Testing Circus Magazine Article

This is my Testing Circus magazine article for their September 2014 edition. I wrote about my experience of the CAST 2014 conference via the webCAST since I wasn't able to attend in person. My article can be found on page 38, but please enjoy the other excellent articles as well! September's edition can be found on this link: http://www.testingcircus.com/september-2014-edition/

Women Testers e-Magazine Has Arrived!

by Teri Charles

If you haven't had the chance, be sure to check out the 1st edition of Women Testers e-magazine! Some great articles by some great Testers!

• Why Testing? – Johanna Rothman 
• Stepping Into Your Learning Zone  - Alessandra Moreira 
• My BBST Experience – A letter from an introvert – Bolette Stubbe Teglbjærg 
• Forget Mentors, Find a Sponsor – Smita Mishra 
• Foundations of Ticket Writing – Sara Tabor 
• 26 Ways Testers can work with UX Designers – Karen N. Johnson 
• Guest Post: The Mother of All Testers  - Mike Lyles

Can’t Get To CAST 2014 In Person?

by Teri Charles

In case you haven’t heard, the CAST 2014 conference, taking place in New York this year, is just around the corner (August 12-13). If you don’t know what CAST is, it’s the annual conference for The Association for Software Testing. The conference is currently sold out, but don’t despair! It will be streamed live for free! You'll have the chance to watch and listen to some of the best Testers in the world!

Here is the information for the live stream: http://www.associationforsoftwaretesting.org/conference/cast-2014/webcast/

You are also able to add it to your calendar which is convenient for any schedule changes. So be sure to take advantage of that.

I was planning on going to what would have been my first CAST conference, but “life happens” and I won't be going after all. So I for one am very grateful for this live streaming. It won’t be the same as being there and meeting so many great testers I was looking forward to meeting, but it does help soften the blow!

It’s Not Just About The Testing!

by Teri Charles

There are many aspects of being a Tester, and for me, not all of them are about doing the actual testing. One of those aspects is mentoring. There is no better feeling for me than to know I’m helping someone. We all know something, have learned something new, and have a passion for something that we can pass along to someone else. We all have the capacity to listen to someone, to be empathetic, to guide, and to pass along our experiences (some that we have learned the hard way). To me, it’s a waste of being a human being on this planet if I’m not passing along what I’ve learned in my life to someone else. And I think most mentors feel that way.

I am thinking about all of this right now because I just finished a wonderful mentoring session with my Per Scholas mentee this fine Sunday morning. Watching her journey, not just as a Tester, but as person who’s wants to grow, has been one of the most satisfying things I’ve done. She touches my heart with her integrity and spirit. She’s new in this field of ours and that’s not always easy. But watching and listening to her perseverance is powerful. And knowing I can be there for her is powerful for me.

This morning she told me that she has started her own local Meetup for new Testers. She had the first meeting yesterday and 10 people showed up! I am beyond proud of her. Here is a new Tester that wants to now start paying it forward herself. She wants to help others with what she’s experienced and learned!

She tells me I inspire her to be better. Well, let me tell you how this works. She inspires me to be better as well. Pretty cool how that happens, isn’t it?

So for me, it’s not just about testing that’s part of our job. It’s all the good juicy stuff like mentoring and helping others that’s some of the best stuff. Try it out and see where it takes YOU!

Testing Trapeze magazine - June 2014 edition!

by Teri Charles

There are several great testing magazines out there and I've decided it's important to make sure other testers know about them. So in the spirit of sharing what I know, I'm going to start blogging about the different magazines when I can and share them with all of you!

One of the newer magazines is Testing Trapeze. It is a bi-monthly testing magazine to feature testers from Australia and New Zealand.

This is why they created this magazine: We want to see a small, simple, quality magazine that amplifies the voices of testers from Australia and New Zealand, presenting a clear, consistent message of good testing practice from existing and emerging leaders. We want to demonstrate the caliber of our community and encourage new testers to join us by engaging in their work at a different level. We want to create a publication that we feel proud of, that truly represents Australia and New Zealand on the international stage; a magazine that you want to read, share and contribute to.

There are some great testers from this part of the world and I couldn't be more thrilled that they're doing this!

I just finished reading the latest edition of Testing Trapeze. So many great articles from so many different great testers! You can download and read this edition at testingcircus.com/testing-trapeze-2014-june-edition

• Lee Hawkins wrote a great article on his experience attending (and presenting!) at the Let's Test Conference. I have got to get to this conference some day! "Expectations and Realities Let's Test"
• Liz Renton gave some really wonderful tips regarding when you join a project late in the process. How many of us have had to do that? Great info! “Joining a Complex Project Late in the Process”!
• Alice Chu & Nicola Owen gave a fantastic summary on their BBST experience (Association for Software Testing)! They touched on some of their challenges as well as the many positive experiences. Brought me back to my own experiences with BBST! "BBST Foundations: An Experience Report"
• Oliver Erlewein talked about some of the many challenges and solutions in having an engaged teams of testers. He gave me lots to think about! "A Crazy Idea for Engaging Tester in the Future"
• Pete Walen shared such great insight and tips for using mind maps in your testing. I too love using mind maps, but I learned a lot of new things from Pete in this article! "Visualizing Success: Requirement Review, Impact Analysis and Test Planning with Mind Maps"

Bottom line, do yourself a favor and check out Testing Trapeze. This is a fantastic magazine you should be sure to read! I for one am already looking forward to the next edition!

