The Importance of Testing
Beach Walk Insights - Volume 1, Issue 27 - Play time 2m 36s
When I worked at IBM's research laboratory in Southern France, I used to work closely with a team of software developers. They were really clever people and their job was creating a software tool that could be used to test the quality of other programs, produced by other development teams. It sounds just as complex as it was.
Here's the punch line. The teams I worked with all used to wear tee shirts with this saying printed on the back:
"If it isn't tested, it doesn't work"
A simple enough statement, but how many times have you seen this rule side-stepped? I challenge people all the time with this - my colleagues are sick and tired of hearing me say it.
Many people dislike the process of testing their work, whether it's proofreading a document or finding bugs in software. Who would you rather find the errors: you or your customer?
The message is: don't skimp on testing. Find the resources to do the job properly. Work to a consistent and high standard. You've heard me banging on about the importance of consistency in other videos - and testing is an important aspect of ensuring consistency.
Next time you produce something, test it. Because until you do, it doesn't work.
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