Software Testing Blog

Today is Memorial Day here in the states. It’s a day when we honor those who serve our country — both past and present. At the same time, I’m mindful that our readers comes from a global community and this blog isn’t about politics or ideologies. So I’ll set aside my personal beliefs and offer up a short post about remembering those who preceded us professionally – yesterday’s pioneers and today’s mentors.

At some point along the way, each of us has had someone (or if we’re lucky, multiple people) who have guided and shaped us in the professional realm.

If you’re a tester, it may be the teachings of thought leaders like James Whitaker or James Bach, or possibly an organization like STP or the Weekend Testers. If you’re a developer, it might be an individual like Joel Spolsky or the fine folks at Slashdot that helped spark your interest. But for many of us startup junkies, it was a professor, a boss, an investor, or some other form of professional mentor. These people usually aren’t published or famous. Nevertheless, they helped make us who we are as professionals.

So take a moment and think about who has guided you in your career, either directly or indirectly. Then think about how you can do more to contribute to someone else’s journey.

For my part, I’m going to be thinking a lot more about this with my team and with our community at large. And from a personal perspective, sincere thanks to Bob, Greg and Paul for helping me to find solid footing at different points along my journey.