My Journey to Learn How to Code - Part 3

by Teri Charles

As I mentioned in my first post on this journey (part 1), coding has never come easy for me. All brains work in different ways and that’s okay! One of the things I came to realize is that I needed to get comfortable with some of the basic concepts of programming. Those things that are common in just about every programming language, such as Variables, If/Then/Else statements, and Loops.

What better way to really wrap my brain around these concepts once and for all, and that’s to teach them!

I, along with Jennifer Skiendzielewski, recently created a class for GDIBoulder (a local group I’m very involved in that helps people to learn how to code) titled “Introduction to Programming Concepts (for True Beginners!)".

We created this class for people such as myself, people that are just starting to learn how to code but need a little help on their journey. I’m excited to say that over 30 people signed up for this class, so we knew we were on to something! It was a great experience and the positive feedback we got after the class was fantastic. Our goal was to give people some of the basic tools they would need when they take programming classes, understand a bit more about what was going on, and hopefully not be intimidated.

This will now be an ongoing class for GDIBoulder, and Jennifer and I will be the teachers for this class going forward. Along with the class, we’ll also be conducting a follow up workshop after each class is taught to let people practice and solidify what they just learned from the class.

And for me, creating and teaching this class is not only part of my journey to continually learn things to be a better Tester (such as increasing my technical skills, as well as being able to dive in deeper to find even more bugs), but it also touches on my love of teaching others and passing along any knowledge that comes my way!

Here is the detailed slides we created for the class. I hope it helps you as well!

http://gdiboulder.github.io/gdi-boulder-intro-programming-concepts/#

My Journey to Learn How to Code - Part 2

by Teri Charles

I have accomplished one of my first goals in this journey of mine to learn how to code this year!

I have finished the six week online HTML/CSS class with Skillcrush! The final project for this class is creating your own online portfolio from scratch using HTML and CSS.

You can find my portfolio at tericharles.com!

I've always been a minimalist and you'll notice my portfolio reflects that. I wanted a "clean" look to it. You'll also notice something on the Home page that is near and dear to my Tester's heart, and that is a Moleskine notebook! James Bach and Michael Bolton introduced me to these through some of their writings (click on their names to see articles about using Moleskines). I use them all the time now for testing ideas, notes while I'm testing, drawing out mindmaps, etc. James even gave one to all of us that attended his RST (Rapid Software Testing) course. So I couldn't think of a better image for my portfolio!

The other thing that was important to me was to stretch myself and take my skills and learning up a notch, so I used Git/GitHub to manage my site. I've been wanting to learn Git/GitHub for a while because it's used where I work. As I said in Part 1 in My Journey to Learn How to Code, the best way for me to learn something was to have a project to work on. Use it or lose it! By having the portfolio assignment, it was a perfect thing to use to increase my skills with something like Git/GitHub. I am by no means a Git/GitHub expert yet, but I'm in the process of learning it from a little help from my friends by doing the following:

• Two workshops on Git/GitHub I've taking through GDIBoulder (a local Meetup) with a fantastic instructor, Tim Berglund.
• Some awesome one-on-one help from Cara Jo Miller. Cara Jo is a great friend, the Lead Designer at Simple Energy, and the founder and co-leader of GDIBoulder.
• Simple Energy, a local Boulder company, provided a great space for Cara Jo and I to work in. They are also a wonderful supporter of GDIBoulder!

I learned how to setup my repo (repository), branches, commit changes, push those changes, and merge so that my master branch and feature branch are the same. These kinds of things are a whole new language for me! A month ago I had no idea what repo, branches, commit, push, and merge meant in Git. Now look at me!

Next up is to start designing my software tester's website as well as a JavaScript class with Skillcrush in March.

I still have so much to learn and I want to keep growing my skills with HTML/CSS. I have no doubt that as I'm learning more and my skills increase, that I will be tweaking and making changes to my portfolio. I learned a lot creating my portfolio, but it's only the beginning. I have to keep practicing and growing, but I'm anticipating that I'll learn a lot more as I'm creating my tester's website!

I hope you're enjoying this journey with me! Glad to have you along for the ride!

My Journey to Learn How to Code - Part 1

by Teri Charles

I’ve set a big goal for myself this year. This is the year I’m going to learn how to code.

You see, I’m always looking for ways to be a better Software Tester. That can be through reading books on testing, trainings, participating in Weekend Testing groups, running the local Boulder QA Meetup, reading other Tester’s blogs, writing about testing in my own blog, belonging to different testing organizations, going to testing conferences, mentoring, and practicing testing.

