Time: 4 hours: 3 hours viewing and reading, 1 hour reflection and preparation
Purpose: In this activity, you will be exposed to different ideas of what testing is and experiences of how to communicate those ideas. These will help you to further refine your own definition of testing and improve your skills in sharing your ideas and philosophy on testing.
Introduction: Testing and the wider software development industry is a fluid and ever-changing context which we have to be able to assess and adapt to. If we remain rigid in our views of what testing is and its value, we risk being at odds with our team and our community and ultimately not delivering good testing value to our teams. By being open to ideas and learning to assess and accept them, we give ourselves the opportunity to evolve and learn more.
This activity will give you the skills to both listen and critique other people’s viewpoints on what is testing as well as how to communicate the idea of testing to others. These skills of communication and critique will help you to adapt and improve your own definition of what testing is and how to communicate that idea with others.
Task: Take the time to view and read the following recommended talks and articles for different insights onto what is testing and reflect on them:
- Learning What Testing Is (A Story of my Own) – Guna Petrova - 20 minutes
- So, What Is Software Testing? - Claire Reckless - 15 minutes
- The Surprising Benefits of Exploring Other Disciplines and Industries - Conor Fitzgerald - 30 minutes
- Experiences In Modern Testing - Alan Page - 45 minutes
- “Worst” Practices of Software Testing - Viktor Slavchev - 25 minutes
- Ten Misconceptions About Software Testing - That Non-Testers Share - Kate Paulk - 20 minutes
- A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words - Andy Glover - 35 minutes
Make notes on what each individual’s definition of testing is and consider how they are communicating those ideas.
After each talk or article ask yourself:
- How does their definition of testing match to yours?
- What differences are there?
- Does their definition change your views and how?
- How are they communicating their ideas? How do their communication methods differ? How will your observations affect the way you communicate your ideas on testing?
Optional: Feel free to expand on the above list of references to discover more views on testing and methods of communicating those ideas. Consider researching online and discussing with other testers.
Create a 2-minute summary of your revised definition ready to present at the next Essential training session. Be sure to include:
- Your definition
- How it has changed from the end of last session
- What inspired this change
- How you will communicate your ideas on Testing with others