Comments on: Heuristics exposed http://automation-beyond.com/2009/10/05/heuristics-exposed/ An engineering approach to Software Testing and Test Automation Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:23:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: James Bach http://automation-beyond.com/2009/10/05/heuristics-exposed/comment-page-1/#comment-176 James Bach Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:52:26 +0000 http://automationbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=459#comment-176 All techniques in testing are heuristic. That is to say, there are no techniques that can guarantee you will find all important bugs in a reasonable period of time. There is no ALGORITHM that solves the problem of testing. One example of a heuristic is cruise control on a car. It's not a substitute for a driver. It just helps you drive. So to use heuristics properly (in other words, to use any test technique properly) we must understand them from the inside out. We must be able to pilot them. I like your idea of looking to the source of every heuristic. That's what you need to do. All techniques in testing are heuristic. That is to say, there are no techniques that can guarantee you will find all important bugs in a reasonable period of time. There is no ALGORITHM that solves the problem of testing.

One example of a heuristic is cruise control on a car. It’s not a substitute for a driver. It just helps you drive. So to use heuristics properly (in other words, to use any test technique properly) we must understand them from the inside out. We must be able to pilot them.

I like your idea of looking to the source of every heuristic. That’s what you need to do.

]]>