But I want to take the learning of my craft to an entirely different level. I want to go deeper. And for me, that’s learning how to code. The more I know about the code I’m testing, the better Tester I will be. I can ask better questions, I can understand more deeply what’s going on with the code, it will help with test automation, help with API testing, and many other things. And it will open my mind to more possibilities of where my testing can go.

We all have different gifts and coding has never been one of mine, but it’s not for the lack of trying. For years, I’ve tried many times, but it’s usually resulted in throwing the programming book across the room!

But something happened to me this past year. I realized I was tired at failing at this endeavor. But most importantly, I was tired of ‘wishing’ I knew how to code. Just wishing for it was bringing me no where closer to doing it. And I made a big decision that I either needed have a breakthrough in learning how to code this year…or just stop thinking about it and move on.

So after all of my other failed attempts, I needed to come up with a plan. I’m a Tester! Of course I had to come up with a plan!

The first thing I decided was I needed to have a specific project. It needed to be something I cared about that would help me learn and that as I was learning, I could continue to build off of. Every other time I attempted to learn how to code, I didn’t use it right away, so of course I would lose it. I also knew it needed to be more than "I'm going to learn a programming language". That feels very daunting, very big, and very ambiguous to me. I've tried this before and it wasn't working. So I thought about what I mostly test, and that's web applications. So what better to focus on than have it be something I was already familiar with and worked on everyday.

I also wanted to make it a small enough project that I knew it was realistic that I would be able to accomplish it sooner rather than later. So, here’s what I came up with.

My master plan is to learn how to build my own website. And not just any website, but a website on Software Testing resources to help other Testers, something near and dear to my heart that you'll find in a lot of posts in my blog.
-I will first learn HTML/CSS to create the website.
-I will then learn JavaScript to add something (that can be a small ‘something’) to the website. I don’t know what that is yet, but I will.
-I will then begin to learn Python to add something else to the website (again, it can be a little ‘something’).
-Bonus: I want to also learn how to use things like Git/GitHub and Bootstrap during this process.

1. HTML/CSS:
-I’m doing this through a local group, GDIBoulder. How lucky am I that a group such as this is in my own backyard! Their mission is to help people learn how to code. Perfect for me! So far I’ve taken their Beginning HTML/CSS class and their Intermediate HTML/CSS class. GDI Boulder also has monthly Code and Coffee's where I can ask for help on things I'm learning and help on my website. I can't say enough good things about this group. They've changed my life!
-I am also doing this through a group called Skillcrush. Another wonderful group that I was lucky enough to hear about. I am currently taking their 6 week online class on HTML/CSS. More to come on this in a future post.

2. JavaScript:
-I’ve taken GDIBoulder’s JavaScript class. I’ll be honest, I struggled in this class. So, my plan is to take it again the next time GDIBoulder offers it. And if I have to, I’ll take it again.
-I will also be taking Skillcrush’s next 3 week JavaScript and API online class as soon as it's offered.

3. Python:
-Okay, this is a big one for me. I actually love learning HTML/CSS. Maybe because I like the ‘artistry’ of it. But Python scares me a bit. Heck, programming scares me a lot! But I’ve talked to different people I trust and respect, and Python seems to be a language that they feel I can learn. Plus, it’s something I will be able to use for test automation in the future.
-I’ve taken GDIBoulder’s Python class. And yes, it was tough for me. But the good news is, I didn’t throw anything across the room! I stuck with the class and learned some things. But I know me, and I have to learn something like this by actually using it. So as soon as I’m in a more solid place with my HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, I will tackle Python more thoroughly and slay that dragon sometime this year! Then I will figure out a way to incorporate it into my website. But I do have bigger plans for Python other than my website, such as test automation. But more on that in the future as it’s actually happening!

So, that’s it in a very high-level and simplistic nutshell. I don’t know where this will take me, but I am determined I’m not going to give up. I can’t explain it, but I know this is something I must do for me. I won’t lie, it’s a big challenge for me. I think it’s pretty obvious in this post, but coding doesn’t come easy for me (like for a lot of people!). What I’m planning to do won’t be easy, but as I said before…it won’t be for the lack of trying! And if you read a bit of yourself through this post, I hope my journey inspires you! Wish me luck because I sure wish you luck as well!

2013 - A Year in Review

by Teri Charles

One of my favorite things to do is taking stock, looking at what I've done, what do I want to do next, and how can I keep growing, learning, and improving. This is something I have always done in life in general as a person, but it holds a special place for me as a Tester. And this time of year is a perfect time to reflect on my past year as a Tester.

