Faster Horses: Why AI Rewards Teams That Talk to Each Other
Using AI for our old tasks just gives us faster horses. As the next abstraction layer, AI rewards precise intent and teams that talk to each other.
Future & Responsible Technology
AI and automation are changing the work of testing, and every technical decision reaches beyond the project. This hub looks ahead: at the future of testing, at new roles, and at the responsibility that comes with those decisions.
The articles and podcast episodes explore trends and future scenarios, an interview series on the future of software testing, sustainable and resource-efficient software, and ethical questions around generative AI. Many pieces tie this to attitude: meeting new things with curiosity, staying calm about what you cannot control, and keeping people at the centre. The underlying tone is realistic optimism.
Articles
Agile Ways of Working: Why It's Time for Real Agile
Agile ways of working spark more eye rolls than motivation today. Agile isn't dead, though: now is the time for real agile that is individual and human.
Between Pride and Throwaway Software: Ownership Takes Work
Simply accepting AI output creates no bond with the result. Ownership of code, architecture and tests grows from working through them yourself.
The Great Compression: When AI Leaves No Time to Think
Kamchatka 2008 with books instead of a ChatGPT itinerary: what the double compression of time and work does to us, and why deliberate brakes help.
We Need More Boredom: Why Idle Time Sparks Ideas
A waiting room without a smartphone, and suddenly a thought appears. Why our brains need idle time and why boredom is an incubator for ideas.
Risks of Open Source Software: Licenses, Support and Testing
The risks of open source software go beyond cost: licenses, maintenance, support and quality. So test it yourself and give back to the community.
AI Hype Cycle: How to Stay Relaxed but Mindful
Caught in the AI hype cycle? Total refusal rarely works. Small steps and Gartner's model help you stay calm and alert amid the constant AI noise.
Why I Don't Despair: Focus, Distance and a Bit of Stoicism
AI text floods and vibe coding can feel overwhelming. Three things keep me calm: shifting my focus, taking a step back and the ideas of the Stoics.
Testers in the AI Era: Interpreters Between Code and People
The future of testing lies not in better tools but in humanity. Why testers are the interpreters between AI, code, and the people behind it.
AI Programming Languages: Must Code Stay Human-Readable?
Should AI programming languages stay readable for humans? If AI writes the code, compilers and syntax may change. What that leaves for developers.
Software Developer Responsibility: Designers of Our World
Software developer responsibility grows as code shapes safety, fairness and daily life. Whoever designs the modern world has to weigh what they build.
Stoicism: Calmer Decision Making in the Age of AI
Stoicism helps with decision making in the AI era: machines do more of the work, we decide more often. Control, virtue and acceptance bring clarity.
Focus on People: Investing in Humans Alongside AI Tools
Focus on people: when AI writes much of the code, decisions on quality, ethics and vision land with humans. Companies should invest in them as in tools.
Good Software: What Users Need Beyond Passing Tests
Good software supports its users, and matching the spec is only part of that. A camper van shows how software lets people down and which questions help.
Democratization of Software Development: Apps by Prompt
The democratization of software development is near: AI code generators and no-code platforms let anyone build apps. That also calls for responsibility.
Individuality: Why Endless Options and Opinions Drain Us
Individuality brings two challenges: social media distorts which opinions seem common, and endless decisions drain us, self-organization included.
Effort: Why Being Busy Won't Get Us to Our Goals
Software teams reach their goals through real effort, not daily busy work: paying down technical debt, deleting old code and slimming processes.
Dealing with the New: Why Curiosity Beats Banning ChatGPT
Dealing with new technology like ChatGPT works best by trying it out. Banning or ignoring it costs experience, efficiency and new business.
Agility and Sustainability: Start by Keeping It Simple
Agility and sustainability fit together. With KISS and Lean, teams cut redundant meetings, bloated apps and features nobody needs. That takes courage.
Low-Code Testing Turns Business Experts into Citizen Testers
Low-code testing turns business experts into citizen testers, since software demand outgrows developers. Linked TCoEs replace the classic test center.
Earthlings Observed: Why Our Habits Look Absurd from Outside
An alien's view of earthly rituals shows how subjective our judgment is, and why habits like slide-heavy meetings deserve a fresh look now and then.
Scenario-Based Testing and the Future of Software Testing
Scenario-based testing is emerging because autonomous vehicles and robots must be tested in dynamic environments, not on a lab bench.
SDETs and Coaching Roles: Testing Needs Broader Profiles
SDETs, coaching roles and quality engineers in place of test managers: in a truly agile setup, quality becomes a shared responsibility of the team.
Lean Agile Testing: Quality Engineering Turns Predictive
Lean agile testing at scale builds on the House of agile Quality: roles, approach, tools. Next is predictive quality engineering with data and AI.
Quality Culture at DB Netz: Quality Coaches Replace Testers
Quality culture at DB Netz means quality coaches instead of dedicated testers, and continuous testing built into the MoQ-AP CI/CD pipeline.
Testing Principles: Why They Outlast Any Tool
Testing principles and methods last longer than any tool. As testing moves closer to development and tools keep changing, mastering them pays off.
Testing in Production: Where Software Testing Is Heading
Testing in production, simulation and product certification: why the static lab test falls short and testing turns into a task for the whole team.
Testing as a Craft: Deviations Drive the Product Forward
Testing as a craft survives full automation: its outcome depends on the skill of the people doing it. Teams set their quality level consciously.
T-Shaped Testers: Software Testing of the Future
T-shaped testers who span requirements, architecture, development and DevOps: that is software testing of the future. ML systems need new approaches.
Software Testing of the Future Needs Quality Coaches
Quality coaches shape the software testing of the future. They make quality a team value, even as continuous delivery speeds everything up.
