Testing Mindset

The Testing Mindset (in my humble opinion) is an umbrella term that covers a number of different mindsets, or ways of thinking about a subject. As I said in my September 2025 article (see reference), 

"From the beginning of my software testing career in 2003, I’d repeatedly heard about the ‘tester's mindset.’ There were very few actual definitions and none that I felt fit well. I did some research to see if someone specific coined the term, but it is more likely that it evolved over time." 

In that article, I suggested that, as testers or quality professionals, we should have more than one mindset. I gave 11 examples of software testing mindsets, and since then, I've added another. I asked in the article for people to suggest their own or expand on them. Maybe you can add to this glossary term with your own ideas and mindsets. Or, you may see it differently, which is great. Debate pushes the craft forward. Here is the latest list as of April 2026. They are now grouped and I hope to share them as a model in the future.