James Bach and RST
One of the biggest highlights this year for me to was to attend Rapid Software Testing (RST) with James Bach in Orcas Island, Washington. Getting to spend a week with James is one of the highlights of my career.  And I admit it, I geeked out and had to pinch myself a few times that I was in the same room with James Bach. Learning from James about RST was great, but more important to me was getting to connect with him, having meals together, and having one-on-one conversations with him. I made a decision before I even arrived on the island to put myself out there, take chances, and experience every single thing that I could. And I did. And it changed me. I left wanting to be a better Tester, a better contributor to the testing community, a better learner, and a better leader. And I am blessed to say that one of the things James said to me in private was that he wanted me to teach. He saw something in me and I'm glad he voiced it. That had a profound effect on me and I've taken it to heart.

Giving back
One of my goals this year was to start a local Meetup group for Testers in Boulder, Colorado. Lucky for me, right before I was about to start the Meetup, some other folks started one! But within a few weeks, I became one of the co-organizers of the group. Community is something that is near and dear to my heart. My passion is helping others to learn, grow, and have the support they need. This Meetup has also given me the chance to take James's words to heart. I've had the opportunity present and teach and it's something I want to do more of.

Challenging myself
This was a year that I decided to challenge myself in getting more technical to help me to be an even better Tester. I started that journey by not only taking courses from sites like Udemy and Codeacademy, but I was lucky enough to join a new group in Boulder called GDIBoulder. It's an amazing group of women who want to help other women (and men) to learn how to code. How fortunate I've been to get involved with this group, and I've got some great new friendships as well! I've taken every class they've offered which includes, HTML, CSS, Javascript, a Git workshop, along with code and coffee sessions. I'm looking forward to next year's classes! Python, here I come!

Writing
One of my other passions is writing. I never seem to do as much as I would like, but it definitely is one of my goals to do more of it in 2014. But I am proud of the posts I've written in my blog, and very excited that I had my first article published (Tea-time with Testers). I hope to do more of that this year!

Promotion
I ended 2013 getting promoted to Software Test Lead for the company I work for. I enjoy mentoring and leading. I had been doing the job unofficially, and it was nice to be recognized and I appreciate my company having faith in me to lead the team. But now I want to help my team even more and do all I can to help them grow and succeed. That's the fun stuff!

Summary
I started this year knowing I wanted to continue my growth as a Tester. This journey is not just what I've listed above, but it's also doing things like contributing to our worldwide testing community through Twitter (and getting to know some amazing people as well!), reading and commenting on other Tester's blog posts, sharing what I've learned on my own blog and one-on-one with other Testers, joining a new Tester's group call ISST (International Society for Software Testers) as well as taking some of their first webinars, keeping up with articles on groups like the Software Testing Club, donating to groups like @PerScholas and @BlackGirlsCode who are doing so much for our communities, reading books, mentoring, mindmapping, Weekend Testing, practice testing, and much more. It's all part of the journey and what a journey 2013 has been! I can't wait to see what 2014 brings my way!

Teri Charles
@booksrg8

Be A Student For Life

by Teri Charles

This is an article I wrote that was published in the September 2013 "Women in Testing" special issue of Tea-Time with Testers.  My article is on page 49, but please also enjoy all of the other wonderful articles by some amazing women!


Tester1: Have you heard of James Bach?

Tester2: Who?

Tester1: How about Michael Bolton, Pradeep Soundararajan, or Elisabeth Hendrickson?

Tester2: Ummm… Who are they?

Tester1: Do you use heuristics in your testing?

Tester2: What does that mean?

Tester1: Does your team use Context Driven Testing?

Tester2: Context driven what?

Are the people and concepts that Tester1 asked about completely foreign to you? If so, you’re not alone. But there are resources out there that that can help you make sense of them. I would like to open up a whole new world to you, my fellow Testers!

It's very easy for people who know these names and terms to take them for granted. However, there are many, many Testers who have never heard of any of them-- not to mention the dozens of other test leaders, trainings, books, and other resources that are available. And I am not just talking about people new to testing. I am also talking about experienced and senior Testers.

Because you know what? Tester2 was ME not too long ago.

My Journey

I've been a Software Tester for over 10 years. Like a lot of other Testers I have met, I was in the dark for a lot of those years. I didn’t know what it really meant to be a Tester. There was no test training out there when I started (or, at least, none that I knew of). I had no idea that people actually wrote books about testing. The only other Testers I knew were the few I worked with. I call those years the "I didn't know what I didn't know" phase of my career.

There's no such thing as the "University of Software Testing", so we come from various backgrounds: Computer Science majors to high school graduates (or dropouts) and everything in between. I went to college to study music, played in a band, and wrote songs and lyrics. Then I took a circuitous path, working in political non-profit organizations and a bookstore, writing screenplays for movies (no, nothing ever produced), and dabbling in documentary filmmaking. Yep, sounds like the perfect journey toward a career in Software Testing, right?

But it was.  Because it was my journey and it was perfect for me.  

Every experience on my path let me do the things I love: learning new things, being curious, working through challenges, helping people, and exploring. (Now is my journey starting to sound like a Tester? I thought so!)  My curiosity and love of learning were the qualities that convinced my first manager to pluck me out of a group of candidates --some of whom were more technical and more experienced than I was-- for my first testing job.

