Laurent Bossavit

In this Google Hangout Laurent Bossavit will share ideas from “Defence Against the Dark Arts”, the workshop he did with Michael Bolton at CAST 2014. This workshop focused on how to think critically about quantitative claims.

Numbers, models, and measurements are often used to describe. Just as often, they are used to persuade. Sometimes, they are used to intimidate. Testers must be able to look at information, claims, and evidence critically, in order to avoid being fooled or bullied. They must apply critical thinking to their own observations, interpretations and reports, in order to avoid fooling themselves–or worse, their clients. This workshop is about looking thoughtfully and skillfully at reports, research, and common claims about testing and software development. Participants learn methods for analyzing those claims and a framework for evaluating them. Applying this approach to real-world cases, and exercises, they refine their approach to collecting, assessing and presenting data and information. Throughout, participants remain engaged: looking for the original data, assessing the relationship between numbers and their representations, evaluating the methods of measurement — in a nutshell, refining your current skills and building new ones. Caution: this workshop may interfere with your enjoyment of your daily newspaper.