Phil Kirkham on Atomic Spin

Consistency Tests for Your App: Use Them to Catch Bugs Big or Small

One type of app testing I do regularly is a consistency check. I'll explain what I mean and give examples of possible errors this type of testing picks up.

Exploratory Testing

Software Development and the Ever-Growing Testing Checklist

You probably won't use your checklist to save a life, but it could save your project from bugs! Make sure an item on your list is to check your checklist.

Growing as Makers

Work Anniversary: What I’ve Learned in 10 Years at Atomic

Last month, I celebrated my 10-year work anniversary at Atomic. How did I end up here and what have I learned in the past decade?

Growing as Makers

Check the Layout and Other Lessons Learned From Giving a Career Talk

I recently gave a career talk to 200 high school sophomores. It went well, and I learned some lessons that will help me give better talks in the future.

Exploratory Testing

Exploratory Testing: Take a Walk with the Data

Taking a tour of the data as it moves through the system can be useful and can highlight other areas that might be worth an exploratory testing tour.

Growing as Makers

How to Prepare a Career Talk About Testing for 200 High School Sophomores

I'll soon be giving a career talk about testing to 200 high schoolers. Reviewing how I moved from developer to tester helped me form some concrete advice.

Exploratory Testing

Lessons Learned from Customer Usage

Getting your app into the hands of customers as soon as possible is highly recommended. Here are a few stories that illustrate the utility of user testing.

Exploratory Testing

Creating a “Testing is Fun” Mindset and Learning from Bugs

We strive to create quality software and learning from mistakes can help us avoid similar issues.This also helps encourage a 'testing can be fun' mindset.

Growing as Makers

I’m Biased, and So Are You

Cognitive bias can't be avoided, but an awareness of your biases means you can use the advantages of them in your favor and lessen their negative effects.

Exploratory Testing

What I Learned About Myself & My Software Testing Habits from Presenting to New Hires

During Q&A time, I got some good questions about how and why I test that I continued to think about afterward. Here are my answers.

Growing as Makers

Cutting the Ends Off the Roast

Don't be afraid to ask, "Why am I doing this?" and "Why am I doing it this way?" Otherwise, you'll miss the opportunity to make things better.

Exploratory Testing

Exploratory Testing a Long-Running Project? Switch it Up

When I'm testing a long project, I find myself following the same paths to get to the new features and functionality. Here are six ways I switch it up.

Phil Kirkham

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