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Zoe, the Smart Assurance co-pilot in doSmartQA

For individuals · Explore plan · Free

Explore SmartQA

Build a probing mindset for the age of AI.

Seven short explorations, at your own pace, to see why probing is the new way forward, with Zoe as your coach helping you build it.

7 explorationsAt your own paceZoe as your coachFree, and yours for life
Start exploring

The shift

Upfront clarity. Accelerate with certainty.

AI has made building faster than ever. The risk has moved to what is unclear, unstated and assumed, and checking what is written down no longer catches it. Eliminating rework at the root starts with how you think as a tester.

From checking

  • Confirming what is stated
  • Test cases as the only tool
  • Quality judged at the end
  • Doing more to feel safe

To probing

  • Revealing what is unstated and assumed
  • Six kinds of probe, chosen with intent
  • Clarity sought upfront, as you work
  • Sensing sooner, with fewer detours

The Practice of Probing: the act of examining, investigating or exploring the entire lifecycle of building, from conceptualisation, building and assessment to deployment and monitoring in production.

Program outcome

Appreciate probing as the new way forward

By the end of your seven explorations, you will have your own case for probing.

See the shift

Why probing reveals what checking cannot, and which of your assumptions limit what you test.

Know the probes

Six kinds of probe beyond test cases, and when to use each.

Try it on your work

Spot what a real user story does not say, and write your first purposeful probes for it.

Look ahead

How AI changes speed, tools and your role, and where you want to grow.

How it works

Seven explorations, one at a time

Follow the Explorer’s Playbook: one exploration a day for a one-week journey, or at your own pace.

  1. 1Why

    The Shift

    Move beyond checking: testing as revelation, not just confirmation.

  2. 2What

    What is Probing

    Six kinds of probe, far beyond test cases, and when to use each.

  3. 3Try it

    See beyond the Stated Spec

    Surface what a real user story leaves unsaid.

  4. 4Try it

    How to come up with probes

    Turn that understanding into a few purposeful probes.

  5. 5Look ahead

    The Velocity Illusion

    Speed is reaching clarity with fewer detours, not doing more.

  6. 6Look ahead

    Partnering with AI to Probe

    Use AI to amplify your thinking, not replace it.

  7. 7Look ahead

    The Identity Reckoning

    See where your role is drifting, and where you want to grow.

Each exploration, in four steps

1 · PlayA short PlayZone playlet, with Zoe as your coach
2 · PractiseThe paired PracticeZone drill, to start the habit
3 · Try it at workOne small task on a user story you are working on
4 · ReflectOne question, one insight; go deeper in LibraryZone
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