Maslow's Hammer

Because software engineers are so good at solving difficult problems with complex code they tend to want to solve the problem of software testing by automation. Paraphrasing Abraham Maslow "When you are good with a hammer every problem becomes a nail". Unfortunately this kind of thinking just seems to dig many projects deeper into the hole. Last month's cover article of Better Software Magazine Man and Machine by Joanthan Kohl puts automated testing in an interesting perspective. Kohl sees automated testing as a tool that helps the tester identify faults - not as a replacement for manual testing. He argues convincingly "instead of viewing test automation as an effort to replace all manual tests,....automation [should]  focuses on extending the abilities of the tester".