Are we living in Bubbles?

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Hi all, this is gonna be a Philosophical Reflection / Dilemma or how you wanna call it. I just write here as I was not sure where to post something like this.

I have realize lately that even in the most connected world in History I live in a Bubble and I guess that can be the case for some others. I clarify below:

I have been working as a Software Tester for the last 6 years for the Automotive branch. So basically I test the software that is installed in the different car modules also called ECUs. I tested Infotainment applications, autonomous driving and in my last position I test pneumatic suspension control.

Well, for personal circumstances I wish to change my Job and I am trying to continue as a Software Tester but for some other field like Web / APIs or Apps. Thatā€™s why I am here and thatā€™s why I am learning how those other field work!!

So I realize my last 6 years I have been living on a Bubble. For the little I have investigated I realize that, when testing for example Webs, it is quite important how bug tickets are wrote, how test steps must be so specifically defined, how specific tools for traceability, measure of the test progress are important.

In my experience this is not so important in the Automotive as the setting up of the environment takes half of the time. I mean when you have a car you have a bunch of different modules connected in a network that communicates with each other. So basically the module you are testing receives inputs and send outputs to the network (CAN bus, LIN, ā€¦).

This makes the setting up of the environment so important. As If I want to test one of the modules I could do it with the real car. But this is expensive and also could be that the rest of the modules are still in development. So, normally I have a simulation setup that simulates the rest of modules that I am not testing which send info through the network to the module that I am testing. Setup that also makes automation possible.

So basically a testbech with a bunch of cables, 12V power supply, a real module and a framework that simulates the rest of the car is quite normal thing in Automotive, and as you can Imagine, setting up all that stuff takes time and use to fail from time to time.

However for testing webs or apps, a laptop can be the only piece of hardware you need. For this reason, I am yes living on a Bubble. Do you also live in a Bubble?..

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Hi Andres,
Just like you, I started my career in the automotive industry. I also worked a lot with control units that communicated over the CAN bus. CANoe was my best friend. Iā€™m not sure if this tool is still as popular.
When I switched industries and started working with desktop and web applications, I initially felt like a beginner again. But then I realized that while there arenā€™t control units interacting asynchronously, other components do. Thatā€™s when I understood I could apply the same skills.
What I learned in the automotive industry, especially the way of thinking to handle complex systems made up of many components, has been extremely valuable in other environments.
Yes, I was in a bubble, and in many ways, I still am. But itā€™s more or less the same bubble, just with a different shape now.

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Hi Thomas,

Yeah, CANoe still rules today. Thanks for your replay, I can see that change industries is possible. I apreciate it.

Best Wishes

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I think to some degree we live all in bubbles as the brain is limited in its capacity of processing information. And also time is limited for all of us.

The question is for me less if we live in a bubble, but to what degree and if they realize it.
And even more: What the individual consequences are.
I guess you had mostly good 6 years in the automotive branch?

Itā€™s not always bad to be in a bubble. A bubble can give safety, but one should be also aware of that things can change.

About me personally:
Iā€™m over 15 years into testing and in my first 7 years I had to work with rugged mobile devices. After that I never needed other hardware than my laptop.
When Covid came was I almost 3 years around 1 day a month in the office and worked the rest from home. And even now I just have 1 mandatory office day a week.
I wonder how that time would have been working with physical devices.
Also I hybrid, have the week at home, I wonder how a new job with physical devices would be. I saw multiple in job markets.

How have you experienced been during lockdowns and do you still work some time from home?

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Hi Sebastian,

Iteresting reflexion.

Regarding to your question on how did we deal during de Lockdowns. Well, in my first company we use to have a laptop for the testbench and a personal laptop for the rest of things. So basically homeoffice was possible as you could remotelly connect to your bench laptop.

There was however always the need to turn on and off the bench or to change cables and so on, so there was always some people in the office to do that. Also some people use to took the complete bench home and test from there. But I remember that was during that time that several approaches for work from home were developed. We had in that time testcases that include manual options of touch with your finder in the car touchscreen, well some team developed a tool to be able to simulate this by placing a camera facing the touchscreen and some kind of app. I remember sometimes to ask who was in the office to move the caera a bit as the camera was not in the correct place :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Nowadays I have one day homeoffice a week. Normally I used that day to do documentation, reports or create testcases but not not testing.

