Teaching Testing

It's common for me to get a question from someone wanting free consulting. Everyone now and then, they come in as vague, one-sentence queries like "Can u show me how 2 decrease my time 2 market?"

James Bach recently got one, and wrote this:

If you are a skilled tester, then you know that a question like '“Can you explain to me how to perform testing of a datawarehouse and also provide me with a test plan?' cannot be answered. It'’s as if you asked me '“What is the mathematical equation that solves the problem I am thinking of that has something to do with data warehousing?”' Nobody can answer that.

I could tell you about issues related to testing data warehouses, but I have no confidence that you would understand what I a’m talking about or be able to act reasonably on that information. I'’m not going to hand you a test plan and anyone who tries to give you a test plan is irresponsible.

Man, I think you need to learn how to test. Then you won't feel the need to ask silly questions.

Granted, I took it out of context, but this is really great stuff. It's just not just funny, it's insightful - and vice versa. Read the whole article here.