Software Testing Blog

This is the second half of our recent interview with Andrew Muns (@amuns), the president of Software Test & Performance.  Today, we’ll cover his thoughts on how testers can get more respect, predicting STP’s future, and who would win in a fight between James and Jon Bach.  If you missed it, check out the first half of the interview.

uTest: Testing is often viewed as a behind-the-scenes profession. What can testers do to bring their craft to light and make sure others understand the value?

A: Upper management at most companies may never truly understand what a test department contributes, especially since a contribution by definition goes unnoticed (i.e., something worked as expected.)  To me this sounds like a cultural issue: how to translate the value of testing into manager-speak.  Managers like things they can measure, so speaking their language means associating a measurable value on something vital but difficult to observe.

Software Test & Performance magazine has written many features on this question, but as a manager more than a tester, here is one argument I like (that applies more to consumer-facing applications): explain QA as a marketing function.  How much does your company spend on marketing?  Why would testing merit less investment?  I bet your company would spend a lot to spread positive word-of-mouth from users.  Shouldn’t management be willing to spend the same amount or more to avoid negative word-of-mouth?  As United Airlines learned after breaking a customer’s guitar, negative word of mouth can be viral.

Critically, neither this argument, nor any other, will be made if testers themselves don’t make it!

uTest: Is James Bach really as smart as we think he is?  Who would win in a fight between him and his brother, Jon?

A: James is a phenomenal, self-taught polymath, and is one of the many testers I’ve met in the last year whose intelligence has impressed me.  It’s a profession that attracts some creative, analytical and multi-disciplinary individuals.

As for the fight, I have two young sons at home, a one-year old and a two-and-a-half-year old. The two-and-a-half-year-old’s twice the size, but his baby brother’s fearless!  In short, I’d never underestimate the tenacity of a younger brother.  I’m going with Jon.

uTest: Much has been made of the “fall” of traditional print media companies.  So what attracted you to enter this space?

A: One of my previous jobs was to conduct research and valuation analysis on companies in financial distress and bankruptcy, so I’m a contrarian by training.  I’m actually not a believer in the traditional print media model in general—newspapers as we know them, for example, are doomed.

That said, I believe that niche B2B media markets have the potential for economies of scale in specialty content and are well positioned to take advantage of new communications community building tools.  B2B markets that perform well will be those that embrace the new role of media which is to provide educational and community building resources.  Software testers have a strong common sense of identity and a high demand for learning, due to the complex, constantly changing and technological skills required by the profession.

uTest: Put your prognosticating hat on… what trends do you think we’ll be talking about in software and testing one year from today?  10 years from today?

A: One impact of working in corporate finance during the credit boom had on me was to erode my faith in prognosticating!  While any attempt (especially by a layman such as myself) to project specifics would be pretty useless, I will make one obvious observation based on thermodynamics: I am a strong believer in entropy.  Complexity increases with time, especially in software.  Wrestling with exponential increases in complexity and interconnectedness will be one the primary challenges of those in the software business or any business going forward.  If STP Collaborative is successful, it will be because we will have found a way to simplify this complexity enough to help testers navigate a landscape of increasing entropy.

uTest: Other than STPCollaborative.com, what other sites do you read to learn more about QA and testing?

A: I read blogs of notable testers primarily, and also follow testers of every ilk on Twitter.  In the blogosphere, two of my favorites are Creative Chaos by Matt Heusser and DevelopSense by Michael Bolton, but there are many more.

Twitter is also a great listening tool that’s been a great way for me to get to know what the test community is saying about their profession, new products and technologies, about each other, about us or about the world in general.  It’s invaluable.

uTest: Any advice for new testers who are just starting out? What should they do/read/know in order to be successful in the world of professional testing?

A: I can only give generic advice here, which is to build a network of peers that includes a mentor.  I doubt there’s any single book that can make you into a great tester (or a great anything), but if you get to know others in your field, treat them with respect and help them whenever you can, you’ll have a network that will be more effective at helping you solve professional problems than any static written resource could ever be.  If that fails, just read Software Test & Performance magazine

uTest: Are you a Mac or a PC?

A: I’m a recovering PC aspiring to be a Mac.  My suits have been hung, my jeans are getting worn, and I spend two days a week working from home and putting my kids to bed.  I’m well on my way!

uTest: Finish this sentence: The software testing industry is on the verge of______________.

A: I’m an optimist, so I’ll say: “gaining the respect that the profession deserves.”  This won’t happen quickly without a strong unified voice from the community, however.

uTest: What’s the worst bug you’ve seen or heard of since you got involved in the world of software testing?

A: We misspelled the word “Testing” in an issue of Software Test & Performance magazine.  That’s certainly the most embarrassing “bug” from my point of view, even if it’s not really a software bug.  The test crowd spotted this one in about 0.2 nanoseconds and promptly turned my face beet red. I guess that shows the skills our audience has learned from the magazine!

Thanks to Andy for taking the time to answer questions from us and our testing community.  If you have a question that we missed about testing, STP or any other subject, drop it in the comments and we’ll try to compel Andy to answer it (as you can tell, he’s quite shy)!