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Yeah we also live in bubble and thatā€™s why it is being said to always being practical and real. As far as test steps, bug report, etc. Yes they actually matter and that i also recently notice after my seniors point out that what exactly client is looking and what are the gaps in my writing. So yes i was also kind of in bubble that my test cases and bug report are upto the mark, but when i receive feedback from client which point out inconsistencies in the words that i have used that actually put the reality in front of me that where Iā€™m wrong.

Well thatā€™s one example but there are several things going on inside and outside of testing where we are in bubble, we just needs to be practical to realize that.
One way of being avoiding bubble is being humble and always curious to learn in that way we can avoid bubble of arrogance which blocks our path of learning.

I hope my answer is relevant to this question because thatā€™s what came as thought in my mind when i saw this question.

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Cool Ujjwal good point,

I guess we as Tester evaluate someone else product. So this someone else sees the thing from their own point of view (their bubble). Hence is importat to have that in mind in our Job.

Thanks for share your expertise on how to deal with this.

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In general, I think we all have our bubbles. Itā€™s just a case of how big and flexible they are.

In the case you describe though, I would say that, ā€œliving in a bubble,ā€ puts a somewhat negative lens on it. I see you more as being a domain specialist - for a domain that is very specialised and in demand, I might add. Youā€™ve adapted and learned what you needed to in order to do good work in your context. That isnā€™t a bad thing. Could you have still kept up to date with, and done side work on, other types of testing? Sure. But we all could. But we also have other priorities, except for work, and thatā€™s also a good thing.

So yeah, donā€™t be too hard on yourself. If I were you and looking to make a move, I would check the possibilities internally first. You never know until you ask. All the best on your journey.

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Hi Cassandra,

Thanks for your insight. Actually while looking for new position a higher rate of rejection than in regular situation is expected and when changing paths even more as I realize that there is a lot of big topics where I have no idea.

This makes me feel like somohow insecure and so on, I guess is part of the game. In any case your words makes me feel a little better about myself. :grin:

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Thanks for sharing your home office experiences. It was insightful for me.

Good luck on your journey into other fields of testing.

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Perhaps another consideration from the ā€˜bubbleā€™ perspective is that it feels like a bubble because not enough people are talking publicly about experiences you are facing.

I suspect there are plenty of people living in your bubble, you just need to find them, should you want to. :blush:

We could say we can create our own bubbles by talking more openly about our experiences. You creating a discussion here is one such way of doing that.

If youā€™d like to take it further, Iā€™d encourage you to consider expanding the MoTaverse by submitting to contribute. Iā€™d personally love to hear more and software testing in the automotive space is definitely a knowledge gap right now.

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Hi Rosie,

yes you right, i guess you only realize that you are in bubble when for some circunstance you need to go out form it.

By the way I just submit a request for contribution.

Best Regards

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Your post inspired me to make this visual.

image
image1015Ɨ699 49.9 KB

To avoid sitting in the bubbles, we need to communicate with others at the forums, chats, and conferences. To learn othersā€™ points of view and experiences.

The more we work in the industry the more valuable become the skill of zooming-out to the ā€œstrategic mapā€ - at the scale of the whole company, domain, industry.

Insights and breakthroughs are happening primarily at the intersections of different views.

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Another alternative picture to the static bubble could be a bubble tea.
The idea of living in a ā€œbubble teaā€ could symbolize a life that is more nuanced and dynamic, where you are exposed to different flavors (experiences, challenges, views) and constantly move between these layers. Instead of living in a static, isolated ā€œbubbleā€, you live in a more complex and diverse world where you exchange ideas with others.

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No, 6 years is not really a bubble at all. You have gained a load of transferrable skills by working on at least 2 platforms, even though these are small platforms, they are mission-critical platforms. You cannot just turn it off and on again. If they fail damage to life or equipment often occurs, or at least driver distraction will occur and create risk.

I was a programmer for 14 years, I worked on one app only, all I did was write plugins. I then moved half way around the world and became a tester. At the same time I started to connect with community. But I discovered that a lot that I had learned was very valid. and the more of it I shared, the more other people shared their valid knowledge with me. You are doing great @andres_gr . Your skills in mission-critical systems and setting up simulation scenarios for a car are very valuable outside of automotive. They transfer to many other industries.

And yes Iā€™m also one of those testers who loves a 12 power supply and lots of wires, there are Embedded tester jobs out there, I should know Iā€™m starting a new one next week. Good luck Andres.

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Thanks for your words Conrad.

For now looks like Recruiters have not same opinion but well I am just starting to dig, so patience and optimism,

best wishes.