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!

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!

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/