Richard Turrall
Richard is our Test Consultant who have over 20 years' experience in software testing, starting with Capgemini back in 1998. He has spent the last 14 years as a Contractor and his career has spanned a wide range of industries including utilities, healthcare, finance and logistics.
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.
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Topics:
Software Testing,
Test Teams,
SDET
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?
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Topics:
Software Testing,
Temporal Testing,
Time Travel Testing
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.
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Topics:
Software Testing,
Software Development Life Cycle,
Early Testing
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...
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Topics:
Software Testing,
Software Testing Consultancy,
Tech Roles
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!
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Topics:
Software Testing,
improve software testing,
Software Test Process
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
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Topics:
Software Testing,
Risk Based Testing,
Decision Making
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.
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Topics:
Software Testing,
User Acceptance Testing,
UAT