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!
