A blog restarted

I originally started this blog, But in Practice ..., to write down some thoughts and observations about software testing and software development practices. That was in 2006. Some fun years at a startup company that had me too busy for regular blogging intervened. Now, with another spin of the wheel, I find myself with time again to reflect and write about software testing.

My experiences in the field have led me to be something of a generalist. Test automation? Yes, sometimes that's the right thing and I can and have done that. Manual testing? Not always the wrong answer, either. Agile software development? Yes, but so many companies are using the word these days and I find it doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. And pure agile development doesn't fit every problem domain.

This blog is a place to reflect on the messy realities of software testing and how those activities -- filing bug reports, and deciding what and how to test and having difficult conversations with our many stakeholders, and tracking and measure what we do, and more -- fit in withthe underlying principles. The title of this blog reflects that endeavor. In theory, as the saying goes, theory and practice are the same, but in practice they're different. But In Practice ... explores those differences and finds in them the contributions that software test makes to creating great products.