I think the question of what makes testing a complicated discipline is a good one. It’s one all testers should be able to answer about their profession and, further, answer in a way where the answer couldn’t be applied to just about any other profession. The problem I’ve found is the answers you get are usually simplistic. You’ll hear people say “miscommunication” or “unrealistic schedules.” Well, that’s great but miscommunication can make any profession difficult as can an unrealistic schedule or poor estimating. I bet day traders, doctors, police officers, lawyers, military strategists, nuclear power plant operators and so forth could make the same claim.

Surely we can do better than that, right?