Inside My RoleKim Ballestrin, Dean Cornish,

Megan Dell, Nish Mahanty

Introduction

● Roles● Activities● Behaviours & lessons learnt● Summary

Roles

● Developer● Tester● User Experience (UX)● Business Analyst (BA)

Development in Agile Teams

Why be an Agile dev?

Accelerate your learning curveFast feedbackBenefit from a learning cultureMore varied, more fun

Testing in Agile Teams

● The role is different from a traditional project

● More like an analyst ● Builds thinking into the story

requirements● Still tests, however assumes

the feature already works● Focuses on Positive, Alternate

and Negative path● Looks for corner cases

The day in the life: Tester

● Checks story wall for next tasko Collaborates with BA on storieso Collaborates with Devs on

testing featureso Exploratory tests

● Reports results● Builds/maintains test automation● Manages time effectively (more

often than not- only 1 tester)

Who is a tester?● Difference between checking

and testing● Testers are mischievous folk● Professional trouble makers● Take delight in breaking things● Protects the customer from

seeing bad things by discovering them first

● “Everything is possible”: it just might be really hard.

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Quality and the Team

● Quality is the team’s responsibility

● The tester is more of an SME● Not the owner of quality● Things are changing now with

UX.● Meet Megan!

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User Experience (UX) in Agile Teams

More than just a pixel pusher!

1. Information Architecture2. Interaction Design3. Usability Engineering4. Visual Design5. Prototype Engineering

User Experience (UX) in Agile Teams

● Customer feedback● Think holistically, work iteratively● Be an active team member● Take responsibility● Regular check-ins with product owner● Challenges● BA x UX

Business Analysis in non-Agile Teams

Business Analysis in Agile Teams

Activities

● Standups and Retrospectives● Technical Practices● Discover and Ideation

Standups & Retrospectives

● Daily team meeting● Energetic● Focussed● Help others● Speak up

● Fast feedback loops

● Opportunities to improve

● Stop doing● Start doing● Continue doing

Technical Practices

Test Driven DevelopmentContinuous IntegrationDevOpsContinuous DeliveryEmergent Design

Discover/Ideation● Short duration

● Start development quickly

● Faster feedback from real Customers in the market

Behaviours & lessons learnt

Key Behaviour – be open to Learning

● Take on tasks that others are not keen to do

● Breadth of experience across roles

● Test and Learn or experimental approaches inform good decision-making

● Clarify your hypothesis before starting the experiment

Key Behaviour – be open to Learning (cont.)

Key Lessons from my career

Keep LearningBe comfortable with being uncomfortableDo what you are passionate about

Key Lessons from my career

Set yourself measurable goalsBe flexible and ready to try new thingsDon’t be afraid to speak upBe honest with your employer about your long term ambitions

Information Technology● Outcome is the result● Learning is assumed● Self learning assumed● Your path is unique to

you● Rewards are typically

intrinsic ● Teamwork + social skills● Unlimited streams of

work

How you work is important

● Don’t just do, ask why.

● Respect● Results + outcomes● Versatility● Working smarter not

harder● Many different types

of work eg. facilitation vs coding.

Managing your career

● Your career = your responsibility● Companies will have an interest in it● Some will help you develop it● Some may even influence it● Your manager’s career and your’s can

be different.● New career opportunities are always

around● Keep your interview skills and resume

up to date● Know your worth

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Find a good mentor

● Mentors can give you objective feedback

● Help you to navigate complex situations

● Can let you know about possibilities you didn't know existed.

● Don’t have to be official

Model Effective people

● Be aware of others and how they work.

● You’ll work with people who’ll blow your mind.

● Try it out. Make mistakes & learn.● You’ll never be the same as

them.● You will develop your own style.● Be courageous

Continuous Improvement

● Always be learning● Seek feedback regularly

o “3 things I can improve on”

o “Did well, not so well, improve on”

● Learn from everyone. ● The hardest things learned

are sometimes the best.

Dean

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image: http://www.intropsych.com/ch07_cognition/07learningcurve.jpg

Summary

● You can do anything● What you’re doing at first is

not likely to be what you’ll be doing in 15 years…

● Your job/role doesnt define you.