The Zen of Software Testing: Discovering Your Inner Tester

Testing techniques and methods are usually based on models or theories-models derived from experience and theories from science. An alternative approach is Zen, a Buddhist doctrine stating that enlightenment can be attained through direct intuitive insight. Zen is all about harmony and balance. Dawn Haynes believes that a Zen approach to testing can help you meld disparate testing practices and gain new insights into your test processes and your everyday testing activities. We've all had those "aha" moments-like when you just knew it was a buffer overflow problem and immediately found where it was located in the code. When we "Zen" it, we figure out something through meditation or a sudden flash of enlightenment. Join Dawn to learn the Zen way to apply the models and theories you currently use for testing and then apply your intuitive insights to discover the rest.

• The parallels between Zen and scientific methods of testing
• A new way to see your formal and informal test processes
• The role of ethics in the Zen philosophy and its application to testing