Happy New Year?

Being made redundant is probably not really high on the top ten list of good ways to start the new year for most people. I certainly didn’t plan to, but I guess it beats getting the boot just before the Christmas holidays.

BBST vs. RST

After my last blog entry I got a question from Martin about how the BBST Foundation course compares to James Bach’s Rapid Software Testing course. As Martin is probably my most faithful reader (I can prove that he has read my blog twice ) I will of course comply to his request as best I can.

One small step for mankind…

I’m sure you all know the dilemma; its summer, nice weather, your boss tells you to take a few weeks off and as a result you sit there without any good testing to fill your days. What to do?

The reeducation of a lousy tester

Having focused way too much over the years on the technology I’ve been testing instead of on the craft of testing itself, I have found myself with quite a lot of catching-up to do. Do I really think I’m a lousy tester? No, but when one compare himself to those people on my link-list over there on the right-hand side I guess more than me might feel a bit intimidated. As always, it’s all about context.

Golden Tweets #1

“The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of meeting the schedule is forgotten”

@dckismet (RT by @sdelesie)

Are you certifiable?

Originally posted as a comment on testing.stackexchange.com:

A few days ago, after just reading a bunch of blogs (and comments) on the perceived issues with the quality/content of the currently available certifications, I became aware of a posting in the LinkedIn group Software Testing and Quality Assurance. It was from a recruiter who had a ready-made shortlist of 50+ ISEB and ISTQ certified testers. The list was the result of a job he had done for a major Indian BPO looking to hire people to work in the UK.

The Game’s Afoot…

Ok, time to get this one off the ground (no ashcloud puns intended).

I somehow managed to stay oblivious to the plethora of testing related online communities and blogs for quite some time (This probably fits what’s generally refered to, in a slightly derogatory way, as “living under a rock”). I guess I could blame the university for not having any classes on testing, or the fact that I for many years was the only one in my organization working full-time on testing, but that wouldn’t change anything now would it? When it comes down to it we are all pretty much responsible for our own education.

A couple of years ago I stumbled upon some info about some test conference. I can’t recall which one it was but it opened my eyes for the information available, and books and blogs on various topics soon followed. One common thing for those who gave advice on how to expand your education was that many of them suggested blogging and engaging in discussions on the online forums. Not really a revolutionary idea in retrospect, but it is amazing how shortsighted one can be at times. Some times it really helps being reminded about the totally obvious.

So here we are, after quite a bit of lurking on the Intertubes I have my own blog
Now; registering a blog on WordPress.com is pretty easy. Coming up with something to fill it with can prove a little bit more challenging. Just as Shmuel Gershon wrote in his first post back in 2007 I have done my share of procrastination;

“I began making a list of topics that would interest you and me, even drafted a handfull of posts(!) — and waited for the next-week/next-month/next-round-date to start publishing text. The angels of procrastination as guiding star…”

But finally, I finished that first post!
Now off to collect thoughts, ideas, knowledge… and dust bunnies.