NORDIC TESTING DAYS

Remaining Relevantby Rob Lambertwww.thesocialtester.co.uk

IT’S THE PERSONNOT JUST THE SKILLS

Attitude.Belief.Persistence in the face of obstacles.Relentless pursuit of improvement.Alignment to the purpose.

DEREK

He’s awesome at testing. Truly awesome.

RESUME = AWESOME

He has an ISTQB, CBPBOS, APB, MIT, ATM, DTT

HE GETS THE JOB

Almost every job he goes for. He is hirable.

DEREK ISTALENTEDHowever:• He is overlooked• He quits jobs often• His contracts don’t get

renewed

DEREK IS

Hirable. And seemingly relevant.He has the right skills.

But he doesn’t have the right attitude.

STOP KILLINGMY CREATIVITYStop telling me what to build, I want to decide.

GIVE ME 6 MONTHSI’LL DELIVERWOW

TESTING IS MINE

“Fight Agile to the DEATH!”

ITSUCKS

A tester told me this once, yet his colleague was thriving in that team.

THAT’S NOT IN MY JOB DESCRIPTION

QUITTING ISTRENDY

The grass is seldom greener on the other side.

BAD WORKEXISTSNot everyone can choose to avoid bad work.

Avoiding “bad work” often means running away from change and opportunities.

IF NOT SKILLS?THEN WHAT?

Thanks to:Amy PhillipsStephen JanawayAdam Knight

Behaviours and Outcomes

10BEHAVIOURS

1. VISIBLYPASSIONATE

Show your passion in a positive fashion

EVER WORKEDWITH A HATER?Brings you down,

right?

Try not to be that person. Be a force for good.

2. BE AGGRESSIVELYOPEN-MINDED

“It seems to me that beliefs about the future are so rarely correct that they

usually aren't worth the extra rigidity they impose, and that the best strategy is

simply to be aggressively open-minded.

Instead of trying to point yourself in the right direction, admit you have no idea

what the right direction is, and try instead to be super sensitive to the winds of

change.”

Paul Graham – How to be an expert in a changing worldhttp://paulgraham.com/ecw.html

3. DRAW A FRAMEAROUNDYOURSELFDraw a frame - but don’t restrain

WHEN WE DEFINE OURSELVESWE CONFINE OURSELVES

Opportunities, business problems and learning exist between roles

4. GETSMART

Become company smartRight from the start

With a wider awareness

You will be surprised less often

Somebody somewhere is enjoying success with an

approache or process that is different to yours.

Don’t just follow the latest “trend”.

Do what your company needs doing.

Be in line with the purpose.

5. WHO’S THECUSTOMER?

Who do you work for?Who buys the service?Who uses the software?What values do they have?What do they expect from you?

FOCUS ONTHEM

Focus on meeting their expectations

6. IMPROVE THEPROCESSRelentlessly…but from your customer’s perspective

Here’s a process improvement that helped a company report

Can I have 10 volunteers please?

Improving the process is part of your job.

Here’s a (seemingly) simple way to do it:

1. Observe the process2. Fix the process3. Bring in IT

Via John Seddon - Vanguard

7. DO WHAT YOUSAY YOU WILLIf you say you’ll do it.Do it. (DOD, Feedback)Integrity is important.

8. COMMUNICATEWELL

Become uber great and learn how to communicate

Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

PurposeAudienceContext

Understanding Non-Verbal communication is a

SUPERPOWER

9. ADDSKILLS

Skill + Skill + Skill= Value

“If you think extraordinary talent and a maniacal pursuit of excellence are necessary for success, I say that’s just one approach, and probably the hardest. When it comes to skills, quantity often beats quality.”

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: By Scott Adams

Testing + Support + Technical Writing

Testing + Coding + Teaching

Testing + Management

Testing + Marketing + Coaching

Testing + Foreign Language

10. BEBRAVE• Don’t be afraid to

challenge the norms and status-quo

• Don’t be afraid to try new ways of working

TEN BEHAVIOURS1. Be Visibly Passionate2. Be Aggressively Open-Minded3. Draw A Frame Around Yourself4. Become Company Smart5. Learn Who Your Customers Are6. Improve The Process7. Do What You Say You Will8. Communicate9. Add Skills10. Be Brave

THANK YOUBlogwww.thesocialtester.co.uk

Management Coursewww.cultivatedmanagement.com

Twitter@rob_lambert

NewVoiceMediawww.newvoicemedia.com