Games are the Way to Test Software

When the .NET framework was being developed one of the mechanisms that Microsoft used to test the framework was a game available to any employee. The goal was to give the framework a more thorough and real-world test pass by crowd sourcing and disguising the fact that the gamers were actually testers. (OK, that's not quite true, they told us point blank that the aim was to test.)

The bing search engine Page Hunt game has once again proven that the best way to test software is to make testing fun. This game is designed to provide information about the search phrases that people expect to use to find websites they want to find. However, the test is packaged up in a spoonful of fun and challenge. Give it a try and help make Internet searching easier.


- the bing Page Hunt game

Read more about the bing Page Hunt game at TechnologyReview.com.

Update: here's a video that supports the fun theory: Piano Stairs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw

Update: Microsoft Ribbon Hero allows gamers to test the Office Ribbon UI