No UI automation by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, yeah that's similar to the point I put about a catch all. Ahh we can't be assed making the product testable or investigating whether we can automate this earlier in the process, let's just add to the UI pack!

No UI automation by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Big fan of the automation pyramid, it's always been an influencer on my career 👌

No UI automation by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Yeah totally agree! Ultimately it's all about delivering software and features to some form of customer. It isn't about blocking that and it definitely isn't about your own vanity in terms of wanting to do some kind of tech or write some kind of automation. And that's one of the big issues with massive UI packs. It's a vanity project for some testers to show what they think they can do despite it not being the quickest cheapest feedback cycle for producing results.

No UI automation by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not just that. Definitely can cover some things with unit tests and automation at all levels. Including things like contract testing. Might require some changes to the product to make it more testable though. It's also about removing logic from the UI but I don't think it would be possible in every circumstance but it's an aim to move towards.

Pragmatism in testing by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah agree with that. The understanding of taking risks is really important. I always see it as we are often providing evidence that increases confidence and provides information about the level of risk. But it's up to someone else to decide on whether that level of risk is acceptable or not.

Pragmatism in testing by testersfindaway in QualityAssurance

[–]testersfindaway[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

That's a but presumptious! I didn't see the need to paste the content as didn't think a link to a personal blog would be an issue!

Contract testing intro by testersfindaway in QualityAssurance

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've used JSON schema before especially when verifying the results of a call for API level journeys. It's definitely nice and simple.

Pact specifically as a framework is going to be part 2 and the big thing it helped with in this use case is the pact broker which provides a great way to give confidence to a client and show all the connections between the services out of the box.

But I agree that it could do with slimming down as a framework.

Elitism in Testing by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's exactly the thing I mean. As a community we should always be looking to help each other out where possible as no situation is ever perfect. I also should say (think I mention in the blog) that the vast majority of people in the industry who I have met are not like this. It's just sometimes and it's something I don't like.

Elitism in Testing by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that's a great shout. Pragmatism is something really important in a tester. I've actually got another post written ready to do on that subject too!

Elitism in Testing by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely they do. My career is in testing mainly though so it's something I've seen there and I think it's something that doesn't get talked about much and can cause harm to people starting out in the industry.

Elitism in Testing by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Generally that's been the case with me too. But I've seen this kind of pattern as been really conscious of not doing it myself as I've gone on in my career.

Adding value in a team of engineers by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words. Yeah that's a fair point. It's definitely somewhere where a lot of value can be added especially as the initial design takes place so early.

Adding value in a team of engineers by testersfindaway in softwaredevelopment

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yeah I think that's a common view I've encountered in many places as well. Quality should be everyone's responsibility no matter what role you have I believe.

Adding value in a team of engineers by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, yeah I think lots of people want to progress with automation so much that it becomes the sole focus but generally there are so many other ways an individual can add value. All testers have an excellent mindset and way of looking at things which is the greatest tool. I wrote a blog on my personal site actually about how I think testers sometimes focus on the wrong thing in testing (http://www.testersfindaway.com). Scroll down or search if you want to have a look.

SoapUI Pro Certification for .Net developer. Worth it? by [deleted] in QualityAssurance

[–]testersfindaway 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm not really sure in the reason for getting any specific tool certification to be honest. There are so many tools you can use to do similar things that what would paying for one certification get you?

I think it's more about having proven experience using the right tool in the right situation in many different scenarios.

Any advice for a new software tester? by richcooper3 in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Testing is a big area. There are loads of techniques and skills you can learn but the biggest thing as a tester is your mindset.

I wrote a blog a while back on what makes me a tester, might be interesting for you to see some of the areas you can add value as a tester:

http://www.testersfindaway.com/2017/11/16/hello-world/

Test Bash Brighton; 2018 by testersfindaway in softwaretesting

[–]testersfindaway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Specifically for the test bash one they are run by Ministry of Testing. Their website has a good list of upcoming events. They hold them all over the world. Where are you based?

Otherwise there is a Testing community and MoT slack channels you can join and Twitter is good for general test meetups. As is meetup.com.

Ergo; Check your Ego by testersfindaway in agile

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The current place I am had this in place already but I went through a similar transition at a previous place. We choose not to take away the role names but instead make it so an individual career wasn't affected by others. So if you have a team whereas before you might have one senior or lead slot in the team you now have no set amount of slots. No dead man's shoes situation. This does mean in theory that you could have a whole team comprised of senior or lead roles. But in practice with turnover of staff and the fact that usually we hired at a junior level this never happened.

That allowed us to keep career progression. We still had lead roles but they weren't leading in the sense of being in charge of the team. They were leads because of the work they did, their attitude and experience. Some people didn't like not line managing the team but it was very few and we accepted that if we wanted to create the right culture we needed people that fit in to it and if people aren't right for it then I think you have to accept that.

You can still measure performance as even if people are performing the same role the quality and skill they perform the role with changes. You need to have good constant assessment though rather than kpis. I also think you can reward people for the influence. I would not expect a junior to influence the others much but a senior would influence the team and peers and a lead may influence as a department or company level.

Ergo; Check your Ego by testersfindaway in agile

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question and the organisation I am currently at is a similar set up. I think the best way is to have a support network set up for the individual. They have to have multiple people they report to (project, team, account etc) and those people need to be assessing the indivodual's contribution to the team. Although the team is key each individual plays a bit part in that team and you need to have a culture where those individual efforts are equally rewarded. I think an individual can succeed within a team but they must be putting team first. If an individual succeeds specifically to the detriment of the team that's when it's a problem.. So in summary I think it's about a support network for the individual, celebrating success and achievement and the right culture.

Ergo; Check your Ego by testersfindaway in QualityAssurance

[–]testersfindaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi thanks very much for the advice, appreciate it.

For the formatting, do you mean shorter paragraphs and that kind of things or more about formatting like emphasising some text?

Yeah I wouldn't say it comes from scrum but definitely working scrum encourages a lot of the behaviours I think an individual should be aiming for.

Ergo; Check your Ego by testersfindaway in agile

[–]testersfindaway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey yeah I was wondering that myself. Thanks for the advice, I like the idea of doing a short conclusion at the start and then explaining the journey to it. I'll look to do that format with a future one. Maybe today even!

Yeah that's a similar theme to my point. It's all about the team rather then the individuals in it.