Future Optimism: A Positive Narrative Against Problem Trance
Future optimism is a deliberate mindset: shifting focus from problem trance to a positive narrative opens up better solutions for teams and society.
Technology or Us: Who Will Call the Shots?
Technology as a tool or algorithmic surveillance with a social score? Politicians and corporations won't fix it, so change has to start with each of us.
Is Agility the Answer to the Future? People Grow Inside It
Agility alone does not answer the challenges of the future. As a framework for personal development, it makes people, teams and companies resilient.
Digitalization Is a Process, Not a Project
Digitalization does not end with an online store. It is a process that touches every level, and agile values help handle complexity and uncertainty.
Dreaming Utopias: Star Trek as a Vision for Our Work
Dreaming utopias like Star Trek helps teams look beyond everyday fuss and define how they really want to work and live together in the future.
Digital Transformation Needs Personal Development
Digital transformation needs people who grow with it. Copying single Silicon Valley habits leads to fair-weather agility and frustration at all levels.
Testing in the Digital Transformation
Testing in the digital transformation must scale with complex, networked systems, supported by test automation, agile processes and microservices.
DevOps: Digital Transformation Requires Continuous Testing
DevOps needs continuous testing: IT systems are never finished, so data, processes and data transfer need automated tests with users involved.
Gardening: My Small Garden as a Personal Retreat
Gardening gives me a retreat from the screen: weeding as meditation, food that follows the seasons, bare feet in the grass and a notebook outdoors.
Tomorrow's Software Testers: More Creativity, Less Routine
A fictional look back from 2030: automation took over routine testing work, so testers focus on creative test ideas and take responsibility in teams.
Podcast Episodes
Generative AI Ethics: The Case Against Hyperscale Models
Generative AI cannot be used ethically as long as training data is used without consent and billionaires control the models.
Blue Angel for Software: Transparency Instead of Top Marks
The Blue Angel for software asks for energy data, support for five-year-old hardware and free security updates. Certification takes about three months.
Next-Gen Software Engineering: A Test Model for Every Model
Next-gen software engineering pairs every model with a test model. AI code looks cheap, but someone still has to version, document and test it.
Critical Thinking in AI-Assisted Testing: Check the Source
Critical thinking in AI-assisted testing means asking where an output comes from. If AI writes code and tests, a tester still has to judge the result.
Software Tester Role: AI Assists, Critical Thinking Stays
The software tester role moved from early automation to model-based testing to AI in 25 years. Learning fast and delivering bad news well count most.
Stoic Decision-Making: Judge Choices Instead of Outcomes
Stoic decision-making separates the quality of a choice from luck. Premeditatio malorum, the 10-10-10 rule and a decision log make it daily practice.
Software Testing Survey: Basic Test Techniques Are Fading
The 2024 software testing survey of more than 800 respondents: a third use AI for coding and QA, yet only about 40 percent apply basic test techniques.
Autonomics: A New Discipline for Autonomous Systems
Autonomics is a new discipline for autonomous systems, drawing on control engineering, computer science and sensors. Their safety must hold at runtime.
IT Stereotype: Only 6% of Surveyed Testers Match It
Only 6% of testers fit the classic IT stereotype. Arts graduates, boat builders, urban planners: the data on who actually does testing reframes how we recruit.
AI Agents in Software Testing: Treat Them like New Hires
AI agents in software testing need what a new hire gets: a selection process, a probation period, and ongoing performance checks, not fixed outputs.
25 Years of Software Testing: The Pendulum Swings Again
Over 25 years of software testing, the tester swung from separate specialist to quality coach in the team. Now AI makes quality everyone's job.
Tester Stereotype: Only 6 Percent Fit the Mold
Only 6% of surveyed testers fit the tester stereotype. Many come from boatbuilding, theater or urban planning, and degrees barely predict their roles.
Software Testing in 2024: AI and Legislation as Drivers
Software testing trends 2024: AI became standard in test tools, while the Accessibility Act, Cyber Resilience Act and EU AI Act pulled testing earlier.
Testing Trends: Testing AI and Testing with AI
Trends in software testing: AI is used most in programming and testing, far less in requirements engineering. Scrum dominates, even in aviation.
Future of Software Development: The Basics Will Stay
Future of software development: AI mainly helps developers create legacy code faster. What that means for quality and jobs over the next ten years.
Sustainable Software: Performance Cuts the Carbon Footprint
Sustainable software starts with performance: less CPU, memory and data transfer cut carbon and cloud costs. Three image tweaks alone save 97 percent.
Stoicism for Product Teams: Don't Confuse Luck with Judgment
Stoicism helps product teams judge a decision by how it was made, not how it turned out. Its tools: premeditatio malorum, 10-10-10, a decision diary.
Green Software: What If Planet Earth Were a Stakeholder?
Green software starts with one question: what if the earth were a stakeholder in your next sprint? Supporting old devices cuts e-waste and saves costs.
Exploration and AI: Human Context Can't Be Replaced
AI speeds up routine work, but exploration needs human context it lacks. Quality stays hard to sell, so testers should pair with developers and network.
Fair AI: Assurance Case Makes Fairness Testable
Fair AI sounds good, but what does it mean in measurable terms? Fairness measures contradict each other, so an assurance case breaks the claim down.
Sustainability in Testing: Going Green Often Saves Money, Too
Sustainability in testing is already hidden among ISO 25010 quality criteria. Dropping redundant test runs saves computing power, and with it money.
Green IT: Fewer Features, Less Data, No Idle Machines
Green IT makes software draw less power, green by IT uses software for sustainability. How the Pink Index, caching and smaller cloud nodes help.
Sustainable Software Development: How Testing Saves Energy
Sustainable software development starts with the requirements, long before deployment. Performance, maintainability and lean test pipelines all count.