It's a privilege to be joined by Alan Page this week, as he takes a break from his own hectic podcasting schedule to share some lively discussion about "modern testing". We talk about trends which have been emerging over recent years, including automation, acquiring technical skills, and coaching others within our organisations.

Alan's island selections include power-pop, singer-songwriters, and a book which is like The Da Vinci Code but not terrible.

You can reach Alan on Twitter @alanpage, and you can read his blog at http://angryweasel.com/.

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We talk to Akshay Sud and Francis Ho about their approaches to automation, why it’s not something to be afraid of, and how to get started if you’re new to automation.

Ministry of Testing and Super Testing Bros have agreed to partner for a year bringing you regular pods!

This week we're (eventually!) joined from Australia by Rich Rogers, to talk about the ever-evolving definitions of quality that we utilise when building software. We chat about customer experience, having empathy for users, and Rich's recent book "Changing Times", and the Three Dimensions of Quality model that it proposes.

On the music front, Rich draws inspiration from three decades of rock, pop and dance, as we learn about the origins of his love for Sheffield United, his early days as a DJ, and which song he found a love for on the maternity ward.

You can follow Rich on Twitter @richrtesting, or visit his website (including his monthly Q&A column) at https://richrtesting.com/.

Rich's Links:

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It's time to practice the sign of the horns, as Paul Grizzaffi arrives with a feast of metal songs, all of which have lyrical tie-ins with the art of automation.

We discuss the scope and intention of automation, toolsmiths, code quality, and how testers can upskill their way to being able to produce automation which brings value to their team.

Paul can be reached on Twitter @pgrizzaffi and you can read more of his automation thoughts at responsibleautomation.wordpress.com.

Cassandra has exploded onto the testing scene in the past couple of years, and she arrives on our desert island with all guns blazing too, finding some interesting ways to push the boundaries of the podcast, which features some explicit lyrics.

We discuss some tips for recruiting testers, finding allies in the test community, overcoming your fears and meeting new people at conferences - including learning how to play Tester Bingo!

You can get in touch with Cassandra via Twitter @Tweet_Cassandra or via her website www.cassandrahl.com.

Checkout Cassandra's template cards for Tester Bingo.

Our first island castaway is Alex Schladebeck, with an eclectic selection of metal, folk, pop and hip-hop to accompany our discussion about progressing from a new tester to Head Of Quality (and the many varied steps in-between).

You'll discover Alex's pet nickname for her team, her karaoke guilty pleasure, and why she believes that testers should be "chameleons, not chimeras".

You can reach Alex on Twitter @alex_schl or at www.schladebeck.de.

Your host Neil Studd gives an introduction to Testers' Island Discs, a new podcast interviewing testers about their careers, passions and musical inspirations. Neil reveals his own five song choices, and lets you know more about getting involved with the show.

If you'd like to appear on Testers' Island Discs you can register your interest, all you need to provide is your name, an email address and your five songs.

Neil is also collating all the songs and adding them to the Testers' Island Discs playlist over on Spotify.

You can listen to and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud

Finally, to be the first to hear about all things Testers' Island Discs follow us on Twitter.

The Super Testing Bros discuss the benefits of Bug bashing or Crowd testing your product internally prior to a release, and how to get the best out of your bug bashes.

Ministry of Testing and Super Testing Bros have agreed to partner for a year bringing you regular pods!