Survival of the Fit-Tester - Adam Knight

Talk Description

There seems to be a lot of discussion in the testing community at the moment over the future of testing. Whether you believe the scale of the threats to testing are as serious as some would suggest, it would be unwise to ignore the movements that could threaten to disrupt our industry. In this talk I’ll discuss some of the trends around software testing that could place the testing role as we know it at risk and look at ways that we can improve our own chances of survival.

My own opinions have changed in recent years around how the interactions between testers and coders should be managed. I’ll discuss why and give examples of how a close tester-programmer relationship has been a key benefit to me in presenting a united front when reviewing testing needs. I’ll go on to examine whether the way that we’ve historically sold the idea of testing could be working against us and actually masking our true worth.

I’ll discuss some ideas that I have found help to show the value that testers can add outside their teams and in their wider organisations. I’ll look at key roles in our organisations with whom we can develop mutually beneficial relationships which reinforce the strength of our own positions. I’ll then suggest ways that the adoption of agile methodologies presents us with opportunities to expand our responsibilities and integrate more fully into the specification process.

In this session I will present some ideas from my own experience and hopefully generate some further ideas from the room on demonstrating our value within our own organisations.

By the end of this session, you'll be able to:

Adam