Jun 14, 2011 | Business of Testing, Testing, Testing Career
10:00 AM “Holy smokes, I can’t believe I’m so late!” I roll over and look at the clock. 10AM. 10AM?! I was supposed to be in the office an hour ago. What happened? I overslept? That’s so not like me. I check my cell phone – battery is...
May 19, 2011 | STP Community, Team Management, Testing Career
Known locally as a sort of ‘dynamic duo’, Pete and Kristin are the Test Lead and Director of Software QA for ISD Corporation, a Zeeland, Michigan based firm that develops and delivers electronic payment software solutions for retailers. Kristin has been...
May 19, 2011 | Leadership, Process, Team Management, Test Estimation, Test Plans, Testing Career
What made me think of this? When I teach project management and I discuss scope creep; I usually tell a story about one of my first projects. I really wanted to get along with my customer. I was not well versed in all of the project management bodies of knowledge. I...
May 5, 2011 | Leadership, Team Management, Testing, Testing Career
When I was a kid I used to play ball out in the street in front of my house. The neighborhood kids, my brothers, and I would have a game going and then a car would turn on to the street and we would yell “CAR!” This would stop the game and everyone would...
Apr 27, 2011 | Context Driven, Leadership, Testing, Testing Career
I guess it’s that time again. What time is that, you ask? It’s the time when discussion/debate flares up over Context-Driven.I’m not going to weigh in on the whole discussion of pros/cons, value/distraction, etc. I am a consultant. I am...
Mar 7, 2011 | Testing Career, Training
Many years ago the Director of Development, a fellow somewhat older and much wiser than most of the full-time employees at our mass-market commercial software company, invited me into his office. “I’m going to leave this job for one that’s a better...
Aug 17, 2010 | Testing Career, Training
Over the past two years, the economy has taken various tumbles and turns, and companies are doing radical things with their IT departments. Outsourcing, offshoring, and layoffs are throwing good, senior testers, back into the interview process. If a tester has had...
Aug 9, 2010 | Leadership, STP Community, Testing, Testing Career
No, not the singer. No, not the guy from Office Space; and he is not related to any UN ambassador. Instead, Michael Bolton is a consulting software tester based in Toronto, Canada. After working as a programmer, trainer, and technical support manager, Michael worked...
Jul 6, 2009 | Business of Testing, Funtional, Leadership, Management, Metrics, Process, QA, RBCS, Requirements, Team Management, Test Case, Test Estimation, Test Plans, Testing, Testing Career, Tools
This article, contributed by STP guest editor Rex Black, is reprinted from “Beautiful Testing: Leading Professionals Reveal How They Improve Software” (O’Reilly, October 2009). The book, edited by Tim Riley and Adam Goucher, is a compilation of essays from 27...
Mar 1, 2008 | Business of Testing, Management, Process, QA, RBCS, Requirements, Testing, Testing Career, Tools
When You Must Buy Versus Build, There Are Ways To Help You Avoid Any Slip-ups More and more projects involve integration of custom-developed or commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components, rather than in-house development or enhancement of software. In effect, these...
Dec 1, 2005 | Leadership, Management, Testing, Testing Career
Twenty years ago, I was a contractor at Lotus Development when they ramped up a huge new database product code-named No Comment (it didn’t ship, but that’s another story). The QA manager found herself with 27 people who didn’t know one another, who had no idea of each...