Our Product is Insight
In http://www.softwaretestingclub.com/forum/topics/our-product-is Anne-Marie Charrett spoke about a great website she read with the tagline "our product is explanation".
Then, for the Testing and QA community, she posed these thought-proving questions:
So, would it be possible to simplify the concept of software testing into one word?I answered:
If you had the same tagline to fill, what word would you use that encapsulates what software testing brings to its customers?
Our Product is ... Insight copyrightjoestrazzereTo me, the insight we provide may lead to warmfuzzies, or confidence, or peaceofmind, or assurance (some of the other possibilities suggested in the thread). But it may also lead to starkterror.
Either way, we show "what is", not "what makes people feel good".
We don't omit the bad news, in order to spare people's feelings, although we carefully choose our words to provide information and not blame.
We don't produce morale boosters or positive reinforcement, even though some (like Joel Spolsky, see: http://strazzere.blogspot.com/2010/04/testers-and-developers-at-fog-creek.html) seem to think that's a significant role for QAers.
We work to uncover what is, so that the business may make appropriate, informed decisions.
