Who moved my risk?

We know quality is ‘value to some person’, so it stands to reason that risk is also subjective.

If we use risk as a factor to determine what to test, then how you test, what you test and your testing strategy will evolve and change. Is it though?

Think of testing within your organisation as a fluid, evolving living organism from a Dr Who movie. It’s changing all the time with a whole range of factors such as:

• market demand
• new technologies
• scarcity of time
• the existing state of the product
• what your company wants to focus on
• new people starting, people leaving
• how your company encourages learning
• your infrastructure and how well it is maintained

It’s easy to get stuck into thinking you are this type or that type of tester. Or that this is the best way to do testing. The reality is that as your skill grows, as the skills of developers grow, what you test *should* change.

Perform a risk check. Is the testing being done right now, identifying the risks our company cares out? Or, is it finding low risk bugs that no-one seems to value? That may be an indicator to review your testing strategy and maybe focus on risks elsewhere.

Maybe your functional testing is at a state that is humming along smoothly, switch your focus to removing pain points. Ask those around you what is causing pain and how can it be removed?

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