Working at Home - 3 State Modes

With the Government’s latest announcement to move to ‘Plan B’ restrictions amid fears of Omicron variant infections, I thought it would be good to talk about my own personal experience of working at home during the pandemic.

I’ve now been working from home since Boris made his initial announcement in March 2020, ordering people to stay at home. At the time, I was working in Manchester as a Test Manager. We had a great test team, good relationships with the clients and frequent social activities in the evenings.

Benefits of effective 'User Acceptance Testing'

The role of UAT and how it can be an important driver for quality and continuous improvement. How UAT is often misused or misrepresented - its usefulness and its limitations.

Logical Thinking: 'It's only logical, Captain' 

Being a tester requires a whole mix of skills. Nowadays, it requires as many soft skills as it does technical skills. For example, a tester should not just have the ability to find defects, they should also have the ability to present their findings.

One incredibly important attribute a tester must have and develop is logical thinking or an ability to think logically. 

Test Requirements - When the Answer is more important than the Question

Sometimes, testers are required to think outside the box. Maybe they don’t have test requirements or don’t have sufficient data; or maybe it’s simply a case of unscripted, exploratory testing. Whatever the reason, they are expected to use their testing superpower to interrogate the system and provide some answers…

Test Analyst Interview Questions & ‘Tricks’

Aftermath of the Halloween, I thought it would be good to consider if there are any ‘tricks’ to a successful interview? Over the past few months, I've drafted a selection of interview question templates to standardise the nFocus interview process. As part of this process, the templates have been used successfully to identify quality test resource for several clients who are now part of the nFocus team. Congratulations to those now hired!

DevOps Process Flow - 8 Stages

The words DevOps Process Flow refers to the continuous momentum achieved using the blended functional pipeline activity performed by a dynamic team. The team will typically be made up of solution architects, programmers and testers, plus other key roles. There are of course distinct activities which drive any substantial delivery. There are 8 core stages to a successful DevOps.

Purpose of Software Testing = Success 

"Why should we care about Software Testing?" is a common question asked of software testing, especially in companies that are becoming more mature in their software development. Perhaps when the company was only managing one or two small websites, testing wasn’t a major consideration and developer testing was adequate. However, as the sites grow and the company starts to develop more advanced applications, then testing needs to become more of a priority.

Applying the 7Ps Framework to Testing in an Agile Environment

If you are looking to find a way to capture the essence of what your testing within an agile project should look like, the 7 Ps approach can work really well. Not only can this approach help you to define the essence of your testing without being overly prescriptive, it has the added benefit that it can be used to involve all stakeholders, either in single or multiple sessions.

DevOps Teams - GitLab's 2021 Global DevSecOps Survey Feedback

Is your organisation taking a long time to implement DevOps?

Don’t worry, you are not alone! GitLab held a survey for the fourth year in February-March, they asked DevOps teams to tell the truth about their practices, processes, challenges and careers. I have no doubt that many of you will recognise the results of the survey within your organisation. 

Software Testing Framework: How-to Guide 

Welcome! Today, I am going to blog about the things to consider when setting up software testing as a framework within an organisation with no existing test capability. Read on, to learn more…

A great starting point is the who, why, where, what and when approach. These things will enable you to create a plan about how you begin and what else you need!