(12/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the twelfth of a 12 part series.

As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing… “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.

My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map Testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.

Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.

“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”



A Tester is… Reverent

When it comes to Scouting, one of the core principles that we teach is that there is a power greater than ourselves. Mankind has called it many different things over the eons of our existence, and has expressed it in many different ways, but there is a common thread for all humanity to have a respect for a “higher power” and to encourage those who have such faith to explore it, understand it and to practice it to the best of their ability. In my Troop, there is a  number of different religions represented, and I make it a point to encourage all of the Scouts to do what they can to understand their religion or their faith, and make a commitment to learn it, understand it, and practice it, whatever it may be. Additionally, I teach them that it is more important to live and walk uprightly and be true to their own faith and to themselves than it is to try to convince others that they are "right' or "wrong" in what they profess or practice.


So is there a place for reverence in such a calculating and analytical practice as testing? Is there a “spiritual” element to testing? I will argue that, yes, there is, and that a tester’s spiritual walk can inform their testing. This is the area that is the least likely to hold up under cold hard facts, but it is an area that I feel has been informed in ways I’ve never been able to explain any other way. I consider one who walks in faith to be one who seeks a deeper meaning, who tries to look beyond themselves to find answers. Note that I am not saying that a particular religion is required, or that one even needs to be particularly religious to do this.


For me, reverence ultimately comes down to the word “respect”, though it also incorporates elements of “sacred” as well. Is there such a thing as “sacred” things in the eyes of a true hard nosed tester? I believe there is, and I will state that my own faith has helped inform many of my testing decisions over the years. I believe that following a “true way” helps me to organize my thoughts, reach for inspiration in moments when I otherwise could not seem to pull it together in any other way, and ultimately provide a mooring that helps me to make better decisions in all aspects of what I do, not just when I test.

Epilogue:

This brings me to the end of my comparisons of the Scout Law and what I think would be a good application to the roles that we as testers are expected to fulfill. I stated in my first post, I used the title as a bit of a gimmick, and also as a challenge to see if, indeed, there was anything that a tester would or could do that didn’t fall under some category of the Scout Law, and this experience writing about it has added to my feeling that, truly, the Scout Law really is one of the most inspired and inspiring codes of conduct that any organization could choose to follow. I don’t know if my thoughts on this (or the focus for the past two weeks) will sway anyone, but it helped solidify in my heart and mind that this is the code of conduct that I want to bring to my craft of testing.

So how about you? Are there any other aspects you would consider including? Any you would consider removing? This is a question I often ask Scouts who sit for their Eagle Scout Boards of Review. If they could take out one element of the Scout Law, what would it be, and why? Also, if they could add one element of the Scout Law, what would it be, and why? I invite anyone who would like to comment or make suggestions to do so.

(11/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the eleventh of a 12 part series.

As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing… “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.

My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map Testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.

Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.

“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”


A Tester is… Clean


Note that this is not specifically physical cleanliness , though when dealing with Scouts of a certain age, this is definitely the primary focus. It actually goes deeper than that. Clean has to do with a state of mind, a state of organization, a state of being willing to keep our conversations, our interactions and our way of speaking also clean (meaning uncluttered, tidy, polished, focused and respectful). I mention to many Scouts that it is possible to be physically dirty but have a clean heart, and the opposite is true as well, to be physically clean but become "filthy" on the inside. When faced with those options, I'll always encourage the former over the latter.


So does this have a place in the Tester’s law? Absolutely. Do we consider it important to have known states for our systems when we test (or at the very least, as close to known states as is possible, since we know that there really isn’t any way to guarantee an absolutely exact test environment for every test iteration). Keeping tests organized, keeping documentation uncluttered, and reporting in a simple, direct way enhances our craft and helps make us more credible. Additionally, it’s up to us to help each other maintain good and productive habits in our craft, which definitely comes into play whenever I think of the term “clean”. By doing things that allow us to be straightforward, showing integrity in our actions, we strengthen our credibility. Taking shortcuts and cheating so that we can get approval or meet a deadline should rightfully be looked down upon. Shortcuts rarely lead to better quality or better testing in the long run, though they might provide a brief respite here and now. We should avoid that temptation, as it “dirties” us and our craft any time we do it. Test hard, test well, and yes, test clean. I believe it’ll be worth it :).

(10/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the tenth of a 12 part series.


As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing… “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.

My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map Testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.

Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.

“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”



A Tester is… Brave

Bravery is one of the most misunderstood virtues, in my opinion. Oftentimes, Scouts get bravery confused with foolhardiness or recklessness. they feel that charging into situations is the best way to show bravery and courage. I however have tried to show them that being brash is just that, it's not bravery. It's also not just the physical challenges that are placed before them. Does it take bravery to get into a kayak and paddle down a swift river? Sure it does, but another example of bravery is standing up to others who belittle you for your practices and beliefs. I know plenty of scouts who do very well in the former category, but do poorly in the latter. While I dislike the word "cowardice", the fact is that we all have a bit of it in us. where that cowardice lies and in what capacity is something every one of us gets to discover at various  times in our lives. the things that we fear are oftentimes not associated with physical challenge or threat so much as they are with emotional areas. We can see many different areas where fear comes into play. The brave person is not the one that can stop being afraid and do what they need to do, but the one who does what they need to do in spite of the fear.



In testing, we often have the thankless task of having to tell people they are wrong, or that they have done something wrong, or to show someone, perhaps an entire organization, that they are heading down the wrong path. make no mistake, this can be difficult, and very trying on the person who must bear this news. While attitude and approach have a lot to do with how well these things are handled, bravery and courage is required. It is important to stand for what we believe in, to commit to do what we say we need to do, even when it is convenient for us to cut corners. It may not be popular to take a certain position, or we may get a lot of push back for the information we deliver. It in these times that courage of conviction must be there, where we stand by our team, our mission and our values. Just as vital in this mix is having the courage to admit when we have been mistaken or have erred in our judgment or our methods. If we have discovered we are in error, or something did not happen in a manner in which we originally said it should or would, we much have the strength and courage necessary to step up, own up and determine what we will do going forward. For many, that is far more difficult than dealing with a physically dangerous situation.


Courage is far less about feeling than it is about action. we do not show or display courage by how we feel, we display courage in what we do. It is entirely possible to go into a presentation or an important make or break meeting and be terrified of what you are going to say. You could be terrified of the repercussions of what will transpire. The question is, do you go ahead and deliver your presentation? If so, then you have shown that you are brave and that you have courage. You may sit down and feel like you are about to faint, and don't be surprised to find out you're not the only one feeling that way about that particular issue. When it comes to dealing with people that feel fear and act, versus those who don't feel any fear, I'm less trusting of the latter than of the former. Not always, mind you, different people have different fears. Still, if someone always seems to be totally fearless and rushes in as though it is nothing, I tend to be leery of that person. Someone who has doubts and fears, but perseveres through them and accomplishes their goals anyway, that's someone I'm much more willing to put my trust in.

(9/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the ninth of a 12 part series.


As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing… “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.

My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map Testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.

Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.

“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”

A Tester is… Thrifty

Thrifty is a topic that is popular today due to economic uncertainty. It's certainly much easier and much more palatable to discuss the idea of thriftiness when there are challenges as compared to when things are going swimmingly. when I talk about the idea of being thrifty with a scout, it is not only about the use of money, but also resources, time and talents. It's knowing when to get the most out of a situation without having to break the bank to do it. It's about earning ones own way and practicing good management skills to meet a goal. It's about building up a diverse series of talents and skills to draw upon so that there is always something one can do in any number of situations.

Testers, likewise, learn to be thrifty as well. For most of my career, I have not had the benefit of a large budget for purchasing tool or for getting training, or for building infrastructure to test with. Some situations have been better than others, but generally my test jobs have required me to be creative and stretch my resources and look often to places where expertise and knowledge could be received inexpensively if not outright free. Having this mindset has helped me embrace and learn to appreciate and work within the areas of open source tools, and to learn how to set them up, configure them and take advantage of what they have to offer. Virtualization has proven to be a blessing for testing, in the sense that many aspects of multiple machines can be set up on a few servers (or in my current environment and reality, one server).

While open source tools can provide a lot of benefit for low price, there is also a cost in tool-up time and learning, and sometimes that can be very expensive in the long run. To this end, understanding the value of commercial tools and what they can potentially save in the long run is also important. The "thrifty" tester wants to avoid, or at the very least minimize wherever possible, the triple specters of monetary debt, time debt and what has been described by many other testing bloggers as "technical debt". these are challenges that require discipline, and require focus and continual learning. A thrifty tester respects both money and time, and realizes that tools and scripts will not solve all problems. there is no magic bullet or special sauce that will solve all problems. testers must make choices all the time in where they will apply their efforts and how they will be most effective. Thrifty testers do what they can to maximize those efforts as efficiently and inexpensively as possible

(8/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the eighth of a 12 part series.


As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing… “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.

My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map Testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.

Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.

“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”

A Tester is… Cheerful

When I talk to Scouts about Cheerful, it doesn’t mean that I say “be happy all the time”, because that isn’t realistic. The cool thing is, though, that when I look at most Scouts, they are naturally cheerful. It’s hard to keep them down. There’s a natural optimism that exists with them and in most cases, life tends to just roll off of them. Scouts tend to want to have opportunities, and to explore those opportunities. Given that state, it’s fairly easy to remain cheerful and upbeat. Even when life gets in the way, so long as the opportunities exist, and there’s a chance they can go out and pursue them, Scouts tend to keep their focus, enjoy what comes their way and make the most of the situations at hand.


As testers, don’t we tend to want the same things? I don’t expect the world to go my way every day every time, but I want to at least have the opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t. Given opportunity to advance and learn and grow and get involved with projects that challenge me, I tend to stay cheerful and optimistic. Are there times that that cheerfulness and optimism gets tried? Absolutely, but I also feel that pessimism has no place in the tester’s attitude. I realize that may sound strange… how can there be no pessimism when a tester’s very existence is to find out what’s wrong with a system? What I mean is that, while we are trying to determine if there are issues, that’s not our sole focus, and really shouldn’t be. If we get into the trap of only focusing on the negative aspects of a product, we tend to start viewing ourselves and our jobs negatively. We are the troublemakers; we are the ones that always find the problems. We are the ones that are seen as the hindrance to products not being released on time. It’s easy to get a sense of pessimism if we are not careful. In my view embracing the “Law” of Cheerfulness goes a long way towards preventing or at least deflecting those feelings and attitudes. Even if others want to view us by those stereotypes, there’s no rule that says we have to view ourselves the same way.

(7/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the seventh of a 12 part series.

As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing…  “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.

My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map Testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.

Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.

“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”

A Tester is… Obedient


I am willing to bet there are a few eye-rolls on this one. This is a word that as adults, we tend to chafe at. We want to say that we “question authority” and that we can think for ourselves. Obedience is often lumped in with puppies and small children, and an attitude of “do what you’re told!”. I’m going to argue that that is not real obedience, and I certainly do not advocate blind obedience.

When I refer to the Scout Law and say “a Scout is obedient”, I am referring to such things as the rules of being part of their families, schools, sports teams and yes, troops. In addition, Scouts also obey laws set by their communities and countries. If they feel that the rules and laws are unfair or unjust, they work within the system to have them changed, in a civil and orderly manner, rather than just choosing to not obey the rules. Blind obedience, doing what you are told and never questioning why, is every bit as bad as blindly rebelling (thinking of Marlon Brando’s character in “The Wild One” where the woman in the bar asks “what are you rebelling against” and he says “what have you got?”). Scouts who are allowed to question authority and assert a bit of independent thought and action are more likely to form a solid ethical foundation for their future, more so than those who just follow the rules, without question.

Likewise, testers who are allowed to question premises and test against the boundaries of situations are likely to find more problems than those who just “follow the script” they have been given. Testers need to see the big picture; without that big picture, they will find themselves stuck in a trap, testing without understanding what or why. Once a tester knows what they need to test for, however, they need to be able to determine an authoritative answer for their findings. Test oracles are set up so that we can make legitimate comparisons, and based on those oracles, we can say whether a system works or a system doesn’t work. For that determination, we have to be willing to set up the rules that we need to define the test, and then we have to follow those rules to ensure an accurate result. I would hazard that few testers would argue that “being obedient” in those situations is a bad thing :).

(6/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the sixth of a 12 part series.



As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing…  “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.


My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map Testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.


Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.


“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”



A Tester is... Kind

When I speak to Scouts about the meaning of the word "Kind", it is of the idea that they understand that there is "strength in being gentle". They treats others as he wants to be treated. They do not hurt or kill without reason. These phrases are often used to discuss a scout's endeavors in the wild. When out on a campout, it's common to go fishing and to catch fish to eat at the campout. That's not being unkind, that's doing what one does to get food. Willfully going out and bashing a bird or an animal with no reason (i.e just for the fun of it) would be seen as unkind. Likewise picking on someone else would also be seen as being unkind. 

Why do I liken this to the Tester?  It's great fun to poke holes at a product, and it can also be fun to give developers a hard time for their mistakes. However, karma can be really hard on people, and many times, unkindnesses have a way of being remembered and often redressed. When we find something out of place or not working correctly, it's rarely approppriate to crow from the rooftops that we have found something truly awful. Do development teams need to know that information? Absolutely they do, but they do not need to be subjected to ridicule and/or derision while bad news is being delivered. I've seen some crass attitudes from some testers over the years, and sadly, the most crass of them have come from environments where testers have been treated like second-class citizens in their respective companies.

Notice, one unkindness often begets another, and so on. Given the choice, I would certainly not like to work in that kind of environment, so I want to strongly encourage any testers out there, whether you have been treated unkindly by others, resist the urge to follow suit. A little kindness goes a long way, and for those environments that don't reciprocate, do yourself a favor and get out of those organizations and find one that will. Life's too short to foster bad blood.

Note: I will be taking a break from this series tomorrow so I can stay on track with my book reviews. Part 7 will appear on Thursday :) ).

(5/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the fifth of a 12 part series.


As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing…  “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.


My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map Testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.


Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.


“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”


A Tester is... Courteous

Courteous comes down to a simple phrase... be polite. That doesn't mean that you have to be a wet rag and not state an opinion, or tell it like it is, but you can and should do it in a way that shows respect and courtesy for the person or organization you deal with. The opposite of courtesy is disrespect and arrogance, and having had my share over the years of dealing with developers and testers that have exhibited plenty of disrespect and arrogance (and hey, I am certain I've exhibited my fair share a time or two as well) I'll gladly and much more willingly work on the "Courteous" side of the coin.
 
There are times where our best intentions come off as being rude and obnoxious. I had an experience like this regarding one of the developers on a team I was working with. I had gotten into the habit of stopping by his cube when I'd found something interesting, as this was the dynamic we had fallen into. I thought I was being helpful by telling him about the various things I was finding, and since we sat near each other, it just seemed like the easiest way to communicate the issues. Well, with time and familiarity, I continued to do this, until one day I received an IM message where the developer basically said "dude, could you lay off the snarky comments about the code? It's really starting to get annoying!"
 
This was an example of where I realized I'd crossed the courtesy threshold. It was unintentional, and it was all a part of "improving communication", but I realized as we worked through this his perception of my "being helpful" was turning out to be anything but. Because of that, I decided that I could do us both a favor by just using the issue tracking database (which I was doing anyway) and just leave the casual commentary about my findings out of it. Fortunately, the developer in question and I had a good relationship, and he was able and willing to come out and say I was being a jerk. I also was willing to step back and say "yeah, I am being a jerk".
 
Being courteous is more than just the obvious "be polite" or "be professional" stance. It's really doing our best to understand where the other person is coming from and making our best efforts to show respect and to be a help to the people we work with rather than a hindrance  It's knowing when to step in and give a hand, and knowing when it's OK to let someone work through something so that they can learn and develop the skills they need to. It works upwards and downwards, with senior staff and with junior level interns. It's having a conversation where you can disagree without being disagreeable. Mostly, it comes down to showing those you work with that you respect them, and that you deserve respect in kind.

(4/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the fourth of a 12 part series.


As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing…  “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.


My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map Testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.

Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.


“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”


A Tester is... Friendly


From the Scout Handbook - "A Scout is friendly. A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He offers his friendship to people of all races and nations, and respects them even if their beliefs and customs are different from his own."


Testing likewise builds on the same philosophy. there are those who do not understand what we do and all too often belittle or demean our craft. Is animosity going to win anyone over to our side or our way of looking at things? Generally, no. We are much more apt to encourage directions of development and policy where applicable when we try to do it in a spirit of friendship and friendliness. If we have a differing view, we should be willing to discuss it rationally and give others that same opportunity to do the same. Forcing others to see our view or belittling their efforts in kind, perhaps because they belittled ours first, does not give us many opportunities to change things.


Testers should be focused on working with others, and be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt unless or until they prove not worthy of it. This is not to say that testers should be passive and not stand up for what we believe in or feel is appropriate, but there are ways in which we can do it that are nost specifically antagonistic. If testers pre-judge based on previous background, prejudices or other means that don't have any bearing on the tasks or projects at hand, they are setting themselves up for failure, or at the very least, working at less than optimum effectiveness. Yes, I'm saying go out on a limb and expect that others will treat you in a friendly manner if you do so as well. Seem like total common sense? Yeah,. I think so, too, yet I am astounded at times to see the rancor and bile that occasionally has built up between development and test organizations. It doesn't have to be this way. It is possible to express deeply held opinions and do so in a manner that preserves a relationship. It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable. While it's possibly too much to ask that we become friends with everyone we work with, I feel it certainly helps to start from that premise.

(3/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the third of a 12 part series.

As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing…  “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.


My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.



Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.


“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”

 
A Tester is... Helpful
From the Scout's Perspective we encourage the interpretation of  "A Scout is helpful" to refer to the fact that a Scout cares about other people. They will willingly volunteers to help others without expecting payment or reward for what they do. the phrase "Do a good turn daily" fits right into this notion.


Testers by their very definition are there to be helpful. While it's possible that some testers are deliberately malicious because of pure malicious intent, that's been a very small subsection of the testers I've known and worked with. While we do not entirely ply our trade without expecting payment or reward (hey, I have to eat, too, ya know :) ), I certainly try and encourage others to give a hand to those who need it. Most of the other testers that I have known and learned from felt the same way. Typically, if you ask a tester for help with something, we will expect you to do some of your own homework first, enough to be able to ask and answer a few searching questions. Once we know that you have done that, we as a group are very giving of our time, our talents and  our resources to others in the testing community.


Do a search for the number of testing podcasts that exist and see how many of them you have to pay for. There's hundreds of hours of instruction, encouragement and new ideas to listen to and find out there, and much to learn without spending a dime. Many testers know that if you give away what you know, others will seek you out and pay for what you know. Showing that your ideas can be had for free broadcasts that you have ideas to spare, and companies tend to respond in kind. Being tight-fisted with your time and your advice and not contributing to the community as a whole tends to isolate you and that ability and brilliance that particular tester may have doesn't get a chance to be seen by many people. Given the choice, I'd rather be one to help others. One never knows how and when those you helped may return the favor (and no, I'm not keeping score, that's not the point :) ).

