Bridging the Gap: From Developer to Tester

There is often a divide between those who write the code and those who verify the solutions. These organizational silos act as barriers to efficient communication and collaboration. This year, I decided to leave my role as a senior software architect to join my company’s software testing team. It confused many people, especially other developers.

I believe that any developer would benefit from greater understanding of the current testing culture and techniques.

In this presentation I share:

* My story on what caused me to bridge the gap, in hopes that it helps testers build bridges to strengthen relations with developers
* Insights on how to entice developers to listen more actively to testers' results, which testing skills inspired me to want to learn testing
* What aspects of the tester culture might lead to new recruits.

Transcript

1. Bridging the Gap Or: Why I Left Being a Senior Software Architect to Join the Testing Team All copyright belong to their respective owners. Images and text owned by other copyright holders are used here under the guidelines of the Fair Use provisions of Copyright Law. by Jonathan Clarkin
2. THE FOLLOWING PRESENTATION HAS BEEN RATED TESTERS STRONGLY CAUTIONED PG-13 SOME MATERIAL MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13 EARLY CAREER IGNORANCE PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS LEARNING & GROWTH Twitter @_jrwc http://about.me/jclarkin
3. Solve it with Math!
4. Testers Developers
5. Software Quality Moral Hazard A situation where a group can take risks knowing they will not incur the costs of their choices.
6. Listen to Testers
7. Proximity
8. . . . my precious code . . . is broken
9. Testers & Developers at Tanagra... … when the walls fell
10. Proximity opens opportunities for empathy
11. Terminology
13. That’s one helluva bug! Really? More like an Expectation Mismatch
14. Choose terms that increase cognitive ease
15. Tools
16. Me and my trusty utility belt
17. I can use SFDIPOT ? Even CIDTESTD! It depends on your context
18. Unmask tools to entice developer interest
19. Learn About Testing
20. Schools of Testing
21. Let’s find the flaws Let’s find the flaws Let’s find the flaws Let’s find the flaws Let’s find the flaws
22. Analytical School Quality School Factory School Agile School Context Driven School
23. Explain test culture variation using the Schools Model
24. Reframe the term ‘Testing’
25. If testing means questioning… ? … then testers are scholars for stakeholders !
26. Context Driven Testers are Listeners, Explorers, Reporters
27. Leap Across the Gap
28. Diversity
31. Diversity enriches the conversations of the community
32. Community
34. CDT crowd is a welcoming evolving family
35. Learn Leap Listen Proximity Terminology Tools Schools Model Testing Reframed Diversity Community
36. So much to unlearn... Guidance, I can offer
37. THANK YOU This is not a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s memory. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is not entirely coincidental. All copyright belong to their respective owners. Images and text owned by other copyright holders are used here under the guidelines of the Fair Use provisions of Copyright Law.
38. Bridging the Gap - Open Season