TestJunkie

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...

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.

Really? You think so? Please comment.

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...

Am i right? Lets debate it

Is there anyone in the profession who feels he knows enough to work in the industry? I surely don't and am still being entertained here for this long. Just tells you how helpless the profession is.  Talk about scratching the surface, I feel I am six feet under the surface. Even though I am sure that nobody in my current, and soon former company, has read more than the Testing head of the Dept., I wish I would have found out a way to know how much he has read on the subject. I am happy that I don't have to oblige to writing test cases which add little value to the product and I hope my next employer is more interested in Test ideas than cases. After these many years, I am atleast aware of what not to do while testing. So anyone who would like to call me up for an interview, if you are going to talk about buzzwords such as Kanban, automation or god forbid, Test cases, please don't bother. Peace:)

This is an effort to explain anyone who has ever asked me what i do for a living. I had never thought I would ever blog in my lifetime. But, after facing the same question from relatives to random acquaintances i decided to put in words what i did and did not do. Even though I am sure a minority of such people will actually take the effort to read about someone's profession, b'coz they hardly read about their own, this post will relieve me of the dilemma of explaining something few people in the profession, let alone the world, would understand. Without further ado, here’s what I do. I try to get from what the stakeholders know about the product to what they need to know about the product. I am the guy the manager and the coders are afraid of. I am the headlights of the SUV they are trying to drive in the dark in all kinds of terrain. They hope and pray that I am not at my best when I am asked something to test. They try and encourage me to take it easy and not ...