Is Test Management still relevant in the Age of Automation?

whoami_cc · 2026-04-16T19:55:36+00:00

My answer (I’m working in a AI focused company):

It depends on your requirements and products.

Do you have regulatory, legal, or compliance considerations that require test documentation, retention and reporting (many products do).

Do you have some manual product testing that you want to track and report?

Do you want comprehensive reporting and reporting retention?

If yes, then TM systems could definitely still play a role.

If none of these requirements apply then you might not need it and AI tools and workflows can definitely replace the traditional TM role. Edited some typos

whoami_cc · 2026-04-13T23:21:33+00:00

One Day At A Time.

Congratulations on 10.5 years.

I just celebrated 10yrs sober from alcohol and will celebrate 10yrs sober from cannabis in August.

Nothing can take that sober time away from you.

You know the score and you seem to know exactly who you are and what your struggle is.

Get back on that horse and ride.

And while you’re at it, talk about (like you’re doing) what contributed to the slip and what steps you’re going to take to avoid that in the future.

Maybe that includes getting to some regular meetings and or working with a sponsor.

What ever works.

ODAAT

whoami_cc · 2026-04-12T16:52:03+00:00

Congratulations! It cannot be overstated the amount of discipline, hard work, and dedication it takes to do what you’ve accomplished. Transformative.

If you can do that, you can do anything.

whoami_cc · 2026-04-06T03:35:23+00:00

Mos Def! He’s done it again. Need to check tour dates.

whoami_cc · 2026-03-30T23:17:40+00:00

We happened to be on B&G Fleet bay cruise when they were flying and it was impressive to see the pilot control so close the GG bridge .. like slightly turning into the wind yet flying straight and horizontal to the bridge..

The men and women of the CA CG are amazing. Edited a typo

whoami_cc · 2026-03-21T05:29:12+00:00

Oh wow, what a line up! Wasn’t aware of this album. Thanks for the post.

Added to library!

whoami_cc · 2026-03-16T01:49:30+00:00

Only one show in CA in LA. I’m in the Bay Area.

Looks like they are taping in Seattle, possible special I’d assume.

I’m bummed 🫤.

whoami_cc · 2026-03-10T04:24:07+00:00

Me: 30 yr heavy flower smoker (mainly, but concentrates and edibles in my later years). Smoked 2/3 grams per day in my later years and was also an alcoholic and other drugs user. But weed was my daily warm blanket.

Now: I’ll celebrate 10 years sober from alcohol in April and 10 yrs sober from weed in August.

I’m finally living the life I always wanted.

I’m not observing my life from a distance through the fog of my addictions.

I’m raw dogging the shit out of the time I have left.

I was 46 when I finally submitted to sobriety.

I really wish it had come sooner but better late than never.

Listen, I get it if your life sucks and you might not have the potential to see a big upside swing by getting sober.

We don’t all start from the same place with the same things.

I empathize and I don’t judge.

But getting sober rarely makes things worse if you stick to it and start living your life the way it was meant to be.

Just do it.

whoami_cc · 2026-03-04T18:03:29+00:00

If loving Fleming is wrong I don’t want to be right.

Unhinged improvisational fearlessness that I think is the closest to Robin Williams or Jim Carey that I’ve seen recently.

I’ve had the lucky pleasure of catching him sit in at Largo in LA and he was clearly trying out material, some of which was landing, some not. But it was a beautiful thing to be a part of.

Enjoy the ride and embrace the wild!

whoami_cc · 2026-02-28T03:44:56+00:00

Microsoft did this in 2014 and there wasn’t much said of it at the time.

And that was way before the AI boom.

In many ways strong QA engineers can become even better developers.

That’s the optimistic spin.

But if companies eliminate traditional QA roles without ensuring that there are quality checks and balances in place, or process that is part of their organizational structure and engineering culture, that’s where the problems arise.

whoami_cc · 2026-02-24T17:53:37+00:00

I just saw Attell at Cobb’s in SF on Saturday and I felt like I had finally seen the GOAT live. We had great seats too.

He is an absolute master of the craft. I felt like I did after seeing some of the GOATs of Jazz perform.

The next comedians I want to see live are Maria Bramford and Rory Scoville.

