Rex Black

One development engineer told me that he “felt very depressed” after reading the risk analysis documents my test staff had prepared. I find it more depressing, however, to ignore the possibility of failure during development, only to live with the reality of preventable failure after release.

The non sequitur interview involves asking some question that seems to be analogous or related to testing. The classic example is, “Tell me how you would test a salt shaker.” I find this silly. I call this a non sequitur interview style because it does not follow that, just because someone can craft a clever tale about testing simple real-world objects, they can test complex software and systems. You are hiring a test professional, not a raconteur.

I sometimes hire people whom I think will grow into a job, but I never hire people I think are trying to con their way into a job.

People, regardless of where they are, are not widgets. They want responsibility. They want respect. They want to be valued. They want us to be interested in developing their skills and their careers, even if they work for a third-party contractor. They want feedback.

The most dangerous kind of wrong is the kind of wrong that sounds reasonable, as I've said elsewhere in this book.

Change management is seen by most system professionals as a project-wide function, not the role of the test organization. For example, Steve McConnell recommends that the project manager or the project management team establish a change control board (CCB). This board manages—monitors, assesses, and accepts or rejects—alterations in any portion of the project plan that is under change control, which includes the test plans and the schedule.

Often, keeping track of changes is the best you can do during crunch time.

You can play a more effective role within any project team, chaotic and reactive or orderly and mature, by developing and exercising the softer management skills involved in working with your team, your peers, and your managers. During crunch time especially, personal attributes such as grace under pressure, respect for your colleagues, and an even temper will serve you well, too.

I use the word laboratory deliberately to emphasize that testers must perform controlled experiments, dealing with measurements and known quantities.

Let's look at our two hypothetical companies. If you are the test manager for Winged Bytes, working on DataRocket and other servers, you will want a test lab. Environmental testing often requires thermal chambers and tables for shock and vibration tests. Electronic testing involves oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and voltage meters. Reliability testing requires keyboard tappers and accelerated life test chambers. Compatibility testing calls for a library of hardware and software. These types of test tools—especially bulky tools such as chambers and space-consuming collections of software—require a home of their own, away from general circulation.