Testing Peers

Welcome to another episode of the Testing Peers podcast. Today we talk Agile and our experiences around it

This week Simon banter borrows his banter ideas from the More Than Work Podcast. Once we move on from our banter we move on to talk about agile/Agile and what it isn't. We talk about the mindset that is needed and how transformations go badly or well. We talk about short cuts and bad implantations along with the good. 

We also share a quote from Vince Lombardi around chasing perfection 'Gentlemen, we will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it. But along the way, we shall catch excellence'. 

After talking agile we share a few useful resources - 'Agile Testing', 'More Agile Testing' and 'Condensed Agile Testing' from Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory, Agile Manifesto. Mike Cohen - Mountain Goat Software. Alsatian blogs. 

We hope you found the discussion useful and would love to hear your feedback.

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We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores

If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

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Welcome to episode 53 of the Testing Peers podcast!

In this episode, the Peers are talking about Experience – what it means to us in the workplace, how we approach working with people of differing experience, as leaders – and much more.

Before diving into the main topic, David asks the Peers to look back at experiences in our lives when we realised we couldn’t do something, or made a mistake.

Moving on, we look at a lot of questions around experience.

Does time served make you ‘better’? Should that give you seniority?

Is the importance of XX years experience in job specs misplaced?

What about competence, expertise and knowledge? Is there a direct correlation?

Is experience relevant to the context?

What about promotions and pay reviews?

We moved on to discuss times in our careers when maybe we have felt wronged within the context of experience.

Self-reflection, self-awareness, compassion, empathy and crucially communication are areas that we highlight as key when discussing around experience and how it affects a team and individuals.

We also touch on being in a position where we may have been manager to those with more experience, how we dealt with that and any tips we have.

We hope you found the discussion useful and would love to hear your feedback.

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We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores

If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

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Hello and welcome to another episode of the Testing Peers podcast. On this episode, we discuss the important and often talked about topic of Job Titles within the Testing/Quality space.

Before diving into the main topic, Chris leads with the banter and gets us thinking what our Superhero alter-ego's may be. You're in for a treat, but think it's safe to say, we won't be getting our own Marvel or DC comic/film with these... But maybe there is a new SWAG opportunity here if we can find someone to help us with designing some new images

To start the main topic, the peers all share what their very first testing job titles were. Every thing from Software QA Engineer to QA Technician (Temp) to Test Analyst and Test Engineer, so what's clear is even with all being in similar roles, there is always some randomness with the job titles. Being a gatekeeper was a big part of all of our roles and looking back now, we can all see the damage it could do to the reputation of Testing. 

We then talk about what the importance is for job titles, both internally within one company and also across the industry. There is a lot of ambiguity in job titles, partly because it's not possible to describe exactly what the role entails. 

The obvious topic comes up which is the whole debate between QA and Tester and Quality Engineer and what suits our role best.

Do we need an industry standardised set of job titles? Are there better ways to share what we do so everyone understands what we do?

What titles have you had, do the titles fit what you do?

We hope you found the discussion useful and would love to hear your feedback.

[email protected]

Twitter (https://twitter.com/testingpeers)

LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/testing-peers)

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Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TestingPeers)

We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores

If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

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Welcome to another episode of the Testing Peers podcast. On this episode, the peers discussion the topic and the ‘art’ of persuasion. Covering what we mean by persuasion, some examples of when we have used it and also discussed it from the angle of being an ally for those trying to pursuade someone.

Before we dived into the main topic, Russell took us on a crucially important tangent by asking us what our ideal breakfasts would be. Safe to say, all our choices could be covered by a buffet breakfast at a half-decent hotel, but it’s always nice to learn a little bit more about each other.

Russell and Simon start off the main conversation by asking about context and the characteristics of persuasion. Chris then shares different variables depending on the situation

Some of the top messages from the discussion include the importance of adapting your style depending on your audience and the fact that persuasion can be more effective when you have confidence and belief in your message.

We hope you found the discussion useful and would love to hear your feedback.

[email protected]

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LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/testing-peers)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testingpeers/)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TestingPeers)

We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores

If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

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Thank you for joining us once again, especially this special episode as the Testing Peers podcast reaches the milestone of 50 episodes published!

This time around the Peers are talking about the testing community.

After an intro, where we talk about other communities that we have been a part of - from sports clubs, Dad's groups and churches.

We dive into the testing community, where it all began for us - conferences, news subscriptions, meetups with special mention to EuroSTAR, Ministry of Testing and BCS SIGiST.

The Peers share what different access points we have to community and talk about what keeps us in a community.

We talk about the value of giving back to the community and the practice of feedback, the importance of safety, respect and codes of conduct in these places.

Thank you for listening and we’d love your feedback on what we’re doing here.

[email protected]

Twitter (https://twitter.com/testingpeers)

LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/testing-peers)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testingpeers/)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TestingPeers)

We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores

If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

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Hello and thank you for joining us for another episode of the Testing Peers podcast.

This episode, the Peers are exploring the oft-spoken testing mindset.

Before we get into the main section, David asks the team of any examples of where their mindset has motivated them to successfully complete something.

Then we dive in.

Does the testing mindset even exist?

What is our interpretation of the testing mindset?

Can only people with the testing mindset test?

Can you teach the testing mindset?

Can anyone test?

We recap from previous episodes some of the characteristics of testing, and ask if they really are unique to testers.