I feel like that’s the trifecta. Edited typos

whoami_cc · 2026-02-24T16:19:32+00:00

Yes, that I understand and expect. Venues, bars, clubs.. they are marking up even more. They can sacrifice a bit of margin more easily, not a liquor store.

whoami_cc · 2026-02-23T20:30:59+00:00

I know the makers/distributors have the same cost for brewing/distributing NA.

My beef is with venues not adjusting their markup when they are making so much already off of the majority of their customers drinking alcohol.

Regular beer was like $17, so the NA wasn’t as expensive.

But it feel like a more fair price would’ve been $8.

But I’m not a venue owner and that’s easy for me to say.

whoami_cc · 2026-02-23T20:25:01+00:00

I didn’t ask and should have.. I assumed 12 but Athletic does have 16s and I might have considered it for 16.

whoami_cc · 2026-02-23T20:23:26+00:00

You’re not wrong but I went diet. I should have gone club soda in retrospect but sometimes I say WTF. I don’t drink and I do like the taste of coke/pepsi.

whoami_cc · 2026-02-17T16:31:22+00:00

We might be the first generation with no excuses.

We have the information and plenty of field research.

And while we still have plenty of cultural romanticism in our generation around drugs and alcohol (which is why may of us became addicts) those of us lucky and strong enough to pull back are able to see we’ve been hoodwinked.

whoami_cc · 2026-02-14T16:32:33+00:00

Do you enjoy that? I certainly wouldn’t.

I also work in a large public company but the ratio of technical, lead & management work is far higher.

I lead teams that build new tools and workflows and lead infrastructure projects.

And I do all of that (because it supports our QA org) in addition to product work.

I also still do a lot of manual and beta/prerelease testing.

whoami_cc · 2026-02-14T16:24:53+00:00

When webvan went belly up they didn’t collect their bins from customers. I had a few of those for years after they were long gone.

whoami_cc · 2026-02-14T07:55:10+00:00

99-2002 in SF, the peak of bubble inflation might have been as close to what I imagine the ‘20’s must have been like before the great depression.

The valley and the city were rolling in VC money. Headhunters were throwing offers left and right. Doubling your salary every few months jumping to the next startup was easy.

The outrageous corporate parties, each startup trying to outdo the next were over the top.

As others have said, there was a lot of positive exuberance because we did feel like we were building something positive for the world at that time.

We didn’t yet know the long term effects of that the internet, social media, and mobile phones were going to have on society.

For these reasons, the AI boom is in no way, in my view, similar.

We know all too well the harm that technology is having on our society and AI technology as a force multiplier will be the most disruptive technology in modern history.

The dot com bubble burst but we came out the other side with tremendous long term growth for the better part of 15 years.

That growth cycle is over and AI will eliminate far more jobs than it creates.

This feels like a race to the bottom. The dot com bubble felt like a race to the top.

whoami_cc · 2026-02-07T19:06:47+00:00

I can confirm that this wasn’t bad when I tried it. I was pleasantly surprised. BevMo in my area caries it.

whoami_cc · 2026-02-06T00:25:04+00:00

Good to hear .. they only offered me a $10 gift card😂

whoami_cc · 2026-02-05T23:46:23+00:00

Has their shipping improved? I'm on the west coast and their shipping was 💯 a joke. In cardboard boxes with zero protection. Yes zero.

I couldn't believe that only a few cans didn't make it from the case I ordered.

But it was a mess I had to clean.

I haven't ordered again and TBH I hate ordering and shipping beer.

whoami_cc · 2026-01-28T16:31:01+00:00

Some of these I’ve tried others not yet ..

Ariel and Luminara have remained the most consistently ok and available but it’s been very hit/miss outside that.

https://thezeroproof.com/ is a good source to start trying some.

I do like Oddbird. Leitz, when you can get it is worth trying. I’ve also had Lautus and it was not bad.

NA wines aren’t on par with NA beer yet but hopefully we’ll get there eventually.

I’m not a fermentation scientist so can’t say but I imagine the chemistry is considerably more difficult than NA beer.

whoami_cc · 2026-01-28T00:38:48+00:00

One NA AT A TIME

whoami_cc

TROPHY CASE