Cognitive Bias

Cognitive Bias image
A cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking that affects the decisions and judgements that people make. This could be described as “a deviation from reality in judgement” due to our limited memory, mental capacity, attention span or inability to separate from our emotions.

Examples in software testing include:
  • Looking for bugs you already suspect, rather than exploring unexpected behaviours
  • Underestimating the number of test cases or the amount of time needed to test complex interactions
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