Declan O'Riordan

Testing IT

If there were no risk of anything ever going wrong, there would be no case for Testing. Although Testing and Assurance activities are part of Risk Management, the blue pill paradigm of classic Testing has restricted its scope to the design and workings of engineered systems. Nevertheless, avoiding discussion of larger risks that are difficult to understand does not make them go away or protect users from harm.  Identification, monitoring, and control of such risks has been abdicated by Testing.

This paper offers the red pill possibility that Testing could also challenge fundamental ideas and beliefs. Important parts of our world have been built upon unproven assumptions. At least one of those assumptions will either be eroded by the improving viability of quantum computing within approximately ten years, or may suddenly collapse at any time due to a breakthrough in problem solving. The astonishing advances in Bitcoin mining speeds may be the driver for that breakthrough.

After reading this paper you can return for a while to the blue pill paradigm. That choice is best expressed in the Papua New Guinea word ‘Mokita’. It means “the truth we all know but agree not to talk about.”

Key Takeaways:

• A readable explanation of Bitcoin, the original and most successful Blockchain.
• A guide for Testers to think more deeply about risk assessment.
• A chance to win $1 million by solving a problem.