To what are you devoting  your 10,000 hours of practice?

I have a new article on TechTarget’s SearchSoftwareQuality.com site, “Getting on the Same Page: How Testers Can Help Clarify Requirements”. I’d love to hear of your own experiences in this area.

Though The Testing Planet is available digitally, I urge you to subscribe to the print version. 1) it is way more fun and convenient (at least for us folks who prefer an actual newspaper with our morning tea), 2) it supports the magazine, and we need to support it and keep it going! The Software Testing Club rocks, it’s a great way to meet and exchange ideas with testers all over the planet. Give a little back to your testing community by supporting The Testing Planet.

Methods and Tools

I wrote a tool review of FitNesse for the Summer issue of Methods and Tools magazine. Please let me know if you have any questions about it.

The software industry is changing fast. More and more teams put testing up front and center; they use tests to drive development. New and improved automated test frameworks and drivers burst onto the scene every month. Teams with more automated regression suites need testers with sharp exploratory testing skills. But most people do not learn the needed skills in university: where will these testers come from? Read more…

TJ and I might both have our head in the clouds, but I’m a big believer in civility. I’m not recommending that we all walk around on eggshells and worry about offending people. But I do think we need to all work hard to make sure that everyone on our software team feels safe to express opinions, and conversely, is willing to accept the team consensus or majority rule, and work to make whatever approach is taken successful.

This is something I want to take to heart for myself. Here’s an example. I’m trying to explain an issue to the programmer who is on production support this sprint. I’ve analyzed the problem and think I know how it should be fixed. He seems not to understand, gets impatient with me, throws up his hands and tells me I am mistaken. I could feel mad and hurt by this, or I can remember that being the production support monkey is frustrating and stressful. I’ve given him the information I wanted to convey, and I can leave him to process it. He’s smart and motivated to take care of our customers, so I know he will find a good solution. He shouldn’t be rude to me, but if I can avoid escalating the tension, we will have a good outcome.

Indeed, later the programmer comes over and apologizes, says now he understands what I was trying to say, and appreciates the research I did into the issue. We talk about the fix and how to test it.

I’m lucky to work on a team that, though there is lots of joshing and joking, is composed of people with a deep commitment to providing a quality product, and open minds willing to consider anyone’s ideas. I’ve been on teams that didn’t provide this atmosphere of respect and civility, and I must confess, I hightailed it away from those toxic environments.

The “agile” movement was built on principles and values. “Every difference of opinion is not a difference in principle”. Give your team time and space to agree on principles and values. Going forward from there, each team member will feel free to float their ideas and opinions, and have healthy discussions. That’s what makes a project successful.

News!

Janet Gregory and I have an article, and are interviewed in, this month’s Software Test and Performance Magazine, devoted to “Women of Influence in Software Testing”. Please check it out, it’s a great issue with lots of meaty articles.

I have a sidebar in Dawn Cannan‘s terrific “Be the Worst” article in the inaugural issue of Agile Record.

Matt Davey wrote a wonderful thumbnail summary of our book in his review of it, we are grateful.