, A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science. It was one of those books that I sometimes had a hard time staying physically seated to read because I had such strong reactions to what … Continue reading

Posted in storytelling | Comments Off on It is complicated

The storyteller’s community

There is a world of storytellers and in that world there is a community just as much as there is a community in software testing. Katharine Hansen reached out to me recently with a warm welcome to the community of … Continue reading

Posted in storytelling | Comments Off on The storyteller’s community

Storytelling & Software Testing

Sometime about a year ago I became interested in storytelling. I’m not sure how it started; perhaps I stumbled across a book. I know I started explicitly seeking books on the subject last summer and by the end of the … Continue reading

Posted in software testing, storytelling | Comments Off on Storytelling & Software Testing

Beachcombing

Here’s a quote from a book on beachcombing that ties perfectly with software testing: “a beachcomber’s life is a demanding one that calls for discipline and zeal… it’s the endless seeing that causes the psychic strain. It’s the richness of … Continue reading

Posted in storytelling | Comments Off on Beachcombing

Silence

I believe in the quiet of our mind dwells some of our best testing ideas waiting to be heard. As I was pumping gas into my car, a TV monitor at the pump started up with information I had no … Continue reading

Posted in storytelling | Comments Off on Silence

… being the grasshopper

A true story about learning about software testing… a long while ago I had a boss named Bob. At the time I was fairly new to software testing. Bob had knowledge on many topics. He had an approachable way about … Continue reading

Posted in storytelling | Comments Off on … being the grasshopper