Activity

Community Lead at Ministry of Testing
he/him
Hello, I'm Simon. Since 2003 I've had various roles in testing, tech leadership and coaching. I believe in the power of collaboration, creativity and community. πŸŽ“ MoT-STEC qualified.
The Power of Habit image
Are you a creature of habit? Alex believes you are, learn more about habits in his talk.
Start A New Habit image
The Habit Map is a perfect way of identifying our regular habits, and the likely actions we are to take through the course of the da
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
commented on:
Easter Egg with "when asked about the problem, our developers would..." image
I joined my first web startup, Trip.com, in 1998. Other than the CTO, the team hadn't even heard of testers or testing. Over time, they started writing their sly responses to any problems I showed ...
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Ady Stokes for:
1.4.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.4.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Sarah Deery for:
1.4.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.4.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
1.4.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.4.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Kat Obring for:
1.3.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.3.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Nicola Sedgwick for:
1.3.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.3.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
1.3.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.3.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Stuart Thomas for:
1.2.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.2.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
1.2.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.2.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Cassandra H. Leung for:
1.1.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.1.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
1.1.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.1.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Ady Stokes for:
1.0.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.0.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
1.0.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate image
1.0.0 of MoT Software Quality Engineering Certificate
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Ady Stokes for:
Bug congrats on delivering Module 1 of the Software Quality Engineering Certificate (SQEC). Amazing collaborative wor... image
Bug congrats on delivering Module 1 of the Software Quality Engineering Certificate (SQEC). Amazing collaborative work with Sarah Deery! πŸ†
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Sarah Deery for:
Bug congrats on delivering Module 1 of the Software Quality Engineering Certificate (SQEC). Amazing work! πŸ† image
Bug congrats on delivering Module 1 of the Software Quality Engineering Certificate (SQEC). Amazing work! πŸ†
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Sharla for:
It was a pleasure speaking with you, Sharla. Thank you for making time in your busy schedule to share what you and yo... image
It was a pleasure speaking with you, Sharla. Thank you for making time in your busy schedule to share what you and your colleagues are up to. I look forward to more conversations and collaboration.
Jack - Guardian of the MoTaverse image
Strengths: - Basically a dog (plays fetch/tug-o-war, growls, whines when we leave/greets when we return). - Faithful companion. - Hilarious. Weaknesses: - Not the sharpest tool in the bo...
Leo - Guardian of the MoTaverse image
Strengths: - Miniature lion. - Expert fly-hunter (and eater). - Cat martial arts sparring partner for Jack. Weaknesses: - Frequent vocal complainer. - Never quite mastered litter box a...
Molly - Guardian of the MoTaverse image
Strengths: - Alpha-female queen of her domain, ruler of the Tricat Kingdom (our house). - Requires no additional decoration at Halloween. - Has a whole β€œPhantom of the opera/Harvey Two-face” thi...
Cloudwatch broke the internet - again. image
Cloudflare went down again today and half the internet with it. Nothing like a global outage to remind us that we're all just one code or config change away from cup of tea time chaos.
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
commented on:
Nice one, Prav. 

You got the selfie with the legend that is Rosie Sherry! 🀳

Hope you enjoyed MoTaCon.  image
"Nice one, Prav. You got the selfie with the legend that is Rosie Sherry! 🀳 Hope you enjoyed MoTaCon. "
Memorable encounter image
How amazing to have met the Founder of MOT!
AI: "You're absolutely right" image
Meme inspired by Slack conversations with Nataliia Burmei.
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Gary Hawkes for:
Heck yeah! Bug congrats on reaching 100 community stars. I love all the things you do with the MoTaverse. Thank you. πŸ€©πŸ† image
Heck yeah! Bug congrats on reaching 100 community stars. I love all the things you do with the MoTaverse. Thank you. πŸ€©πŸ†
Dear CTO: it's not 2015 anymore image
Dear CTO: it's not 2015 anymore
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
contributed:
MoTaCon 2026 call for contributions, now open! image
You can now submit a talk or workshop idea for MoTaCon 2026
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
commented on:
Wonderful! 

