In this conversation, Richard and Vernon discuss their use of AI in their lives and then explore the topic of working at their dream companies. Richard expresses his fascination with SpaceX and the incredible engineering and technology involved in space exploration. Vernon shares his love for video games and the art and science behind their creation.

They also touch on the emotions involved in software testing and how they can be clues to underlying problems. The conversation explores various emotions experienced during software testing, including frustration, joy, fear, suspicion, and familiarity. Frustration often arises when encountering bugs or issues, while joy can be felt when using a well-designed and user-friendly app. Fear is associated with the potential for irreversible actions or data loss. Suspicion arises when recognizing patterns or past experiences that may indicate potential problems. Familiarity helps in identifying missing features or inconsistencies.

The conversation also touches on the concept of behavior-driven development (BDD) and the importance of having conversations and automating them rather than just documenting them.

#exploratorytesting #softwaretesting #testing #software #softwaredevelopment #emotions

00:00 - Intro attempt no. 1
00:50 - Intro attempt no. 2
01:16 - ⚽️ Footy
01:46 - ⚽️ Footy related preamble to the question
03:01 - Dream job question
03:36 - Space! The final frontier!
03:54 Dream Job: Working at SpaceX and Developing Software for Rockets
08:30 - Dream job: Nintendo, adventure games, and storytelling
11:54 The Fascination with Rockets and Space
17:04 - Emotions in software testing
19:41 Beyond Functionality: The Importance of User Experience and Emotions
20:10 The Role of Emotions in Software Testing
20:35 Using Frustration and Anger as Indicators of Improvement Areas
21:29 Learning and Coding: Frustration and Joy
22:36 BDD and Sweary Outbursts
23:56 The Importance of Clear User Scenarios
25:34 The Value of Conversations in BDD
26:50 - Joyful testing
28:57 Fear and Suspicion in Testing
31:14 The Anxiety of Sending Money
33:27 - Suspicion and that feeling of de ja vu
36:09 Applying Past Experiences and Patterns
37:25 The Evolution of Suspicion and Familiarity
39:27 The Role of Heuristics in Testing
41:24 The Absence of Joy in Testing
42:46 Emotions as a Guide for Testing Strategies and Approaches

Links to stuff we mentioned during the pod:

• 00:09 - Krisp
  • Krisp.ai - Noise cancelling software (not an affiliate link!)
• 00:56 - Tristan Lombard
  • Tristan's LinkedIn
  • Tristan's Twitter
• Vincent Kompany
• 03:36 - SpaceX
• 07:02 - Virgin Galactic
  • Their website
  • Historic mission which included the first women astronauts from the Caribbean
  • Antogua
• 08:34 - Nintendo
• 09:50 - Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
  • Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap wiki page
• 10:44 - The Zelda games
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past wiki page
• 12:49 - Daniel Knott
  • Daniel's YouTube channel
  • Daniel's blog
  • Daniel's books
    • Hands-On Mobile App Testing on Leanpub
    • Smartwatch App Testing on Leanpub
  • Daniel's LinkedIn
• 22:45 - Behaviour Driven Development
  • What is BDD? Doc page on cucumber.io
  • And again on the wiki page
• 24:59 - Mark Winteringham
  • Mark's website and blog
  • Mark's LinkedIn
• 25:43 - Liz Keogh
  • "Having the conversation > Documenting the conversation > Automating the conversation" Check out Slide 14 of Liz's excellent course Behaviour Driven Development
• 38:40 - Beren van Daele
  • Beren's Testsphere cards (including links where you can buy your own deck - RECOMMEND!)
  • The RiskStorming process based on the Testsphere deck for discovering risks (including using emotions!)
  • Beren's website
  • Beren's LinkedIn