Rapid Testing Intensive - Day 1

Today was the first day of the 5 day "Rapid Testing Intensive" by James and Jon Bach.  What an awesome experience to be able to learn from these two master Testers.  There are several folks onsite with them in Seattle and over 100 of us online from all over the world. 

They did not mess around.  We immediately jumped into things.  We started off with each of us working on usability testing and product familiarization on the Motors site on eBay.  It was a great way to get familiar with the product pretty quickly.  By all of doing this, 88 bugs were written!

James then took us on a high-level overview of Rapid Software Testing.   Here are some of his pearls of wisdom:

• Rapid Software Testing is a way of thinking, a mindset.
• There are no best practices.
• Learn to test!!!  After 25 years of testing, James still says that to himself.
• Testing is about discovering the invisible.
• Don't trust when your brain says something is simple.
• Test automation can't simulate what humans can find in unanticipated problems.
• In order to control a system, you must have/make a model of that system.
• A model is any idea, activity, object that represents another idea, activity, object to help you manipulate the real thing.
•  The tester is expected to relate what they are doing to the business and explain why they are doing it. 
• Alternate reading the spec and play with product: Read, play, read, play, read, play, read, play.....
• Don't mind being confused.

We then did an exercise with TCO's (Test Coverage Outline), again on Motors in eBay.  We each had the choice of working on the following:

• Interface element
• Data element
• Platform and variants
• Business logic & flows
• Oracles

I chose to make a mindmap of the cars data:


All in all a great, full day and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.