The Past

I look back now and am a bit surprised that, without a lot of training, I figured out how to do the job pretty well. I found lots of bugs, brought teams together, dove into learning new things, found ways to innovate and improve our processes, and was a well-respected leader and team member. If it hadn’t been for my varied experiences and natural curiosity (and probably a little luck), I wouldn’t have been nearly as successful as I was.

But here's a secret: I was also unhappy at times. But I didn't know why. And I had no idea what to do about it.

My Aha Moment

Being laid off is part of our industry. If it ever happens to you, don't take it personally. It's business. But if you let it, it can also be a blessing.

My layoff came about a year and a half ago. The blessing that came with it was the opportunity to stop. To just "be". I was able to look within and do some serious thinking. What I realized was that, while there were a lot of things I liked about my work, I also had to admit that I had been unhappy because there was SOMETHING MISSING. But what was it? And how do you find out what is missing... when you don't know what is missing? I just knew there had to be more to this thing called testing. And I knew right then and there that the only way I wanted to go was forward-- and discover what this “more” was.

My Education

So, I did what I usually do. I dove in. And I didn't just dive into the shallow end of the pool; I dove into the deep end. But I was swimming blind. Remember, I didn't know what was missing.

So I started with Google searches. Of course! I started Googling everything to do with testing, test trainings, Testers, software testing, test books, and test blogs. It was amazing! Every link took me to another, then another. One of the first things I stumbled upon was James Bach's book, "Secrets of aBuccaneer Scholar". How lucky that this little miracle fell into my life at the exact time I needed it! His journey was my journey. So many of his experiences and feelings were exactly what I had experienced in the past or what I was going through in that very moment. It was an inspiration for self-learning.

From there, things took off. I couldn’t believe that this whole world of testing information existed. I had so much to learn and I didn’t know where to start. (I still feel that way even today! So many things to learn!) So I just took a deep breath and chose one thing to start with. And then I chose something else. And on, and on, until I had done these things (among others):

• Discovered and worked with a great testing coach, Anne-Marie Charrett, who challenged me and helped me to push myself.  Anne-Marie also introduced me to heuristics and oracles. @charrett
• Took a month-long online testing course with Ajay Balamurugadas. @ajay184f
• Started my Twitter account (@booksrg8) and discovered the most amazing testing community!
• Refreshed my SQL skills.
• Read numerous books, white papers, testing magazines/newsletters, and blogs on testing.
• Completed the 5 day Rapid Testing Intensive class (online) from James and Jon Bach in July 2012.  www.satisfice.com
• Participated in Weekend Testing events.
• Created my blog on Testing (www.bouldertester.blogspot.com).
• Joined several Testing organizations.
• Learned about Context Driven Testing.  Talk about changing how you approach testing!  (context-driven-testing.com).
• Took free online classes from places like Coursera, Udemy, etc.
• Successfully completed the BBST Foundation course (Association for Software Testing).
• Became co-organizer of local testing Meetup in Boulder, Colorado called Boulder QA (http://www.meetup.com/Boulder-QA/).
• Got involved in a wonderful, local Meetup called GDIBoulder to learn things like HTML/CSS and improve my skills to become a better Tester.  @GDIBoulder
• Took the Rapid Software Testing (RST) course with James Bach in Orcas Island, Washington in June 2013.  www.satisfice.com

It Never Ends

Here's the thing, though. The list above is just the beginning. It's a journey, remember? There are SO many other things to learn, to read, to create, to delve into, and people to meet. My list is long and keeps growing! Yes, there are times when it's overwhelming. There are times when there are so many things on my to do list, that I get paralyzed and do nothing from the list for days. But that usually doesn't last very long; pretty soon I remember to take one step at a time and choose the next thing I want to do. You can’t beat yourself up if/when that happens to you.

Your Journey

If you don't know this yet, YOU are responsible for your own education. No one else is responsible for it. If you want to be a better Tester, you can't just wish for it. You have to work on it every day. If you don't know where to start, that's okay. But don't let it stop you. And I'll let you in on the one of the most important things you can do.

Ask. Just ask for help.

You will find that we have an amazing and generous community of Testers. Take your first step and reach out. Do you know you want to improve in something but don’t know how to start? Is there something new you’ve heard of but don’t understand? Look around you and ask a fellow Tester. If they don’t know, suggest you figure it out and learn together. If you meet a new Tester, strike up a conversation and ask your questions. When you learn about a new test guru, reach out to them. You will be pleasantly surprised how helpful these busy people will be.

It doesn't mean you'll get the right answer or the wrong answer. It doesn't mean everyone will give you the same answer because everyone's journey is different, and their journey is right for them. So ask a lot of different people. Sift through their responses like a gold miner looking for gold. Find the gold nuggets that feel most true to you and keep them-- then search for more. There's not just one answer.

It really is about choosing to take that first step. I have found that once you get up and have the courage to take the first step, it's easier to take the second, then the third. I am always looking at ways to get better as a Tester. That’s the key. It's what motivates me. But the other thing that motivates me is helping others. If I learn something, I want to give it away. It’s the main reason I started my blog and most of my posts focus on sharing things I’ve learned as well as my own journey.

