Retrospectives can be incredibly valuable and when well run can play a part in improving the performance of a team. Although often they can descend in to sessions where everyone complains and no positive actions are taken. Also" less vocal" members of the team who have value contributions can be drowned out by others. Having been in many of … [Read more...]
5 Stages of Test Collaboration
Over the last two years, I have been working on a model of “Testing Collaboration”, where the responsibility of testing is shared and quality focus is at the heart of feature development. Before discussing the 5 stages it is worth noting that Customer feedback should be encouraged and can be received at any point in the process. The … [Read more...]
Monolith to Microservices: A Tester’s Perspective
What are Microservices? To increase the frequency of releases and reduce the burden of deployments, many companies have moved from a monolith to microservice architecture. Spotify, Amazon, and Netflix have the benefits of successful implementations of microservice architectures. A monolithic architecture combines the user interface, business … [Read more...]
Having a Laugh – From Toastmasters to Stand-up
From a young age I enjoyed comedy, raised on a comedy feast of such shows such as Fawlty Towers and Monty Python. For John Cleese fans, yes, a fish called Wanda was also watched. This love of comedy stayed with me through to Adulthood. Open Mic Nights in Sydney Fast forward to the winter of 2008, Sydney, Australia. Sitting in a bar on … [Read more...]
30 Days Of E-Commerce Testing
#30DaysofTesting #day28 #ecommerce #data #ethics tracking data could be used to same products and services are offered at different prices to different customers targeted surveillance by government agencies sharing data with third parties Cambridge Analytica: how did it turn clicks into … [Read more...]
How open do we need to be as speakers?
Some time ago I was enjoying the music of a Singer-songwriter, between songs she spoke so openly to the audience. Her openness seemed to endear her to the audience, it seems that singer-songwriters naturally display openness with their audience. Although as public speakers we are often not open and thus lose the opportunity to truly engage with … [Read more...]
Guidelines For Running a Bug Bash.
Guidelines for Running a Bug Bash My previous blog on Bug Bashing covered the what, why and when. The focus of this blog is how to run a successful bug bash: what you will do before, during and after the Bug Bash. *The original version of this blog was written in 2018 and updated in 2024. General A Bug Bash should be short, a period of 60 minutes … [Read more...]
Bug Bash – Give it a bash
Often, as testers, we question where we can make improvements, bring fresh ideas, and add value in our organizations. Based on past experience, I have seen huge benefits from running a Bug Bash. In this post, I want to cover the topic of the Bug Bash and why I believe it is so effective. What is a Bug Bash? In simple terms, a Bug Bash is a set … [Read more...]
Speech Challenge: Gone in 60 minutes
A member of my toastmaster's club recently set me a challenge, deliver a 5-7 minute speech on a topic with just 60 minutes preparation, rather than the typical number of weeks to prepare. The reasoning behind the challenge was to focus more on delivery than content. Challenge accepted... To make it a little more challenging it would be … [Read more...]
The Role of Software Testing – Where are we going? (Part2)
Where are we going? In the first part of this blog I covered the changes in the software role, in the second part of this blog I will cover how testers can add value and what the future of testing may look like. How testers can add Value? 1. Develop a wider range of skill It is beneficial for testers to learn UX and Product Management skills, … [Read more...]