Beware the Lotus Eaters

Posted by on February 24, 2011 No comments

I wrote a feature article for Logigear Magazine February Edition entitled Beware the Lotus Eaters.

I really enjoyed writing this article, I hope you get something out of it.

Beware the Lotus Eaters

Oh, and thanks James Bach for reviewing it for me!

Not a conference but a CASTalyst

Posted by on February 7, 2011 2 comments

Firstly, apologies for the terrible play on words, its got to be one of the worst pun ever! Put it down to a lack of imagination.

I’m going to be busy at CAST 2011 this year as not only am I attending but I’ll be holding a workshop and a track session.

The 1/2 day workshop is on Career Management for Software Testers and the  track session is on Skype coaching.

You can find out more about the details about all the tutorials here and the track sessions here. There are some great talks on this year and I’ve earmarked a few, hopefully there not on the same time as me!

Any tester who is serious about testing needs to consider going to CAST. It’s a conference that you will not forget. Trust me.

I had the opportunity to go to CAST 2010, sponsored by the software testing club and I wrote about the experience here and here

Its been six months since then, and on reflection, going to that conference wasn’t an event but more a catalyst to learning and experiencing more about testing.

Rebecca Fieldler has on her Skype profile the following quote by Will Durant: ” Education is a progressive discovery of our ignorance.” and I think that sums up nicely my feelings on CAST. It wasn’t so much what I learnt, but the realisation on how little I knew.

Since then, I’ve made a real effort to up my game. My book library has exponentially grown and I’ve even read some of them!

I made a commitment to myself at CAST 2010 to start speaking a conferences.  I’ve spoken at a few conferences since then, and speaking at CAST 2o11 is like coming full circle on that promise.

I’m also making more of an effort to keep in touch with other testers I met at the conference, people like Karen Johnson and Fiona Charles.

So, you see, what I mean when I say catalyst!

I hope to see you there,

Anne-Marie

Update: If you feel its the right time for you to start speaking at conferences, CAST is offering an emergent session run my the indominatble Matt Heusser. You can get all the details on this blog

The antipodes are calling

Posted by on January 13, 2011 No comments

I’m heading to Sydney, Australia on 22nd January 2011.  I will be looking for test consulting work  preferably through my Australian consulting company Testing Times.

What do I offer?

I shed light on testing problems often obscured or caused by a testing process. I bring a new perspective often hard to gain when inside an organisation.

I do this by thinking outside the square, looking for solutions outside traditional process orientated ideas.

So, if you have a problem that you haven’t yet being able to solve using traditional testing approaches, or you want a testing approach based on excellence and speed* why not contact me?

I also deliver one day training workshops on testing. These workshops focus on increasing tester skill.

I offer a context driven approach to testing.

These  principles are:

1.    The value of any practice depends on its context.

2.    There are good practices in context, but there are no best practices.

3.    People, working together, are the most important part of any project’s context.

4.    Projects unfold over time in ways that are often not predictable.

5.    The product is a solution. If the problem isn’t solved, the product doesn’t work.

6.    Good software testing is a challenging intellectual process.

7.    Only through judgment and skill, exercised cooperatively throughout the entire project, are we able to do the right things at the right times to effectively test our products.

What this means to you is that the advice I offer is to ensure you the customer get the best value out of your testing.

If you like that idea then contact me at amcharrett @ testingtimes.com.au

Interesting fact on the word antipodes. “The antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth’s surface which is diametrically opposite to it.” – Wikipedia. So, technically that would mean somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Though I suspect that not a lot of testing is done there!

* I use a rapid software testing developed & taught  by James Bach & Michael Bolton.