Without delving  into the reasons of why this post has erotic overtures to it and why have I used the perpetually cliched word “passion” in a software testing article,please let me share my thoughts on what erects my testing man hood.

Only two reasons ::

1.Software that is “shipped”

2.Passionate testing work(with heavy collaboration & symbiotic gains from/to other teams) that leads to the climax(of software being shipped)

I have a passion for testing,which I can equate(in terms of intensity) to the worldly desires of the carnal kind.

That has led me to compile a list of thoughts which have helped me realizing & savouring this passion.

And I have pompously named it “the erotic school of testing”.

As a side note,it is not my intention to take the testing world by storm with my school of testing,(I must humbly accept that I would need Natalie Portman by my side to advert that)this is just an effort to maybe inspire obscure testers like me to come out and start believing in their own schools of testing and that belief in their work,is,really is,the only thing that matters,sigh!

Okay back to the point now.

Why shipping software is so alluring to me ? And what “testing stuff” that I have experienced(and implemented) ,helps teams achieve that passion.

• Shipping software is what we are paid for
• There is no room for “putting our feet up,once we have delivered the best release”
• Because of above we will never stop churning out software
• Nobody can (really)tell whether it is a success or not until it goes out
• My Test team is not here to satiate engineering yearnings
• My Test team is not here to here to bask in the glory of their marvels(bugs)
• My Test team is here to get bugs fixed
• My Test team is also here to enjoy and love their work and realize that it actually makes an impact on people(on whom it was originally intended, correctly & positively)
• My Test team does not rely on smart tools(honestly),they rely on smart persons
• My Test team knows each individual has the courage to take “the” call
• My Test team needs a platform of trust,fearlessness and democracy which supports the above
• My Test teams know that even if the above fairy tale does not exist,they have the balls to still take “the” call
• Quality might be a subjective term,but “bad” quality is not – it just is a threat to the relationship between the software & it’s user.
• Complex testing tasks are broken down into lesser complex tasks because it is easier to understand the context and stay relevant
• Understand change,context,consumer,risk of doing,risk of not doing and cost
• Understand,relish & expand your support tools
• True passionate testing work is always honest in it’s intentions
• Best reward to a tester – “We would not have taken this decision without the information that you passed on”
• Best test plan – Know(correctly) what to test and when and why ?
• Leadership is over hyped because you do not have the courage to say no to, “it is not my job”
• Paradoxically,what leadership should only do is,passionately pursue to inculcate this courage
• Leaders do not lead the team,team members lead the team ,by stepping up and driving their peers.
• An effective testing effort has an effective business reason behind it – work relentlessly hard to find that and pursue that.
• The prime skill for a tester from my school – an impregnable thick skin which does not derail you from achieving your aim.