So cool to represent the 99 second talks like this. 🀩 image
"Wonderful! So cool to represent the 99 second talks like this. 🀩"
99 Second Talks- TestBash Brighton / MoTaCon 2025 image
Taking Baby steps Regret joining because now I can't imagine a life without it Testing needs to happen everywhere Feedback is really important as a tester Keyboard short cuts Take a side step ...
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Rosie Sherry for:
Bug congrats on shipping MoTaverse Weekly, for the first time in years! πŸ“°πŸŽ‰ image
Bug congrats on shipping MoTaverse Weekly, for the first time in years! πŸ“°πŸŽ‰
They got the job! image
The MoTaverse was a witness to their job hunting journey.
Ito's QA Hall of Fame image
Being at Ito for 7 years, the team has been on a fantastic journey and I wanted to acknowledge and remember everyone that had been a part of that. So just thought I'd share a screen clip of our QA...
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
commented on:
Note-taking at events is such a powerful tool and one we shouldn't underestimate. 

For sure we're fortunate that a l... image
"Note-taking at events is such a powerful tool and one we shouldn't underestimate. For sure we're fortunate that a lot of talks are recorded and can be revisited later. One might think, "Ah, I need to concentrate on listening, I don't need to take not..."
My first experience of the Leeds Testing Atelier and curiosity about notetaking image
Last week, I took a trip back home to Leeds to attend Leeds Testing Atelier for the first time. What a truly great event that I can't believe is free to attend! Talks about psychological safe...
The Community's Guide to Documentation image
The Community's Guide to Documentation
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
contributed:
The Community's Guide to Documentation image
How do you capture your thoughts and discoveries? Where do you document them? How do you organise your requirements and system documentation? This collection helps answer your questions about documentation.
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
commented on:
Nice one, Petros. Great to see you all gather like that. 

Perhaps an opportunity to invite a couple of attendees to ... image
"Nice one, Petros. Great to see you all gather like that. Perhaps an opportunity to invite a couple of attendees to share their learnings about 1) What defines a good tester and 2) How AI fits into testing. They could post as a memory. "
ΜoT Athens Lean coffee at Vodafone image
The Ministry of Testing Athens team had a great LeanCoffee at the Vodafone premises. We discussed what defines a good tester and how AI fits into testing.
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
commented on:
I’m always glad to know you’re part of the MoT community.

I love that Bug mug. Ha, it's totally saying that. πŸ˜ƒ image
"I’m always glad to know you’re part of the MoT community. I love that Bug mug. Ha, it's totally saying that. πŸ˜ƒ"
That Sip of Tea - My Daily Reminder That I Belong to the MoT Community image
It's been more than a month since I returned from MotaCon but still feels like it was yesterday. Though it was a busy month for me but every morning when I see these two mugs in my cupboard, it rem...
So many ways to contribute! image
While encouraging a friend to contribute to the Ministry of Testing, I revisited the Continuous Call for Contributions. There are so many ways to contribute. Talk for 99 seconds? I can do that. Do ...
Why I Chose to Be a Director of Quality Engineering (Not QA) image
Why I Chose to Be a Director of Quality Engineering (Not QA)
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Madhuri Mittal for:
Great to see your new job post featured on the MoT homepage! πŸŽ‰ image
Great to see your new job post featured on the MoT homepage! πŸŽ‰
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
commented on:
This is wonderful news. So pleased for you, Madhuri! πŸ†

The MoTaverse continues to believe in you. Let's go! πŸš€ image
"This is wonderful news. So pleased for you, Madhuri! πŸ† The MoTaverse continues to believe in you. Let's go! πŸš€"
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Richard Adams for:
Thanks for sharing lots of interesting points in the TWiQ chat.Β  image
Thanks for sharing lots of interesting points in the TWiQ chat.Β 
Simon Tomes
Simon Tomes
awarded Oleksandr Romanov for:
Thanks for sharing lots of interesting points in the TWiQ chat.Β  image
Thanks for sharing lots of interesting points in the TWiQ chat.Β 
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