Doubt Builds Trust - Elizabeth Zagroba
-
Locked
Elizabeth Zagroba
Quality Lead
Talk Description
In an uncertain world, your team wants answers. Project managers want to know when you can ship. Project owners want testing to be done. Developers want to know that youâve caught all the bugs. Testers can find jobs getting paid to assure people of a productâs quality. But I donât trust testers who always say yes, because eventually a bug gets through, a deadline is missed, or a commitment is broken. Testing is not quality assurance. I trust the tester who expresses doubt. Doubt builds trust.
In my talk, Iâll explore how safety language, specificity, and nuance should color everything about the way we work. Testing software means engaging with uncertainty, and our communication should reflect that. Saying âI donât knowâ can spark the beginning of a dialogue. Being able to admit the possibility of an unexplored path, a unknown interaction, or a fallible memory makes the difference between a team that moves forward and a team that stagnates by digging up evidence of mistaken certainty. Weâll get thinking about why itâs most important to say âI donât knowâ in an interview and how admitting doubt can help a tester find an environment where they can thrive.
Takeaways: I want to give testers the power to be vulnerable at work. Rather than staying silent, testers can start admitting what they donât know to get better explanations for themselves. If theyâre already a pro at this themselves, they can encourage their teammates to voice their questions and foster an environment where this is encouraged. Testers will be able to:
- Approach situations with humility and a desire to learn.
- Refrain from mocking or judging those who know less than you.
- Consider the privileges that allow you to gain knowledge others havenât.
Â
What youâll learn
By the end of this talk, you'll be able to:
- TBA
Elizabeth Zagroba
Quality Lead
Suggested Content
Topics
Tags
-
communication
-
influence