Higher or Lower? Tactics for Mastering Software Testing Estimations

Continuing my series on career growth and learning experiences, here’s another blog about another challenge I’ve faced in my career: planning and estimating testing efforts.

Maybe not in the early days, but certainly as your career in testing progresses, one thing you will be asked to do on a regular basis is estimate a testing effort. Now, this could be for a phase of testing (e.g. a UAT), or for an entire project testing effort.

Building Relationships in Consultancy

A vital part of consultancy work is building strong relationships with clients or project teams. One of the most rewarding aspects of this process is learning how to effectively address difficult or uncomfortable situations. Embracing this challenge is key to personal and professional growth.

Consultancy is dynamic and adaptive because it involves working with new individuals and loyal customers. Try viewing ‘difficult’ and ‘awkward’ situations as opportunities for creative problem-solving and innovative solutions for growth. The terms 'difficult' and 'awkward' can span a variety of situations.

Exploring the Essential Skills SDET’s need to become a Good Communicator

After reading a previous blog that covered important basics for a career in software testing, ‘What makes an Effective Test Consultant?’; it felt to me that a more detailed look at one of these areas was needed to help illustrate how important soft skills are for people starting out in this space.

Leveraging Time-Travel Techniques in Testing

I am often asked what are the biggest mistakes that companies, projects or testing teams make in execution. Well, aside from hiring me to do the testing in the first place, there is one area that does keep cropping up as being missed… thinking about and testing beyond the initial or obvious journey.

There are many labels attached to this – one of the best I’ve heard though is 3-dimensional testing. So, what do we mean by that?

Why do you test so late?

Common problems I’ve seen during my career (if that’s what you could call this collection of happy accidents), are situations where a project's timelines are placed in jeopardy because testing takes longer than expected; or the scope expands after the requirements are signed off, usually after testing starts.

Now, there may be situations where this is a genuine occurrence. Requirements change, possibly regulations change. Availability of resource may change.

The Essential Qualities of an Effective Software Test Consultant

Being involved with the selection days for our prospective SDET Graduates got me thinking about what people expect a career in testing to be and how they can be effective in this space. So, if you are considering moving into testing, what makes an effective Software Test Consultant? Good question! Wish I knew - I might have been one! 

Seriously though, that's not an easy question to answer. Every situation is different. Every client or project throws up different challenges. Testing is so broad with so many disciplines and aspects to it. However, if you are considering a career in it, some fundamentals hold true across the board. We'll try to cover some of them here...

The Role of Testing in Process Enhancement

Are you missing something with your testing? Do you know how testing can help drive process improvement as part of a project?

Ok, stop me if you’ve heard this one before, "...well we’ve always done it that way" or ‘"...well, we’ve always done it like that".

If I had even 10p for every time I’d heard either of those from a client, I’d be typing this on a Caribbean beach with Cindy Crawford bringing me half a lager and a complimentary dish of dry roasted nuts! 

Risk Based Testing - How testing can help you make the right decision

There are massive pressures associated with any IT project:

• Bonuses
• Timelines
• Reputations (individuals & the company)
• Spend already committed
• Risk
• Cost
• Time
• Old systems failing & not fit for purpose
• Cost of maintaining existing systems

Benefits of effective 'User Acceptance Testing' - nFocus Blog

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.