I recently just found out the hypothetical example I used a few times with fairly random strangers normally over a beer or a coffee was not actually a true example, so this is both a public sort of apology and also a consideration if its still a fairly okay example to use provided I caveat its not actually true.
Firstly the professional version I like is testing is asking awesome product risk based questions to accelerate the team and product forward but that’s not the one I use with strangers.
In a recent case I asked, if they were familiar with tinder which turns out most people are and expand into a humorous story on how left handed people for a long time were struggling to find love, their natural subconscious swipe often being in a different direction.
So part of my job as a tester was to consider all users, think about the risks and challenges they face and give feedback to those building the products where they could make things better for everyone.
In the mythical tinder example testing feedback encouraged the development of the ability to change the swipe direction and thereby helped people find love.
Yep, I went as far as saying testing is all about helping people find love.
The story was a lead in to talking about the slightly more serious topic of accessibility testing where I discover both challenges and opportunities with software that empowers those building the product to make it a better product for everyone. This bit is accurate, its not all that testing is about but as a casual understanding I’ve found strangers can relate and grasp better what I do.
Unfortunately I recently found out there is not an option to change the swipe direction, so hence my apology.
Yet I stand by this.
Testing discovers both challenges and opportunities with software that empowers those building the product to make it a better product for everyone.