Dates have now been set for the Performance Testing courses with Scott Barber.
Scott is THE man for Peformance Testing.
There is a choice between a 1 day or 3 day course, grab them now as it could be a long wait till they come along again.
If someone knows about Performance Testing it is Scott Barber.
I'm happy to let you all know that DrivenQA is currently arranging for Scott to teach some lucky students some about Performance Testing, in Brighton, naturally!
Check out the details of the Performance Testing courses (bear in mind that a few final details still need to be confirmed).
I'm a big fan of Twitter and have personally been using it for a good few months now. The time has now come for the DrivenQA Twitter. Follow DrivenQA, become a friend and find out some cool stuff.
Many people don't initially understand Twitter and on the surface it seems quite pointless. I did too :) I'd recommend reading The Tao of Twitter and/or the Newbies Guide to Twitter.
They can be found anywhere and could cost you a fortune.
When looking to recruit a test manager, what should you look for?
It can be a frustrating experience for everyone if the right person isn't in charge of a test process or team. I speak from experience of having horrible test managers.
Non testing managerial experience
This is where someone with experience of managing a team or project is brought in to manage a test team or project. To me this just does not work because:
Knowledge, experience and passion of software testing is essential. Having a background in managing or another area of IT is not good enough!
What is needed is someone who truly understands the day to day issues that testers face and have the ability to get their hands dirty or come up with solutions. Good test managers are not scared of this.
Testers, lead testers or senior testers are promoted by default
The second frustration is the belief of testers that they should be promoted up the ladder by default. Just because you are a good tester it doesn't mean that you will be the most suitable test manager. Being able to manage projects and communicate with people are completely different skills to testing. Getting to a managerial position should not be seen as a default target.
And I'm not saying being a test manager is a bad thing, but it can be for some people!
Increasingly there are more options and opportunities for individuals to determine their career path. We all need to keep an open mind to what the big world has to offer, encourage ourselves as individuals to learn and grow in our own direction - which may not be the direction your organisation is thinking of.
I've been a co-organiser of SkillSwap Brighton for a few months now and as a team of a handful of organisers we have managed to put on some nice good events.
My time has finally come to do my own presentation on Software Testing (of course) and will be one of the many events happening at the Brighton Digital Fesitval.
In the run up to the Rapid Software Testing Course that I am running with James Bach, I will be giving you some very good reasons to attend the course.
The bookings are hotting up now (honestly!) so if you are interested, I recommend you get in touch quickly.
Reason #1 - A Christmas present for each student
I've asked James Bach to provide me a list of his most recommended books to read. Now, I have that secret list and have kept it safe. Each student that attends the course will be able to choose one book from the list which in turn will be delivered to their preferred address - in time for good ole Christmas.
It would be a way of DrivenQA thanking you.
For those of you that live or work near Brighton and want to meet testers or talk testing - come along to the next software testing meetup.
Tuesday, October 16th 2007 from 6pm at The Eagle.
I originally started the Software Testing Club as an experiment, keen to make it grow and become a useful place to visit, though was never sure it would take off.
Some good things are happening and am humbled at the fact we have reached and passed 200 members. There are people from all over the world which is a great thing.
In bullet point style here are some things that are happening:
Personally, I'm quite please with the way the Club is heading. The service from Ning is fab. Ning react quickly to support requests - the quickest resolution being within 5 minutes of sending an email. So big thumbs up from DrivenQA to Ning.
It's also quite 'cool' that some of the Ning testers are hanging out in the Club :) They are also hiring if it is of interest to anyone.
So what do you think of it all?
I've had a few request for hotel information for people coming from afar for the Rapid Software Testing course. Location of these hotels vary from a 5 - 30 minute walk from the course location.
(I do not take responsibility for any of these hotels or information, never used them, etc, etc).