Do we confuse characteristics with mindset?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindset

We look at what motivates us, what our values are, and in a moment of reflection ask if talking about testing means you're good at testing?

The Modern Testing Principles are once again referenced:

https://www.ministryoftesting.com/dojo/lessons/modern-testing-principles

And much much more.

Thank you for listening and we'd love your feedback on what we're doing here.

[email protected]

Twitter (https://twitter.com/testingpeers)

LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/testing-peers)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testingpeers/)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TestingPeers)

We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores

If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

Support the show

Welcome to the Testing Peers this episode we discuss the term manual testing. 

Does the term simplify our craft? Is manual testing writing step by step test cases, is it using your hands, is it a low skilled job? How do we talk about testing and how does that impact perceptions? Is code just another tool to get testing done?

We discus our thoughts over a wide range angles looking at manual testing, but what are your thoughts? What does the term manual testing mean to you? Why not get in touch and let us know what the term conjures up to you!

Thank you for listening. 

Please do get in touch if you would like to know more or would like to give us feedback to help us improve and grow.

• [email protected]
• Twitter (https://twitter.com/testingpeers)
• LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/testing-peers)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testingpeers/)
• Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TestingPeers)
• We're also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores
• If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

Support the show

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Testing Peers podcast. In a show of our busyness recently, we chose our topic right before recording and it was decided on "Outside Influences to our Testing".

Before diving into the main topic, Russell asks us what our goals are for 2022 and we share everything from making a new role a success to reading more to even doing a handstand. "Peers Con" is mentioned too which is our conference we would love to find a way of running.

On the main topic, we discuss some of the things we experience outside of work which could provide an influence on our testing, Russell starts by talking about woodwork and this leads to a conversation about destructive testing which links to kids playing with toys for the first time. Parenting becomes a topic of discussion and how generally, kids will not do things in the way expected and will try things differently, this can link back to how users may do things in ways we don't expect. It then moves to talking about what happens if you give the user everything they request, does it actually meet the needs when they get the final product?

The peers cover several other topics such as scientific experiments, houses/architecture, Chinese whispers, apps we use regularly and more. What other topics do you find impact your testing? We'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for listening. Please do get in touch if you would like to know more or would like to give us feedback to help us improve and grow.

• [email protected]
• Twitter (https://twitter.com/testingpeers)
• LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/testing-peers)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testingpeers/)
• Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TestingPeers)
• We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores
• If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

We’ve found Ben from Saffron QA to be a great partner who has signed up to the vision and values that we have set out in our Testing Peers charter and we hope that you will take the time to visit and connect with him.

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Happy New Year!

2022 (not 2023, David) kicks-off with the Testing Peers talking about motivation.

The Peers chat about what it is that wakes them up in the morning, is it duty or a drive to live our best life?

Motivation from All Killer No Filler (2001), Sum41, written by Deryck Whibley, Greig Nori

We talk about how, as ever, motivation is very much down to the individual, but capture lots that motivates us

Word cloud comprised of the following: enjoy, purpose, making a difference, variety, challenge, people, building, growing, goal, autonomy, collaborating, money, work/life balance, caring, flexibility, environment, space, interaction, heard, supported, opportunity, & drive

We also touch on demotivators, such as monotony with meetings, environment, isolation and so on, as well as change and toxic environments.

Russell points us toward Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

Thank you for joining us in 2021, here's to a better year in 2022!

Thank you for listening. Please do get in touch if you would like to know more or would like to give us feedback to help us improve and grow.

• [email protected]
• Twitter (https://twitter.com/testingpeers)
• LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/testing-peers)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testingpeers/)
• Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TestingPeers)
• We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores
• If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

We’ve found Ben from Saffron QA to be a great partner who has signed up to the vision and values that we have set out in our Testing Peers charter and we hope that you will take the time to visit and connect with him.

Support the show

Season's greetings from the Testing Peers!

As with last year we tapped into our 'great' creative minds to find a Christmas-themed episode that somehow is loosely associated with software quality.

The Christmas Dinner.

Can six friends reach a consensus to create a Christmas Dinner MVP (minimum viable product)?

For this year's episode, the four regular Peers are joined once more by our good friends Shey Crompton & Beth Marshall.

As with last year, we asked our guests to nominate a charity for us to donate to this Christmas. Both Shey and Beth nominated the great Ady Stokes' Movember.

Beth breaks the ice, introducing the topic of Christmas comedy specials, before Simon leads us to the MetroRetro board he created for the main event.

The rules of the event are that we are planning Christmas dinner, as the six of us. 

The MetroRetro board has five sections to it: Setting, Starter, Main Course, Puddings & Drinks

Join us as we progress through the episode we greatly model the art of collaboration and good humour, while whiteboarding together.

Once again a great thanks to Beth & Shey for their willing participation.

An extra special thanks to all of you lovely listeners, we thank you for your feedback and interaction, and we wish you a wonderful festive time, we hope that you are safe and well.

Thank you for listening. Please do get in touch if you would like to know more or would like to give us feedback to help us improve and grow.

• [email protected]
• Twitter (https://twitter.com/testingpeers)
• LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/testing-peers)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/testingpeers/)
• Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TestingPeers)
• We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores
• If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers

Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

We’ve found Ben from Saffron QA to be a great partner who has signed up to the vision and values that we have set out in our Testing Peers charter and we hope that you will take the time to visit and connect with him.

Support the show