Tester, Woodworkerhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mjvsicmfpm2qThe new ThoughtWorks Tech Radar reads like a warning letter. Cognitive debt. Broken productivity metrics. Terms nobody agrees on. If you've been reading my posts, none of it will surprise you. It's always nice to get evidence that I'm not completely crazy and making all of this up. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/20/the-tech-radar-is-blinking-red/20 Apr 2026 06:07 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjvsicmfpm2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mjtdmlalxm22The IT consolidation was coming long before ChatGPT. AI just gave it a narrative. And the people who actually understood the systems? They're updating their LinkedIn. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/19/the-convenient-scapegoat/19 Apr 2026 06:35 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjtdmlalxm22https://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mjqtort2gd2m"Are we building the right thing?" is a question as old as engineering itself. GenAI made it easier than ever to skip. Time to start asking again. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/18/are-we-building-the-right-thing-or-how-genai-made-us-forget-to-ask/18 Apr 2026 06:45 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjqtort2gd2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mjlrrlcipm25Spec-Driven Development is the hot new thing in vibe coding. Write a perfect spec, let the agent work, sit back. Sounds familiar? We called it Waterfall. We hated it. We sucked at it. Why do we think we're suddenly ready for it now? https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/16/the-waterfall-strikes-back/16 Apr 2026 06:27 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjlrrlcipm25https://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mjja2iwyws2kI listened to a podcast about "assisted migration" for trees and plants. A fantastic topic for a systems thinker. I listened to an AI podcast just before that. And then a few uncomfortable synaptic connections clicked. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/15/assisted-migration-or-why-forcing-ai-into-your-ecosystem-is-a-terrible-idea/15 Apr 2026 06:05 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjja2iwyws2khttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mjgq3343yy2kOpenAI valued at $852 billion without profit. Sora lost $1 million per day. Big Tech spends $700 billion yearly, and most of it vanishes into chips and electricity. IPOs are coming. Before you buy in, remember T-Online. That was counted as a safe bet, too. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/14/the-ai-gold-rush-or-its-time-to-make-money/14 Apr 2026 06:14 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjgq3343yy2khttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mjebdtmtvj27The S-to-P Jig is an advanced cognitive jig from DSRP. Scrum is a perfect example. And understanding it explains why good Scrum Masters adapt the framework instead of just following it. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/13/frameworks-and-systems-thinking-how-the-s-to-p-jig-works/13 Apr 2026 06:45 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjebdtmtvj27https://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mjbtk65xqs2i"Where are your solutions?" Fair question. Honestly: I don't have any. What I have is tools for thinking. Systems thinking. Perspective shifts. I can't think for you. But I can show you ways to improve your thinking. I don't want you to share my thinking. That's my contribution. Small, but mine. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/12/why-i-rant-without-providing-solutions/12 Apr 2026 07:33 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjbtk65xqs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mj77u57pvq2kHeroes mask a system's weaknesses. When they're gone, things collapse. AI agents are the new heroes, flooding teams with output. But a healthy system doesn't need heroes. It needs balance. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/11/are-ai-coding-agents-the-new-heroes-and-why-thats-not-a-compliment/11 Apr 2026 06:35 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj77u57pvq2khttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mj4ocmdeod2jYesterday's garbage run by the river got me thinking. Biases aren't "just" glitches in our brains. They're stable systems with feedback loops. And they all have a social layer that makes them sticky. Find the loop, find the leverage point. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/10/biases-are-systems-or-why-knowing-about-them-doesnt-make-them-go-away/10 Apr 2026 06:15 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj4ocmdeod2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mj27hnmj2s2yThe simple answer wins. Always. Because we wanted it that way. We trained the algorithm, and now it trains us. Keep thinking. Leave the one-liners to the comedians https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/09/the-asymmetry-of-explanation-or-why-the-simple-lies-win/09 Apr 2026 06:45 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj27hnmj2s2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mixpduiezc27AI agents promise to write your tests for you. Sounds great until you realize: a test suite you didn't build is a test suite you don't understand. Don't let green checkmarks replace your own eyes. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/08/the-blind-confidence-of-ai-generated-tests/08 Apr 2026 06:51 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mixpduiezc27https://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3miv5hl7fsx2lAI agents are writing your test scripts now. So what exactly are you still doing here? If coding was the vehicle but you forgot the destination, you might be getting Pluto-ed. A post about dwarf planets, AI shepherds, and redefining your orbit. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/07/did-test-automation-engineers-just-get-pluto-ed/07 Apr 2026 06:25 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3miv5hl7fsx2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3miso4kdyez2qAI coding agents produce the most probable code. Not the best. Not the most elegant. The most average. Without skill to guide them, you'll get a codebase that works, passes tests, and slowly becomes a maintenance nightmare. Your code deserves better. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/06/the-most-average-codebase-youve-ever-seen/06 Apr 2026 06:45 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3miso4kdyez2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3miq6nm3chf2jA tester who doesn't think in systems is just poking at a surface. DSRP gave me a framework for what good testers do intuitively: draw boundaries, understand parts and wholes, stress relationships, switch perspectives. That's how you detect risks. That's the real job. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/05/testing-is-systems-thinking/05 Apr 2026 07:03 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3miq6nm3chf2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3minm2u3f252tTest cases describe a desired reality. But what does that mean through a systems thinking lens? I have given it a try to explain my train of thought. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/04/systems-thinking-and-test-cases/04 Apr 2026 06:25 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3minm2u3f252thttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3milhrmwdug2q12 o'clock in Germany. Time to raise the gas prices. Do we get a new all-time high? Here is a rule from systems thinking that helps to understand situations like this. When the purpose of a system does not match its intention. Bonus post today, because of reasons... https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/03/the-purpose-of-a-system-is-what-it-does-or-why-german-gas-prices-peak-at-noon/03 Apr 2026 10:03 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3milhrmwdug2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mil54qdpk32rIn woodworking, glue strength depends on surface area. In teams, those surfaces are the moments where people connect. When we automate them away, we don't just remove work. We remove the thing that held the structure together. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/03/ai-cannot-replace-glue-work/03 Apr 2026 06:53 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mil54qdpk32rhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3miikpgwk5n2tWe love labeling things as good or bad. Especially when testing. But labeling while building your mental model contaminates your map. Observe first, evaluate later. Bonus to The Six Moves series. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/02/dont-label-while-you-model-the-six-moves-part-7/02 Apr 2026 06:18 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3miikpgwk5n2thttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mig26matq72ySame reality, seen differently. The P-Circle lays out who is looking, from where, and what they see. The real power? Noticing whose perspective is missing. Part 6 of the Six Moves. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/04/01/looking-from-all-sides-p-circle-the-six-moves-part-6/01 Apr 2026 06:17 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mig26matq72yhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3midktp54kh2tNature hides its secrets in relationships. So do the systems we build. Part 5 of the Six Moves grabs the relationship arrows and asks: what is this made of? https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/03/31/crack-open-the-arrow-rds-barbell-the-six-moves-part-5/31 Mar 2026 06:37 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3midktp54kh2thttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mib2ajqq322rAI used well makes you faster, not lazier. Feed it stack traces, let it draft scripts, use it to learn. But stay in the loop. The moment you stop looking at the output, you're a spectator, not a professional. Here's a few examples that work for me. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/03/30/responsible-use-of-ai-to-gain-personal-efficiency/30 Mar 2026 06:35 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mib2ajqq322rhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mi6mmcys5j2qMicrosoft, Google, Apple, Meta. And now OpenAI and Anthropic. The speed of increasing dependency on big tech in the age of AI is getting higher and higher each day. Big tech has found a new drug to make us even more dependent. And we.... seem to accept it. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/03/29/is-ai-the-new-drug-or-how-we-are-building-dependencies-we-cant-escape/29 Mar 2026 07:25 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi6mmcys5j2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mi46tyk7cv2jOften the beauty lies in the simplicity of a thing. AI allows people to add more without much friction. But is this really useful? https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/03/28/more-is-not-better-or-how-ai-kills-the-art-of-leaving-things-out/28 Mar 2026 08:14 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi46tyk7cv2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mhzwwylz4323Happy Friday rant from yours truly: Testers build trust by understanding thought processes. LLMs 'explain' themselves too. But is it real reasoning or post-hoc storytelling? And where are the observability folks when we need them most? Asking not only for a regulated industry. Happy weekend! https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/03/27/i-dont-trust-this-output-farther-than-i-can-throw-a-washing-machine/27 Mar 2026 10:47 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhzwwylz4323https://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mhzmwu5fto2pParts look manageable in isolation. Connect them, and patterns emerge. Some of those patterns are not pretty. Part 4 of the Six Moves throws a Part Party. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/03/27/when-the-parts-start-talking-to-each-other-part-party-the-six-moves-part-4/27 Mar 2026 07:48 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhzmwu5fto2phttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mhy2s6llw42wThey removed the wolves from Yellowstone and rivers eroded. Now companies remove people and wonder why teams fall apart. You're not cutting a role. You're intervening in a complex, organizational ecosystem that you don't fully understand. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/03/26/the-wolves-in-your-company-or-why-replacing-people-with-ai-breaks-things-you-cant-see/26 Mar 2026 16:50 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhy2s6llw42whttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mhx3p6gncp2lAre they building a new AI data center in your vicinity? Then you are better not in urgent need of a plumber. There are relations in the larger system of AI that you have not even dreamed of before. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/03/26/is-plumber-availability-a-new-signal-for-ai/26 Mar 2026 07:34 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhx3p6gncp2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mhul7voa7z2rYou can't understand a thing without understanding the systems it lives in. Zooming Out is the move that reveals the context. And context changes everything. Part 3 of the Six Moves. https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/systems-dont-exist-in-a-vacuum-zooming-out-the-six-moves-part-3/25 Mar 2026 07:34 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhul7voa7z2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/testpappy.bsky.social/post/3mhrzq3h6ol23We're building AI that explores applications. But when I automate tests myself, I learn the system deeply. Hand that to an agent, and the learning is gone. And where will the next generation of testers come from if we remove the bottom rungs? https://testpappy.wordpress.com/2026/03/24/ai-shepherds-or-who-will-grow-the-next-generation-of-testers/24 Mar 2026 07:15 +0000at://did:plc:bkuwrece2jdcpzweo7p5xq77/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhrzq3h6ol23