Track Talk W11

Our Eight Senses Shape our Testing and our World

Isabel Evans

15:30-16:15 CEST Wednesday 8th June

How we interact with the physical world affects us, even as we shape and affect the physical world. Similarly, we shape and are shaped by our interactions with the virtual world.

In both the physical and the virtual worlds, our use of tools is part of those interactions. Tools – once we are familiar with them – become extensions of our perceptions, our cognition, and our physical movements. Good tools enhance our flow as we work and allow us to complete tasks we could not otherwise tackle. Poor tools impede our flow, and even become blockers. Even as we choose the tools to shape our world, the tools are shaping our perception of the world.

As we test software and products we are delivering as tools for other people to use, we consider the functionality, and the technical delivery. We also consider all the other attributes that contribute to software quality for our customers. As virtual and physical worlds become more entwined, what else do we need to consider?

Let’s take another step onwards into understanding interactions between people, their tools, and their real and virtual worlds. What if we engage with not just five but all our eight senses? This may take you into new and unexplored territory where I’ll explain how tools tell us what to do, how tools become an extension of our bodies, and how tools use or ignore our senses. This affects what we think about when testing products, and when choosing our own tools for supporting testing.