Chris Struble Writes

This week I finished the second draft of my technical paper "Generator-based Testing: A State by State Approach". Two of my coworkers, Steven and Neelu, reviewed it and gave me helpful feedback, which I really appreciate. I sent a copy to Larry, our VP of Engineering, to ask him to review one section of the paper where I talked about my employer's business. In a department meeting he mentioned that he had read the entire paper and had given a lot of thought to it. He also asked me to present it to a department meeting in the near future. It was very nice of him to read it and to give me that public recognition. If any of my friends in the software industry would like to see the latest draft, contact me directly, and I will share it with you.

This week I finished the first draft of my technical paper "Generator-based Testing: A State by State Approach". The paper is 10 pages, and discusses two different approaches to doing software testing: Example-based testing (EBT), where test cases are handcrafted one example at a time, and Generator-based testing (GBT), where test cases are generated with the help of automation. I have used both techniques in my career. My main point in the paper is that GBT is more effective at finding defects and that the software industry is not doing enough of it. I also discuss an approach for increasing one's expertise in new testing practices and helping to embed that expertise in your development teams over time. It is the first technical paper I have written in four years, and I am glad to have completed the first draft on time. Technical writing for a general audience is not an easy process for me because I have to organize and distill my ideas into something that is hopefully c...