I think that the types of testing we do can be broadly rolled up into a small set of archetypes. These archetypes are useful things to teach to new testers in terms of recognizing how to solve a testing problem.

1. TWST5 - Testing
Archetypes
Adam Goucher
http://adam.goucher.ca

2. Archetypes
an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype
after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a
symbol universally recognized by all

4. Archetypes
a set of archetypes exist in testing which all testing
problems can be rolled up

5. Archetypes
are context free

6. Archetypes
forms, reports, conversion, batch, integration and installation
are all archetypes

7. Archetypes
are not patterns

8. http://www.fabriclink.com/presentations/velcro/
pirate.html

9. Patterns
a description or template for how to solve a problem that
can be used in many different situations

10. Patterns
have a generic context

11. Patterns
login form, csv-to-xml conversion, windows-based
installation are all patterns

12. Patterns
are not specific situations

13. http://socect.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/the-brief-life-
of-squeezy/

14. Situations
are context specific

15. Situations
zerofootprint’s visa payment process, amazon’s shopping
cart, google’s search are situations

16. http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/schrodingers-lolcat1.jpg

17. Hypothesis
archetypes construct patterns

18. Hypothesis
patterns are applied to situations

19. Hypothesis
testing happens at the situation level

20. Hypothesis
learn testing archetypes to do better situational testing

21. Irony
to teach archetypes we need to use situational examples

22. Form

23. Transform