Every few years, someone gets the bright idea that what our field really needs is an emphasis on automated regression testing with tests that are focused specifically on written customer requirements, ideally developed as the requirements come in. These days, I hear this tired, heavyweight approach marketed as "agile, lean, automated, acceptance-test-driven development." Huh? I thought this was what TDD (within XP) was trying to replace. Oh well. "All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again." I want to remind you of a different recurring theme involving test automation: using technology to help us learn things about the quality of the software that we don't already know, running new tests all the time so that we keep learning throughout testing. The latest buzzphrase for this is "automated exploratory testing." More specifically, I'm going to talk about applying test techniques to the evaluation of the models we build into software, to help us decide whether we are building the right thing, to address validation and accreditation of software instead of burying our heads in verification. (You can use automated exploratory techniques for high-powered verification too, but we won't have time for that in this presentation.)

** Update (June 29, 2010, 2:35pm): There are still seats available.  If you have RSVP'd by 2:35pm on June 29, then we have reserved a seat for you. Remember to claim your seat at the door by 11:45am on the day of the meeting. **