In the spirit of helping others take their own first steps, I recently created a presentation for my local test Meetup (bouldertester.blogspot.com/2013/08/testing-resources.html). It's a list of different people, organizations, trainings, books, and resources to help Testers who are looking for some of the same things I was looking for when I started taking my first steps in learning to be a better Tester. If you’re looking for answers, maybe it will help you find some of them.

And if it does help, pass it on!  Because it is true. The more you give, the more you receive. You will not only help others in their journey, but your own journey will grow in ways you can’t imagine!

Be the Leader You Want in Your Life

Wishing is not a strategy

Have you ever spent time in your career and life wishing there were more great leaders in your life? I'm not talking about a title someone may have. A title does not make you a leader. I am talking about true leadership.

Perhaps it's time to stop looking around for others to lead and decide to be the leader you want in your life. Be that leader for yourself. Be that leader for others.

Simple first steps

1. Give away what you know. If you have an expertise, share it. If you learn something new, teach others. If you see someone struggling, help them out. There is only an upside strengthening others knowledge. And it not only feels really good, but you will endear yourself to those you have helped.

2. Praise others. It sounds so simple and obvious, but many only hear what they are doing wrong, not what they're doing right. Next time you see one of your co-workers doing something great, no matter how big or how small, say something to them. It takes only a minute. Isn't one minute worth the possible change you could make in one's life?

3. Learn what NOT to do. Some of your best teachers can be people in "leadership" positions that have a negative impact on you or others. When you see this happening, take notes. Remember it. Know how it makes you feel. Because then when similar situations arise and you're in a position of leadership, do the opposite. Don't do what they did, do what you know the right thing is.

4. Choose kindness. Enough said.

So be the leader you want in your life. Not for a promotion or for recognition but because it's who you want to be in your life and those around you. Inspire yourself. Trust me, you will also inspire others.

Testing Resources

I recently gave a presentation to my local testing Meetup, Boulder QA Meetup.  This presentation came out of several conversations I've had recently with different Testers that weren't aware of a lot of the different resources available to Testers.  So, I decided to do my part and pass along some of the things I've been fortunate to find out and learn about.

I believe that when you learn something, give it away.  It can only make others (and you) better.

Here is my presentation on different resources. It's a way to help anyone to start towards a list of their own set of resources.  It's by no means everything.  How could it be?  There's so many sites, trainings, people, blogs, articles, tools, books…it could go on and on.  But one has to start somewhere.

I hope some of these things can help you as much as they've helped and continue to help and enrich me. I know my list will continue to grow!


I've also put the information (plus more) from my slides into a mind map below. You can go directly to Mindmeister to get a closer view.

More Thoughts on My Rapid Software Testing Class with James Bach

I've recently returned from a great experience.  Last week I attended Rapid Software Testing (RST) with James Bach.  For those of you that don't know, I would say RST is a three day boot camp for Testers!  "RST is a Testing methodology to give you the skills of testing any software, any time, under any conditions".  Before I even left for the trip, I made the decision to be open and fearless. I wanted to experience everything James had to offer. I wanted to embrace it all.

The three days were jam-packed with teachings by James, testing exercises, the famous dice game, great food, a beautiful place on the island (Orcas Island), a wonderful group of eager Testers, and magic tricks!  Honestly, we learned so much, I wouldn't know how to write it all down.  At the bottom of this post I'm attaching two of the documents so that you can see for yourself the amount of information we got.

So, instead of telling you in detail all that we learned, I would rather pass along a few things that I hope you will find helpful:

1. RST:
   -RST is like being a survivalist! Use any resources & tools available.
   -Rapid Testing = Rapid Learning
   -Pillars of RST: Diversification, Costs vs. Value, Skill, Heuristics
   -To "adopt" RST is to adopt a discipline for studying testing.
   -Indulge your curiosity.

2. Questioning:
   -Before you start testing something, ask questions, lots of questions.
   -Example of some questions you could ask to the customer, product owner, developer, etc: How does the product work? How does the system work? What is the data used? What are the risks? What is the product used for?
   -It's okay to jump in and learn about the product before or after asking questions.

3. Models:
   -Make a model of what you're going to test.
   -All testing is related to models. Test the product against models.
   -A model can be diagrams, spreadsheets, a list, a demonstration, a  program.
   -Learn the thing you have to test. Drink it up
   -And get good at mental models as well.

4. Heuristics:
   -Heuristics are one of the keys to thinking like a Tester (along with seeing what others cannot see, modeling what you're testing and test against model, and asking LOTS of questions.
   -Heuristics can be anything and everything that helps you test!
   -All oracles are heuristics.
   -Heuristics depend on the context.
   -Heuristics say, "How may I be of service"?
   *I think I'm finally starting to grasp more of what heuristics are, but I'm going to keep studying and learning to add to my expertise as a Tester.

