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Critical Thinking: The Skill AI Cannot Replace in Testing - Tara Walton
Your users will find the bugs if your QA team doesn't.
📘 Free e-book: The 7 success factors of software testing. 25 years of project experience in one 33-page workbook, now also in English 👉 Get it for free
"It's toxically positive. Everything you say to it, it'll go, you're right. That's amazing. Thank you for pointing that out. Even if you are dead wrong." - Tara Walton
What does a tester actually need right now, when AI tools are everywhere and QA teams keep getting cut? With Tara Walton I talk about why communication and the fundamentals of testing matter more than ever, and why being the best bug-finder in the room means nothing if you can't explain what you found and why it counts. We get into how AI's "toxic positivity" makes critical thinking a skill you have to practice deliberately, and what it means that when you remove QA, your users become your first line of defense. I also ask Tara about career direction, and her answer comes back to something simple: follow what makes the light bulb go on, then go deeper into that.
Tara Walton has spent over a decade as an Automation Developer writing test cases and delivering automated results for clients. She recently moved into the DevRel side of DevOps. Though spending most of her time in APIs and teaching quality as a practice, Tara is a staunch advocate for accessibility and user experience. When not achievement hunting, she tackles RCA on software bugs and failed projects. Having dual degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science, Tara also enjoys classic ballroom dancing, Dungeons and Dragons, karaoke, and sharing experiences at global conferences.
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By Richard Seidl | Software Development & Testing ExpertYour users will find the bugs if your QA team doesn't.
📘 Free e-book: The 7 success factors of software testing. 25 years of project experience in one 33-page workbook, now also in English 👉 Get it for free
"It's toxically positive. Everything you say to it, it'll go, you're right. That's amazing. Thank you for pointing that out. Even if you are dead wrong." - Tara Walton
What does a tester actually need right now, when AI tools are everywhere and QA teams keep getting cut? With Tara Walton I talk about why communication and the fundamentals of testing matter more than ever, and why being the best bug-finder in the room means nothing if you can't explain what you found and why it counts. We get into how AI's "toxic positivity" makes critical thinking a skill you have to practice deliberately, and what it means that when you remove QA, your users become your first line of defense. I also ask Tara about career direction, and her answer comes back to something simple: follow what makes the light bulb go on, then go deeper into that.
Tara Walton has spent over a decade as an Automation Developer writing test cases and delivering automated results for clients. She recently moved into the DevRel side of DevOps. Though spending most of her time in APIs and teaching quality as a practice, Tara is a staunch advocate for accessibility and user experience. When not achievement hunting, she tackles RCA on software bugs and failed projects. Having dual degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science, Tara also enjoys classic ballroom dancing, Dungeons and Dragons, karaoke, and sharing experiences at global conferences.
Highlights: