The Evil Tester Show - Software Testing and Development with Attitude

Manual QA is Dead

Software Testing is going through a time of change. This episode explores how we can adapt. Manual QA is dead. Companies are getting rid of their QA teams. Quality Control performed manually is phasing out of style. What can we do instead? Become coaches, assistants or advisors? We could become developers? Or we could be better testers. QA and Quality Control is not Testing. This might be how people learn.

Test Automation Biases

Software Testing is highly contextual and requires flexibility in our approach and thinking. But we are only human and sometimes we have beliefs and biases that limit our approach. In episode 16 of The Eviltester Show we are looking at Test Automation Biases, what they are, how to avoid them, and how to evaluate your own biases. 00:00 What is an Automation Bias? 00:29 Treat all opinions as biased 01:50 Automating a GUI is Slow and Flaky 03:36 Automate through the API 05:23 Code Free Automating is Bad 06:17 Tool X is Better than Y 07:04 Postman is Better than Insomnia 08:54 Python is Better than Java 10:24 Seeing Through Biases 12:52 Try it, then decide 13:17 Page Objects vs Screenplay 14:52 Take Responsibility 16:11 External Experience 17:02 Start Small, Make Progress 17:50 Do not ignore issues 20:34 Be Real rather than Believe 21:18 Keep Options Open 22:48 Be Aware of your biases 23:19 It takes time

Exploratory Testing Government Guidance

Software Testing is often a proprietary process where we never share how we are doing it. Governmens are an exception because they make public a lot of documents explaining what they do and how they do it. In this episode we have a discussion of a UK government guide to exploratory testing. https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/technology/exploratory-testing The aim is not to criticise the document, the aim is to use it as a base from which to see how far our thoughts diverge or overlap with the document. I want to know what I can learn. Show notes are here: https://www.eviltester.com/show/015-exploratory-testing-gov/ This podcast, was originally released to Patreon supporters in January of 2019, https://patreon.com/posts/what-is-testing-23907385 I read through the document and try to understand the intent and meaning behind statements and offer my own thoughts.

Recruiting Testers

Software Testing is a hard activity to recruit for,.Recruiting Testers is hard. What we want to do is minimise the friction and barriers. In this podcast I'll share some tips on what has worked for me in the past. - remove as much ambiguity from your job spec as possible   - someone like me, will read 'the worst' into your ambiguity - send clear messages, not mixed messages, in the job spec - help the applicant filter out roles that are not suitable for them - when writing a job spec, review existing job specs in the world, critique them and then build on what is best from those - start with a phone interview, never start face to face - some people bluff, some people offer general answers   - your job as an interviewer is to help them answer specifically and ask for more information when you want it - Interviews as auditions, held by someone who knows how to do the activity being auditioned - audition hands on with the actual code, or the actual system - use your best people for the interviews, not just anyone that is free Show Notes: https://eviltester.com/show We have more posts in our recruitment category: - https://www.eviltester.com/categories/recruitment/ And our Career category: - https://www.eviltester.com/categories/career-advice/ This video was originally released as a Patreon exclusive video back in January 2019 - https://www.patreon.com/posts/recruitment-tips-23896867

How to Get a Job In Software Testing

What can someone in Software Testing do to improve their chances of getting a job? That's what we consider in Episode 013 of The Evil Tester Show covers "How To Get a Job in Software Testing". - Getting a Job is different from Doing the Job - Persistence is key to getting a job - Build an online portfolio on LinkedIn - Apply for jobs slightly out of reach - Amend your CV for each job that you really want - You do not need to code to Test Software - You might need coding skills on your CV to pass the interview filter - Demonstrate that you can test software, even if you are looking for your first job in software testing. Shownotes are available from https://eviltester.com/show This is an audio/video episode and the video version is available on youtube: https://youtu.be/QB8n5RXTV10 Direct Show Notes Link: https://www.eviltester.com/show/013-how-to-get-a-job-in-testing/