5. Exploratory Testing:
   -Is not a testing technique, it's an approach.  It can work with any testing technique such as 'Exploratory' Performance testing, 'Exploratory' Stress testing, etc.
   -Using exploratory testing and scripted testing together is good testing.
   -Variety gives you power.

6. I don't have to be an expert at everything, but I need to be committed to learning, growing, and teaching.

7. Risks: Where is the fire burning and what do I do to put out the fire.

8. When you run out of ideas or are frustrated, defocus. When you're confused, focus.

9. Okay to be confused as long as you're on the way to be un-confused

I don't consider myself an expert on all of these things just yet, but here's the best part...I don't have to be "yet".  It's an on-going journey, isn't it? As a lot of us Testers know, we need to be continually learning. It never stops.

RST had a profound effect on me. I felt it on the last day. It's hard to describe, but I was changed. Something shifted in me. My confidence as a Tester AND a person had grown. James is a great teacher, but more importantly, a great person that cares about people learning, growing, and believing in themselves. He saw things in me that have made a difference in me that I can't thank him enough for.

As I said in my first post about RST, if you ever have a chance to take an RST class, just do it!

RST slides
RST appendices
Pictures from RST!
RST overview video by James Bach (taped at our RST class, June 2013 on Orcas Island)
James Bach = Steve McQueen!

Me and James!

Rapid Software Testing Experience-First Thoughts

I just got back home yesterday after an amazing week with James Bach and Rapid Software Testing (RST) at Orcas Island, Washington.  My head is so full of things I learned and the experiences I had, I'm not even sure where to start.  I will take my time to get my thoughts down to share, but for now just know that if you ever have the chance to take RST from James, Michael Bolton, or Paul Holland, just do it.  Don't hesitate, just do it.  You won't regret it.  You owe it to yourself as a Software Tester to challenge yourself with this intense and information-packed class. 

I was challenged several times by James, but through those challenges a wonderful thing came out of it.  I realized I'm now believing in myself more.  I made the decision before stepping foot on the island that I was going to be fully open and present.  That I was going to put myself out there and take chances.  It wasn't always easy or comfortable, but at the end of the last day I knew something had changed in me.  Something had shifted.  I honestly don't know what all of it is just yet, but that's part of the next chapter of RST for me.  Figuring out what those changes are, what all have I learned and what more do I want to learn, who I want to be, and where am I going.  Pretty heady stuff from a three day class, but I believe that every experience in life is an opportunity to change your world if you so choose.  And I'm very much looking forward to seeing where MY world is going to go and how it's going to change!

Why I Am Going To RST

In about a week, I will be on my way to the Rapid Software Testing (RST) course. It is a three day hands-on intensive course.  And this particular course will be taught by none other than James Bach. 

The main reason I'm going is exactly because of what it says on the RST website, "The ideal student is anyone who feels driven to be an excellent software tester".  That's me. 

I've been a Software Tester for over 10 years, but here's a true confession. During a lot of those years I was a naive tester. A tester in the dark.  Like a lot of us, I didn't have a lot of formal Testing training. I had no idea for almost all of those years that there were ways and people to learn testing from. I never worked anywhere that taught or trained Testers. I knew nothing of people like James Bach, Michael Bolton, Pradeep Soundararajan, Elisabeth Hendrickson, and many others.  I didn't know there were books or websites or trainings.  I didn't know there were test groups like Association for Software Testers (AST), Ministry of Testing, Satisfice, and others. Knowing what I know now, this all sounds crazy to even admit all of this. But it's true.  Sometimes you don't know what you don't know.

I just did the best I could.  I picked up tips from other Testers along the way or I made it up as I went along.  Maybe because I'm anal by nature, I would find lots of bugs.  The things I loved about testing kept me doing it, like finding things that were wrong with the software before our customers did.  But I was miserable in a lot of ways.

So, about a year and a half ago I sat myself down and had good long talk with myself. I thought that if I'm going to stay being a Tester, I needed to really LEARN how to be a Tester, what it meant to be a Tester.  Not just do the 'job'. No one was going to do it for me. No one.  My big break was that I somehow found James Bach's book "Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar".  I have to say, this book is a gem and a life-changer.  It woke me up in a very big way about my own responsibility of self-learning.  I can't recommend it enough.  And my journey at that point started in a big way.

I started googling anything to do with Software Testing.  I found people like Anne-Marie Charett who were generous in coaching me about different things to do with testing. I started a blog. I discovered this great test community on Twitter. I started reading about testing from blogs, articles, and books.  I learned about Context Driven Testing.  I found out about and became active in Weekend Testing.  I took the BBST Foundations course. I even took some HTML and CSS courses to help me in web testing. I stumbled onto Ajay's Balamurugadas' first online training and never missed a day, as well as discovering a wonderful test community happening in India.  There was a whole world out there that I never knew existed!  And now I'm constantly doing something every week and most days to keep growing and learning.

