March 3, 2007 - We Need *More* QA and Testing Terms!

"What are Use Cases?" "What is Scenario Testing?" "What is Boundary Value Analysis?" "What's the difference between a Test Strategy and a Test Plan?" "What is String Testing?"
I see questions like these posted in various on-line forums all the time. It seems that there must be a lot of companies where terms are tossed around without offering any explanations at all. And, apparently, people aren't willing to ask the speaker what these terms mean.
Well some people say that we have too many loosely-defined terms in this profession. But I say, we don't have enough! Let's have some fun and get creative!
So, I'm imagining a scenario where made-up terms are used instead. You just say some things that sound like they might be real, but aren't. Then see if anyone bothers to ask for definitions. It could be a fun pastime.
Here are a few:
Singular Framis Analysis As in, "I think our standard procedures should include at least some minimal Singular Framis Analysis." Neighborhood Testing As in, "Once we've finished with our Functional Testing, we'll spend at least two weeks on Neighborhood Testing before we release Beta." Qualoptimist As in, "That developer is clearly just being a Qualoptimist." Testicity As in, "We'll need to find a tool to measure the overall Testicity of the system on a weekly basis."
True Story:
One of my favorite teachers of all time was my seventh-grade Math teacher.
He had a habit of giving us pop quizzes at least several times a week. But, he always said not to worry, that these weren't really difficult quizzes, but rather only "quizzies", "quizlets", or "quizzicles".
After one of the more difficult pop quizzes, my best friend (who was sort of a class clown) said, "Wow! If that was just a quizzicle, I'd hate to see his testicles!"
Do you have any other made-up terms that sound like real QA terms? Send them to me and I'll add them to the list! Email Me
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