Back in 2011, I approached Rob Lambert at the Software Testing Club on a small series, packed into a narrative format as I wanted to try that out. Rob decided to run that series on the Software Testing Club back then, and I had some fun writing it. Skip forward 11 years, and the Software Testing Club no longer exists, it’s been a while since I have been in touch with Rob, yet I figured, let’s see how this series aged over the years. As a sort of throwback Friday for myself, I will publish the entries on a weekly basis, and read along with you. I think I ended up with eight chapters in the end and might add a reflection overall at the end. In case you want to catch up with the previous parts, I published these ones earlier:
Continue reading The Deliberate Tester – Chapter 2: Facing the Business with AutomationRant: I f$%&ing hate working remotely!
Just to set the tone straight: I hate traveling for work just like the next person. But today, I’m covering why I hate working remotely even more than that.
Remembering Jerry: Becoming a technical leader
It’s been four years since – sadly – Gerald M. “Jerry” Weinberg passed away. Ever since then, I struggled with some public mourning about him, until recently I had just the right idea. In the coming weeks, I will publish a review of a book I read that Jerry either wrote himself or is about some of his work. I struggled with the order I want to go for these books, chronological, topic-wise, in the order, I read them. Even after consulting my network, I don’t have a clear picture there, so I will basically just go with “whatever I want to do this week”. So, the first book I picked is Becoming a technical leader – An organic problem-solving approach published by Dorset House in 1986.
The Deliberate Tester – Chapter 1: Session-based exploration
Back in 2011, I approached Rob Lambert at the Software Testing Club on a small series, packed into a narrative format as I wanted to try that out. Rob decided to run that series on the Software Testing Club back then, and I had some fun writing it. Skip forward 11 years, and the Software Testing Club no longer exists, it’s been a while since I have been in touch with Rob, yet I figured, let’s see how this series aged over the years. As a sort of throwback Thursday for myself, I will publish the entries on a weekly basis, and read along with you. I think I ended up with eight chapters in the end and might add a reflection overall at the end. So, without further ado, let’s follow Peter’s tester journey along while he gets familiar with session-based test management.
Continue reading The Deliberate Tester – Chapter 1: Session-based explorationWorking on overcoming Imposter Syndrome
For a couple of years now, I saw conference talks on the imposter syndrome coming up every now and then, from different people in the field. Ever since I started to deal with my own “manipulator”, I figured it could be helpful to some people out there interested in trying the first steps in overcoming imposter syndrome on their own. Please note that the following has helped me in my journey. I don’t dare to say this will work all the time for everyone. It worked for me. So, maybe someone else is similarly as weird as I am, and it helps that person, too.
Continue reading Working on overcoming Imposter Syndrome“I’m an architect.’
A few years back, I ran a public course in Düsseldorf, Germany. While looking through my options for one of the evenings, I noticed a public Coding Dojo run by the Softwarkskammer group there and decided to have some coding fun in the evening. During the dojo, I had an experience with one of the attendees that I keep on sharing every now and then.
I think I wrote up on this a while ago. Since I keep on referring to that experience, I thought maybe a reflection on what I think happened a few years later, might be helpful.
Continue reading “I’m an architect.’Team interaction pattern: the ambassador
A couple of times, I found a particular pattern of interaction from a team with some other group (or team) useful. I would not recommend it all the time, but there appear to be appropriate use cases every now and then. Since I didn’t cross similar thoughts in the Team Topologies book, I thought it useful to write up as inspiration for others. Let me introduce the ambassador to a team.
Continue reading Team interaction pattern: the ambassadorFollow-up on: How do you automate tests through the GUI?
This blog entry is a follow-up answer I got after my tutorial session on ATDD/BDD at the recent SoCraTes conference in Soltau, Germany (YAY! We’re back to conferring in person!) After showing the participants how I struggle with a new (to me) ATDD/BDD testing framework, raw and unscripted, alongside answering questions raised by the attending participants, one person approached me with a question that I could not answer on the spot directly since I needed a break. Although I offered to get back to me later during the conference days, we never got to chat again. Maybe this might be of some help to others.
All that said, the question raised as I recall understanding it was something like this:
How would you test an application on the user interface? We have this old application, pretty old, and we just seem able to hook examples exemplifying business rules by going through the GUI.
My elobarate answer(s) and perspective(s) are the following.
Continue reading Follow-up on: How do you automate tests through the GUI?Agile “What if”s
Stick around long enough in the nerd space, and you may come across the list of programming languages described as “what if”, i.e. “Java – What if everything was an object”. Maybe it’s the end of the year reflection period we find ourselves in, maybe it’s my brain working through food coma, but I can’t stop applying the general idea to some things in the Agile space right now, and have to get them down. I’m pretty sure, I crossed that idea at someplace else in the past few months, so here’s my take on the Agile “what if”s.
Continue reading Agile “What if”sFear of the mask
“1, 2, 1, 2, is this thing on? Alright, let’s go.”
(sung to Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden)
I am a man who walks alone
And when I’m walking a dark road
At night or strolling through the parkWhen the wave begins to change
I sometimes feel a little strange
A little anxious when it’s askedFear of the mask
Fear of the mask
I have a constant fear that something’s always near
Fear of the vax
Fear of the vax
I have a phobia that someone’s always thereHave you run your body down the hall
And have you felt your neck skin crawl
When you’re searching for the sight?
Sometimes when you’re scared to take a breath
At the middle of the room
You’ve sensed that something’s on to youFear of the mask
Fear of the mask
I have a constant fear that something’s always near
Fear of the vax
Fear of the vax
I have a phobia that someone’s always thereHave you ever been alone at night
Thought you heard gasps behind
And turned around and no one’s there?
And as you quicken up your pace
You find it hard to breath again
Because you’re sure there’s someone thereFear of the mask
Fear of the mask
I have a constant fear that something’s always near
Fear of the vax
Fear of the vax
I have a phobia that someone’s always thereFear of the mask
Fear of the mask
Fear of the mask
Fear of the maskFear of the vax
Fear of the vax
Fear of the vax
Fear of the vaxReading conspiracy theories the night before
Debating witches and folklore
The unknown troubles on your mind
Maybe your mind is playing tricks
You sense and suddenly eyes fix
On dancing shadows from behindFear of the mask
Fear of the mask
I have a constant fear that something’s always near
Fear of the vax
Fear of the vax
I have a phobia that someone’s always thereFear of the mask
Fear of the mask
I have a constant fear that something’s always near
Fear of the vax
Fear of the vax
I have a phobia that someone’s always thereWhen I’m walking a dark road
I am a man who walks alone