TL;DR
Tester sometimes needs to act very fast. And that action should be based on decision that is made based on information and his testing knowledge. In this blog post I will give example how I made a 30 second decision that was not related with software testing, but was related with somebody’s life circumstance.
Here is excellent example from James Bach what is context driven tester:
From the moment when I saw for the first time this video, I put it on my software testing craft training list. I reply it and try to approach to my testing issues in that way. Sometimes I apply that skill automatically.
Here is example from real life situation. I was heading home from grocery shopping and my hands were full of bags. I was in a hurry. Then on bus stop, one elderly lady asked me to give her 20 kunas (3 $). She was on the verge of tears. She needed it because she was visiting her husband in hospital and she wanted to buy him some juice.
I immediately started to process information:
- she asked for specific amount
- she was dressed as person that is going to hospital to visit somebody
- the bus stop was on the way to hospital
- I had never seen that lady asking her for money
I automatically processed that information in my had, a gave her 20 kunas. Based on that facts, my conclusion was that her story was truthful. I have never seen that lady ever again begging for the money, which also could prove that her situation was real and one time life event.
