Note: This is part a plan for the year 2016, part a vague idea for a talk (assuming anything comes of my plan of attack)
What’s a bug?
A software bug is an error, flaw, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result or to behave in unintended ways
Finding my bug
I find bugs in my day job, whether it be bugs in the actual system themselves or in the requirements before we start working on them.
At the start of 2016, I moved back into full time testing after a secondment in PM/Scrum master-y work, and realised that I both wanted to learn more skills – start looking into automation and expand my exploratory skills. I also wanted to find out my weaknesses – I wanted to make sure my foundation is strong before I build on it.
I also have a podcast, and so I’m always trying to find new things to do with that, so I figured this would be a good project for me to document there as well.
Things I know starting out:
- I really really enjoy drawing out requirements and roadmaps out of clients, and helping nail down what we need to develop in the here and now as well as possible future features to help them achieve their goals
- I don’t want to give up exploratory testing, because I really enjoy that
- I want to look into automation, to help me expand my skills
- I have a habit of doing work quickly, and not always thoroughly enough, and this is something I need to work on – that balance sometimes shift slightly in the wrong direction
- There’s many paths to being a tester, and many ways to learn
- There are also tons, tons of resources for learning
- The testing community is a haven of awesomeness, with lots of helpful people
I had all the tools. I just need to get my arse in gear.
So, a plan:
- Keep doing what I enjoy
- Keep copious notes of what I find difficult, or particularly awkward
- Have regular retrospectives, even if it’s just with me, just to check in, see what I’m doing well, and what I feel I’m not doing well
- Make time to work on things – because I want to, not because I need to
- Ask questions – especially the stupid ones
- Admit to not knowing things
- Practice Mindfulness – I’ve been getting distracted a lot at work – both with work related things and not, so I need to reel this back in where possible and focus on just the task in front of me
I’m going to make an effort to carry out this plan, as I think it will make me a better tester, and a happier person. I know Mindfulness will make me less stressed, and reconnect me with my work. I also know I’m terrible at saying no to things, so Mindfulness and regular check ins will make sure I’m not overwhelming myself (seriously, I’ve seen lots of posts about people making 2016 the year of saying yes. I’m trying to make it the year of saying ‘maybe, let me check my calendar’).
This may all come to nothing, or course, but I want to give it a try, and organise myself and my learning process.
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