Weekend Testing Americas This Saturday: Fitness Software & Domain Knowledge

I've been asked a number of times if Domain Knowledge is essential to being an effective software tester. Part of me says "well, of course... if you don't understand the domain, how could you really understand the potential problems that users could have?" Makes sense, but sometimes I wonder if that's really true. If one has a "universal toolkit", would they be able to find important problems even if the area in question was not something they knew a lot about?

It's with this idea, and my own interest in geting back into shape after my surgery, that I felt it would be great fun to put that theory to the test. The app I'm interested in testing is called GAIN Fitness, and it is available for browsers and for smart devices (iphone, Android, tablet, etc.). It's designed to help people make workouts based on their goals, their fitness levels, and other details. It promises to be a one stop shop to help get someone in shape.

Cool, so can we test this? I'd say, of course, yes, but the even deeper question would be "Does a tester who knows a lot about fitness and training have an advantage over a tester who doesn't?" In the past, I'd say "well, of course" (see, I said it again), but again, now I'm really curious if that's true. It would be great if we could get a cross section of testers who are knowledgeable about fitness and training, and at different levels. Example: weight lifting, I know a lot about. Yoga, I know next to nothing about. Does that mean that I can't effectively test the Yoga components?

Either way, this is a different kind of app to test, and I figured it would make for a fun session. My cardinal belief is that, if you have an interest in something, it's possible others will, too. One never knows until they put it out there.

So with that...

WTA-41 – Getting in Shape with Domain Knowledge

Date: Saturday, July 6, 2013
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT

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Attendees: TBD
Facilitator: Michael Larsen


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