More Articles
Overtime Under Control -
Tips for resisting the abuse of mindless overtime. A test manager works with her team to evaluate the need for overtime and the potential benefit to the project.
Pack Up Your Troubles -
Surviving—even thriving—on troubled projects. A troubled project can be a great place to develop your project skills, if you take care of yourself and your team and exercise your creativity.
Planning the Endgame - What can a test manager do when a project manager says, "Test faster!" or tries to cut the amount of testing to meet a project release date? Argue persuasively for the time and resources you need for testing by including all the endgame activities in your estimates.
How Do You Think? -
What are the attributes of a good tester—of a great tester? Qualities of mind I look for in testers, and interview questions I ask candidates so I can evaluate how they think.
Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite -
Hoteliers deal with some unwanted guests, demonstrating excellent crisis management techniques. If we can learn to recognize and deal with our crises as well as this, we can significantly improve how we manage software projects.
What's in a Name? - The dangers of inflated names (like Quality Engineer), and the importance of precise language for recognition of the tester’s rightful place in software development.
Deception and Self-deception in Testing - Common untruths and misconceptions testers need to be ready to address.
Modeling Scenarios Using Data - (Paper) How to use a conceptual framework based on system data to design test scenarios from reusable building blocks. (Original of article published in STP 09Nov/Dec.; full diagrams)
Determining Business Risks for Testing - To assess business risks for risk-based testing, we need to ask the right people the right questions.
Growing Your Career in Tough Times - In these tough economic times, many testers can’t access formal training, but there is a wealth of low- or no-dollar resources available for professional development.
Rescuing a Captive Project - Allowing individuals to hold projects hostage to their knowledge and expertise is bad for the project and the team.This article describes one hostage project and shows how it could have been remedied.
Weekend Engagement - Two examples of the amazing things some testers get up to on the weekend, to practice their craft, develop their skills and knowledge, and have a great deal of fun.
Networking for Geeks - We all need networks to further our careers. But meeting strangers face-to-face can be difficult for us geeks. Here are some tips that have worked for me.
So, You Want to be a Consultant? - Many people have consulting as a career goal. But what does it mean to be “a consultant”? Email advice to a friend on different consulting approaches and how working for a consulting firm can help you get there.
Negative Positive - How a culture of unthinking optimism pervades our organizations and our society, and some of its detrimental effects on software projects.
No Compromise - Consultants and testers have to be prepared to speak out about what they know—however intimidated they are by authority and however unwelcome the news may be to the recipient.