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Goalkeeper: The most important player in a football team

Just like a tester is to its Agile team. It is not hard to list down the reasons why someone would think that way. Although it is almost impossible to convince people, and not just any chap but the tester himself, of the same. And guess what, shit lands at a tester's desk first and then the rest of the team, whether it is before or after the release. Hope you got the metaphor. Lets start with the constrains a keeper has to work with. Most of the time he is a long away from the action, has limited view of the ball, can barely communicate with the team and is probably only in the frame now because the rest of his team has failed to be at their best. Should I even mention the punishment called 'Penalties'? The game is tied and the only way out is to put the goalie in the firing line. And lets not forget the transfer window. Its the strikers, just like the devs, are the most expensive players in the market. Testers too have limited view of the action they are part o
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Why I am never happy doing what I do?

First things first. The inspiration for this post is PV, a colleague who stated a few things about happiness randomly last week. I cannot name him/her as I do not have the permission as of now. Forgive me for making this article sound philosophical but philosophy is one of the subjects I am interested in. The following lines about happiness are mostly stolen from a TV series but I agree with almost all of the lines. And it is also one of the many reasons I try to be on my toes and sometimes keeps me up at night. Enough backstory. What's happiness?  It's the moment before you want more happiness.  You're happy because you think you're successful, only for now.  You won't settle for 50% of anything, you want 100% You don't want most of it, you want all of it And I won't stop until I get all of it. If I were happy with what I do why would I want things to change? And when change is not demanded is progress possible? I don't think so. D
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The first BACKFLIP which changed the game

Has anyone heard of Freestyle motocross? I'd heard about it while I was in college but knew nothing about it until I watched the documentary 'Unchained'. Most of you are probably wondering why I am talking about something which has nothing to do with testing. It's because something happened during the evolution of the game which is just waiting to happen in Software testing. Let me elaborate. There is something called Backflip in motocross where a rider takes off the ramp does a 360 degree rotation and lands on the other side, without tasting the dirt ofcourse. There was a time when no one had even imagined it would become such an integral part of the sport. A rider named 'Carey Hart' attempts it during one of the X games but fails to execute to perfection. He attempts it the next year and fails again. This time with a brutal injury to him. The sport had to wait 2 years since his first attempt for someone to do it perfectly. But the moment the guy was ab
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Man's greatest enemy is Doubt.

Unless that man is a software tester or someone working in an investigation agency or anything similar. This title is the quote I heard while watching the latest TV series I am hooked onto, Spartacus. Great quotes like this always make an impression whether you are a series junkie or not. Back to the tester. This characteristic is one of the many a tester needs to have to be a good one. Not in terms of doubting himself but software under test. Although, self doubt once in a while is always healthy. A tester needs to doubt almost everything the company claims the software does. Even if it does what is advertised one should not be easily convinced. She should be hard to pacify even though the feature works in different browsers and internet speeds. Even though the said event occurs a 1000 times there still a chance it may not occur 1001th time. Every submit, select, cancel and more should be repeated in different situations almost to the point of obsession. Hell, James Whittake
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Don't start looking for issues right from the word GO.

Only idiots do that. Imagine you are handed a machine. You don't know what its made of, you have some idea of what it should do and you are asked to test it. What should be your first thought? Mine is 'How do I use it?' If you don't know how to you use it, how its supposed to work and who exactly is the user, do you think testing it would be fruitful. So the next time someone hands you a piece of code, start from how to use it, get comfortable as if you are a user of it on a daily basis and then maybe you can start thinking of ways to find issues with it.
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Is it possible to define testing in 140 characters or less?

Really? You think so? Please comment.
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DONT waste time and money on ISTQB certification

Dear newbies and wannabies of Software Testing, Please dont do this. They just dont have the right to make money of the insecurity of novices who are afraid that nobody would hire them if they are not certified. ISQTB, QAI etc. etc. all these so called Boards are made of people who want to make money for doing nothing. Nobody has the right to certify people to enter the profession. We are not in the medical industry or the airline industry where certain standards are to be met. If there is anything where you should spend your resources on, its books, or a kindle for the tech savvy. Books which will help you be good at what you do or intend to do. A damn good broadband connection, if you will. Some good hardware which will connect you to the world you live in. It is practicing your craft, studying it, trying to explain, and what not which will help you stay relevant in the testing industry not some useless certification. Oh, and if you still feel its worth your dime, just as
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