flake-axis-bisection

A non-deterministic test is one that "sometimes pass[es] and sometimes fail[s], without any noticeable change in the code, tests, or environment" (Fowler, Eradicating Non-Determinism in Tests). That definition is the problem in a nutshell: nothing visible changed, so inspection has nothing to grip. This skill is the experiment that manufactures a visible change. Pick one condition, move it, and see whether the failure rate moves with it.

The term "flaky test" is practitioner-emergent, popularized by the Google Testing Blog (Flaky Tests at Google); there is no standards-body definition behind it.

What this owns, and what it does not