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Copyright 2015 Teri Charles and Lisa Crispin

Being a Tester in 2015

Teri Charles and Lisa Crispin


A li7le about us

Teri 15+ years tes=ng, co-‐organizer of Boulder

QA Meetup Twi7er: @booksrg8

Lisa 20+ years tes=ng, agile teams since 2000 Currently tester on Pivotal Tracker team

Twi7er: @lisacrispin Email: [email protected]


How About You?

Tell us a li7le about yourselves!


Why So Much Confusion?

Automating is the answer! Let’s hire some SDETs!


Examples of Job Descrip=ons •  2+ years C# is a must •  2+ years working as a Quality Assurance in a SoYware Engineering test capacity

•  2+ web applica=on development •  2+ JavaScript MVC framework •  2+ years ASP.NET MVC •  Ability to architect and op=mize test frameworks for key automa=on ini=a=ves

•  Integrate automated tests into con=nuous integra=on workflows

•  BDD, TDD, Unit tes=ng, Jasmine, SpecFlow


More Examples of Job Descrip=ons!

•  ASP.NET Web API, RESTful API development or integra=on •  Single Page Applica=on (SPA) development •  MongoDB or other NoSQL database •  Ember.js or SproutCore •  AWS deployment and management, cloud automa=on •  Expert knowledge of relevant development tools & code

management repositories (Netbeans, Eclipse, Komodo, SVN or equivalent)

•  High-‐scale performance tuning •  Competency in one of the following languages: C, C++, Perl,

Java or Python is a plus


Where is the Confusion Coming From?

•  Recruiters •  Hiring Managers •  Testers


Ques=on In your current job, what was the job pos=ng vs. what is it you actually do?


To code or not to code, that is the ques=on!


Do You Need to Learn How to Code?

•  Do you want to learn how to code? Ø Then do it

•  Do you not want to learn how to code? Ø Then don’t do it


Most Importantly…Don’t Freak Out •  Figure out who YOU are, what are YOU interested in

•  Get more technical Ø Get more comfortable looking at code Ø Know your domain Ø Learn a bit of SQL, shell… Ø Use IDE team uses Ø Ask ques=ons Ø Know what you need to add value


What is “Being” a Tester?

•  Think like a Tester! •  Being a detec=ve! •  Ask the ques=ons! •  Communicate! •  Courage! •  Learn…learn…and then learn some more! •  Is it knowing processes, wri=ng test plans and test cases?

•  Competencies trump roles


Learn the Rules So You Can Break the Rules!


Ques=on

What do we/you love about it being a tester?


Group Exercise

At your table, write one item per s=cky note. •  What do you do now in your job? •  What would you like to be doing? Each person read your s=cky notes and place on table. Group similar items. •  Do any similar themes emerge?


Learn New Skills •  Mentors •  Publica=ons •  Books •  Blog pos=ngs •  Webinars •  Conferences •  Meetups •  Online communi=es


Exercise

•  Pick your top learning goals and make a plan Ø For next week Ø For next month Ø For next six months

•  Bonus: Pair with a buddy, exchange emails, keep each other informed on your progress


Educate Others •  One of the best ways to learn something is to teach something!

•  Hold a brown bag at work •  Write. Get published! •  Present at conferences •  Present at local Meetups •  What are some other ideas?


Learning Resources •  Tes=ng Resources: h7ps://www.mindmeister.com/

311371613 •  The Giant Mind Map of Testers to Follow: h7ps://

www.mindmeister.com/542046667 •  Lambert, Rob, "T-‐shaped Testers and Their Role In a

Team", h7p://thesocialtester.co.uk/t-‐shaped-‐testers-‐and-‐their-‐role-‐in-‐a-‐team/ , 2012

•  Levison, Mark, "The Beginner's Mind -‐ An Approach to Listening", h7p://www.infoq.com/news/2008/08/beginners_mind, InfoQ, 2008

•  McMillan, Darren, "Mind Mapping 101", for Tes=ng: h7p://www.be7ertes=ng.co.uk/content/?p=956, 2011

•  Pa7on, Jeff, User Story Mapping, 2014 •  Wynne, Ma7 and Aslak Hellesoy, The Cucumber Book:

Behavior-‐Driven Development for Testers and Developers, Pragma=c Programmers, 2012


More Learning Resources •  Adzic, Gojko, SpecificaGon by Example: How Successful

Teams Deliver the Right SoMware, Manning, 2011 •  Adzic, Gojko, Impact Mapping: Making a Big Impact

with SoMware Products and Projects, 2012a h7p://impactmapping.org

•  Gärtner, Markus, ATDD By Example: A PracGcal Guide to Acceptance Test-‐Driven Development, Addison-‐Wesley, 2012a

•  Karten, Naomi, "Are You Listening?", h7p://www.agileconnec=on.com/ar=cle/are-‐you-‐listening, Agile Connec=on, 2009

•  Keogh, Liz, h7p://lunivore.com -‐ look for her posts on BDD, Real Op=ons

•  Knight, Adam P., "T-‐shaped Tester, Square Shaped Team", h7p://thesocialtester.co.uk/t-‐shaped-‐tester-‐square-‐shaped-‐team/, 2013

being&atester&in&2015&files.meetup.com › 2625872 › being a tester in 2015...

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