You Know You Are a Tester….

If you question everything…

“It’s too early to catch fish, middle of May should be good.”  “The water is too fast, too high, the conditions aren’t good yet.”

I went anyway.  I have been going for a couple weekends now.  Even if I don’t catch anything, it is so nice to be out in the woods, near the water, breathing in the atmosphere... 

My little one and I go together.  She talks and talks and talks… to sticks, to rocks, to the wind, to the water.  It is fascinating to hear her gibber-jabber along.  She loves the water, which is likely the only reason she puts up with her mother fishing.

We went to our regular “fishing hole” and she went about her talking while I went about my casting.

After about 20 minutes, I was planning on moving down the brook to the next “fishing hole”, when I hear a little voice in my head… “awe, go on, cast once more over there”.  So I did.  The hook got caught on a log, so I pulled a bit to get it off.  It landed back in the water and I started to reel it back in when I felt like it was stuck again.  Then… I felt a tug…

I pulled up a 13-inch brook trout…

I was soooo excited, my daughter said I was shaking…

All I kept hearing was the quotes from above… “too early”… “not yet”…

It reminded me of when I just know to run a certain test, in a certain area, under certain circumstances... It also reminded me of times when I found bugs that there “was no way” that could happen.  Same feeling, same joy…

Only difference is I get to eat the fish for supper J

Understanding… Seeing things differently

I have recently been reading What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell.   I must say, there is so much food for thought in it that I can only consume one story at a time without having to put it down and chew on it awhile.

One story:  "The Picture Problem: Mammography, Air Power, And the Limits of Looking" gave me quite a bit to think about, especially in light of one of my recent posts on Understanding... The Big Picture.  Mr. Gladwell wrote that a physician and epidemiologist at the University Of Washington Harborview Medical Center

asked 10 board-certified radiologists to look at 150 mammograms.  The radiologists did not see the same things.  The story goes on to describe some of the differences and looks into other examples of seeing things differently with some added analysis. 

This first got me to thinking about some of the basic differences in people on a general level.  There are different perceptions to what the basic senses reveal between genders.  It is an often studied, written about, and discussed topic.  Most studies I have read suggest distinct emotional wiring differences.  This can cause perceptions to be, at times, remarkably different.  Some have suggested that while one gender perceives through the heart, the other perceives through the head. 

Then there are cultural differences.  I have lived in several states in my country (United States).  Each one has its own, very unique culture.  Sometimes these differences cause people conflict; sometimes they open their eyes to new and wonderful things.  This depends upon the culture one has actually come from, and what they may have evolved their own culture to.

This then, led to my thinking about the differences on the team I work with.  We share gender differences, cultural differences, and project perception differences.  That is a lot of differences for a group that has, in the end, the same expected goal.

One thing that I believe has helped to lessen the risk of these differences, and increase the ability to succeed, is the agile development process we are using.  Like with the gender differences and cultural differences, it takes commitment to the relationship and a desire to succeed, all the while keeping the end goal in site – communication is the key.

Agile development provides the ability to mitigate some of the risk using the Review/Retrospective process.  While the tester sees things different than development, the BA sees things different than the tester or developer, management sees things differently than all three, not to mention the stakeholders and the customers… the Review/Retrospective can enable the core group to stay on the same page.  Of course, like in any relationship, it takes dedication to the goal in order to accomplish the task.

Another benefit of having these differences is that it can help the entire team aware of the bigger Big Picture, the one that ultimately involves the customer.  And, like in all relationships between human beings, this is not accomplished without some conflict.  But, another helpful thing in agile development -   that has the ability to mitigate the risk of the conflict getting out of hand – is the Sprint Goal.  Since the team agrees to the defined goal of the Sprint, a decision must be made and implemented quickly in order to not adversely affect the velocity of the team. 

I think that ultimately, if desired, the differences in how we see things, can produce remarkable results.

A Rant... and a Tip Of the Hat... on Privacy Issues

The software development team that I work with takes great precautions in protecting data for the clients we serve and their clients as well.  Sometimes this causes my thinking to be biased.  Sometimes I believe that all companies do this.  It is never good to assume anything, nor is it good to believe this is always the case.

I make a habit to Google myself every now and again to see what is out there about me.  Because I have a fairly popular name, it is not as easy to find my specific person, but it still makes sense to monitor ones own privacy.

Today it was brought to my attention by a developer on the team I work with, that he was listed on a certain people "search" site.  He was not happy.  I checked for myself on it, I was equally not happy.  I found and executed the "opt out" option.

After doing so, I went and researched some more sites that were similar to that one and found myself listed on some of those as well.  I was able to easily "opt out" of a couple of them.  However; one of them actually said I have to print a copy of a form, photo copy my drivers license, and snail mail/fax it in to them to be removed.  Really?  REALLY? RE-E-E-E-EALLY???

Yes... really:

There is so much talk about Privacy problems with sites such as Facebook (which I chose to not Opt Into), but yet these people search sites not only have access to your name, but your relatives names as well.  There is something very wrong in making people "opt out" of things they never "opted in" to begin with. 

I join clubs/organizations when I desire to.  I am affiliated with a few that I chose because of their standards/ethics/goals.  I have a private /unlisted/restricted phone number for a reason.  I don't want to hear the speal about the latest things that will make my life better.  I am very selective as to what/who I let in my life - by choice.

But... my choice seems to be getting overlooked when it comes to certain sites.  And they are getting away with taking little peices of me and exposing them to countless millions on the internet... without my consent. Some of them even offer to sell information about me - some of which is true and some of which is false - for a membership fee.

Something is terribly wrong with this...

While I have the time/ability to monitor myself as much as I can, my elderly parents do not.  They are not "connected" to the internet.  They have no way to protect themselves. They only have me to warn them when things are there.  And what about the countless elderly people who don't have someone to do so?  The scenarios, from a testing point of view, are endless for discovering why this is not a good thing.

Today, while I rant on what I feel is an infringement on my rights as a human being, I also have to tip my proverbial hat to the development team that I am working with for all the thought/effort they put into protecting the privacy of the end users.  From security systems to encrypted files... I tip my hat.

I also suggest you continue to "search" for yourself and do your part to make the insanity stop with online privacy issues.  Think of the Doormouse in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland - while a very small creature, it took the eye out of the beast...

Quick Update...

I recently received an email from the Association For Software Testing that really floored me.  In this day and age where package sizes go down and prices go up... they have actually cut their price for membership!

If you are not already a member, and are seriously passionate about your career, I suggest you go check them out and see what they are all about :)

Also, I recently had my first article published in the Software Test Professionals newsletter.  The title of the article is titled "Who are you talking to?".   I hope you will feel free to go check it out...

With the ever changing technology that testers are faced with, and with the challenges of time and tasks, these are two great organizations that have a lot to offer in resources/learning and building on skills.

So....  what are you waiting for?  Go check 'em out :)