And that brings me to the RST course. It's time to take this journey of mine to a whole new level. To accelerate my learning. I want to finally grasp heuristics, learn how to tackle any product instantly, and to grow in my confidence as a Tester. I want to continue on my journey of becoming an expert Tester, but more importantly, FEEL and KNOW I'm an expert Tester. And I have this strong feeling that I will someday look at this time as the before and after of my journey and skills as a Tester. The way I look at it, if you want to be a better Tester, you can't just wish for it.  You have to work on it everyday. RST is a major step in this process. 

Wish me well!

Teri Charles
http://bouldertester.blogspot.com/
@booksrg8

A Software Tester Pays it Forward

Recently I've been thinking about the fact that I run in to so many Software Testers that have never heard of people like James Bach, Michael Bolton, and Pradeep Soundararajan, as well as so many other Test gurus.  Some of these same Testers have also never heard of groups like AST (Association of Software Testers) and the Software Testing Club.  They've become such a integral part of my professional life that I just assumed other Testers will know of them as well.  And sadly, that is not the case, not by a long shot.

I'll be honest, I hadn't heard of most of these people and groups myself until I made a decision a little over a year ago to immerse myself in Testing.  I was at a crossroads in my professional life and realized that I needed to challenge myself and dig deeper in this profession of mine, Software Testing.  I started with baby steps by Googling about Software Testing, which led me to one article, then to another, and then to many others.  It was while reading one of these articles that I stumbled upon a Testing coach, Anne-Marie Charrett.  It was Anne-Marie that really opened my eyes to a whole world out there that I had no idea existed.  I started to learn about heuristics, oracles, different training courses, and other Testers.  It was Anne-Marie that suggested I start my own blog as well as take the AST’s BBST Foundations training course (which I did and passed!).  I also started following people on Twitter, then more on Twitter, and even more.  Twitter changed everything.  I started realizing that Testers communicate a lot through Twitter.  I would learn about different Testing groups, blogs, articles, books to read, trainings, and other great Testers to follow.  I hooked up with other Testers all over the world.  I took Ajay Balamurugadas’ first online training course he taught and got a new friend in Ajay in the process.  I learned about and joined the Software Testing Club, as well as other groups.  And then recently I became one of the co-organizers of Boulder Colorado's first Software Testing Meetup groups.  And most exciting, I will be attending my very first formal Test training this summer, RST (Rapid Software Testing), with none other than James Bach. And my journey continues to grow every single day. 

But my journey wouldn’t have begun unless I took that first step to explore what was out in this Tester’s world of ours.  So, instead of wondering why other Testers haven't heard about some of our great Test leaders and mentors, trainings, groups, and articles, I'm going to do my part and do what others have done for me this past year.  I’m going to make sure that I'm passing along the good stuff!  Pass along those nuggets of wisdom that come my way like others have done and continue to do for me.  This blog post is my first step.

   

Whether you’re a new or experienced Tester, do yourself a favor and start following different people or groups on Twitter, then start taking a look at their websites, then start reading their blogs, articles, and trainings they've written.  And if they've written books, add them to your library and start reading them. If you can get to a conference they'll be speaking at, go.  And if they have a training you can get to, go.

So here you are, fellow Testers.  Follow these folks, learn from them.  There's much to learn and it never, ever ends.  And it will keep you busy for the rest of your life!

The following are just a few people and groups to start with.  There are many, many more, so my apologies in advance for leaving a long list of people and groups out, but this is just to get you started on your own journey of discovery.  There are a lot of great people out there doing a lot of great things.

James Bach:  http://www.satisfice.com - @jamesmarcusbach

Michael Bolton:  http://www.developsense.com - @michaelbolton

Pradeep Soundararajan:  http://testertested.blogspot.com - @testertested

Anne-Marie Charrett:  http://mavericktester.com - @charrett

Keith Klain:  qualityremarks.com - @KeithKlain

Paul Holland: testingthoughts.com - @PaulHolland_TWN

Elizabeth Hendrickson: http://www.testobsessed.com - @testobsessed

Michael Larsen:  http://mkltesthead.com/ - @mkltesthead

Lisa Crispin:  http://lisacrispin.com - @lisacrispin
Colin Cherry: http://itesting.com.au/ - @cherryAKAtism

Jerry Weinberg: http://www.geraldmweinberg.com - @JerryWeinberg
Ajay Balamurugadas: http://www.enjoytesting.blogspot.in - @ajay184f

AST: http://www.associationforsoftwaretesting.org - @AST_News

Software Testing Club:  http://www.softwaretestingclub.com - @testingclub

Weekend Testers Americas: http://weekendtesting.com/ - @WTAmericas

Weekend Testers:  http://www.weekendtesting.com - @weekendtesting

Europe Weekend Testers: http://weekendtesting.com/ - @europetesters

Satisfice: http://www.satisfice.com - @satisfice_inc

TeaTime with Testers: http://www.teatimewithtesters.com - @TtimewidTesters

The Testing Planet: http://www.thetestingplanet.com/