Notes on testing, automation, and software craft.
I explore technology and how to build software that is reliable, safe, and affordable, quickly.
by Pete Houghton peterhoughton.com LinkedIn
Many, Many years ago I worked at a startup called Lastminute.com (a European online travel company, back when a travel company didn't have to be online). For a while, I worked in what would now be described as a 'DevOps' team. A group of technical people with both programming…Many, Many years ago I worked at a startup called Lastminute.com (a European online travel company, back when a travel… more »
A while back, I sat in on a planning meeting. Many planning meetings slide awkwardly into a sort of ad hoc technical analysis discussion, and this was no exception. With a little prompting, the team started to draw up what they wanted to build on a whiteboard. The picture spoke…A while back, I sat in on a planning meeting. Many planning meetings slide awkwardly into a sort of ad hoc technical… more »
Is your car German or Japanese? Are your chocolates from Belgium? And your wine, which country might that be from? There's a good chance you know the answer to some of those questions. Our culture places value on provenance. That is, we care where our possessions originate. It's…Is your car German or Japanese? Are your chocolates from Belgium? And your wine, which country might that be from?… more »
Heraclitus wrote these words 2500 years ago: "Ever newer waters flow on those who step into the same rivers." or paraphrased in more colloquial English: You never stand in the same river twice. Known as the "The obscure one" to some of his contemporaries, he was known to make…Heraclitus wrote these words 2500 years ago: "Ever newer waters flow on those who step into the same rivers." or… more »
Take a pack of cards, shuffle them well, and place them on the desk in front of you. Could you accurately tell me what the order of the cards would be, without looking? By Rosapicci Own work, CC BY SA 4.0 Now spend 2 weeks in a software development team, writing code & using…Take a pack of cards, shuffle them well, and place them on the desk in front of you. Could you accurately tell me what… more »
Shutter sync is an interesting artefact generated when we video moving objects. Take a look at this video of a Helicopter taking off: <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube nocookie.com/embed/yr3ngmRuGUc?feature=player embedded"…Shutter sync is an interesting artefact generated when we video moving objects. Take a look at this video of a… more »
I remember teaching my son to ride his bike. No, Strike that, Helping him to learn to ride his bike. It’s that way round – if we are honest – he was changing his brain so it could adapt to the mechanism and behaviour of the bike. I was just holding the bike, pushing and…I remember teaching my son to ride his bike. No, Strike that, Helping him to learn to ride his bike. It’s that way… more »
Thank you to the colleague/customer/product owner, who found the bug I missed. That oversight, was (at least in part) my mistake. I've been thinking about what happened and what that means to me and my team. I'm happy you told me about the issue you found, because you... 1)…Thank you to the colleague/customer/product owner, who found the bug I missed. That oversight, was (at least in part)… more »
Google Maps directs me to and from my client sites. I've saved the location of the client's car parks, when I start the app in the morning it knows where I want to go. When I start it at the end of the day, Google knows where I want to go. This is great! It guides me around…Google Maps directs me to and from my client sites. I've saved the location of the client's car parks, when I start the… more »
After a weary few hours sorting through, re running and manually double checking the "automated test" results, the team decide they need to "run the tests again!", that's a problem to the team. Why? because they are too slow. The 'test' runs take too long and they won't have the…After a weary few hours sorting through, re running and manually double checking the "automated test" results, the team… more »