(2/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the second of a 12 part series.


As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements I’ve caught myself saying the same thing… “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.

My “challenge” now is to see if I really could map testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law.

Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.


“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”


A Tester is… Loyal

When I describe the idea of Loyalty to a scout, I make it a point that he is true to his friends, scout leaders, school, and nation. He honors them and their ideals. He maintains respect for them, and he demonstrates that through action. Some would say that “greed” is the true driver of success, but I disagree. I believe loyalty has a much bigger hand in the success or failure of a venture, any venture.


I want to thank Matt Johnson over at uTest for his May 20th Blog Entry “Just How Loyal Is Your Community?”, because it emphasizes this point in an excellent way. uTest had a situation that could have easily been capitalized on and provided some short term gain for some. What was interesting was to see just how many responded to the situation and how many did what they did to rectify the situation. Testers often give many hours of their time in service to open source projects in which they get no pay for, yet still put in tremendous cumulative hours to see these tools thrive and grow. Newsgroups are full of testers commenting on, encouraging, sometimes complaining about, but usually participating in a process of improvement of their practice. Why? Because they believe in the products, services and even more, the community that supports them.


To this end, I believe it is not just important that a tester be part of the testing community (or a testing community) I believe it to be critical. People want to have something to believe in, and when they find it, they will give their loyalty to it. So long as that community stands and proves to be worthy of that loyalty, then yes, they deserve to have it and to foster it, and testers who develop loyalty to their community will reap benefits from it. The benefits, of course, are not always those that are financial or even immediately tangible, but they will benefit by increased learning and experience in ways not having that sense of loyalty will not.


Yes, I believe that Loyal deserves a place at the table in the Testers Law :).

(1/12) All I Ever Needed to Know About Testing I Learned in Scouts

This is the first of a 12 part series. I’m curious to see where this leads :).


OK, the title is a little bit of a mis-nomer, but it’s something I’ve been considering for awhile now. As many of you know, outside of testing and raising a family, my single biggest time commitment is being a Boy Scout Leader. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen and heard various presentations regarding a code of ethics around (teaching, development, testing, governance, fill in the blank). Each time I’ve heard or read these statements, I’ve caught myself saying the same thing… “If everyone just lived by the Scout Law, we wouldn’t need this patchwork blanket of ethics rules and codes of conduct”.


Well, leave it to me to shoot my mouth off, because someone actually took me up on it. So my “challenge” was to see if I really could map testing to the Twelve Points of the Scout Law. Thus, each day, I will talk about a section of the Scout Law and relate it to testing.


Note: these twelve points are those as defined by the Boy Scouts of America; while the Scout Law is similar in all countries that have Scouting movements, the wording is often a little different depending on the country.


“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent”

Part 1: A Tester is… Trustworthy

When we talk about trustworthiness to scouts, it all boils down to integrity and being someone that people can count on. It’s number 1 in the Scout Law, and I believe it needs to be #1 in the Tester’s Law, too. At the end of the day, a tester’s integrity and credibility is their greatest asset, beyond domain knowledge, beyond tool skills, beyond bug-hunting acumen. Testers that are effective and are given the ability to really search ultimately have to be trusted by development and management. Lose that trust, and it’s very hard to get it back.


I like to encapsulate this with a quote from Larry Winget: “Do what you said you would do, when you said you would do it, the way you said you would do it”. Tester’s must be accountable, they must be willing to speak the truth, and they must be willing to own up when they make a mistake. They also have to stand their ground when asked to take a shortcut, or at the least, go on the record as saying “This is a shortcut. You realize we are missing key areas by not doing [X]”. Our credibility will carry us or it will sink us. The worst situation for a tester to be in is to be where they have lost their credibility and the development team’s trust. Safeguard it at all costs, even if it means making unpopular decisions or irritating people. I’d rather people know that they can count on me than worry about if they like me at that given moment.