Software Testing Blog

Next up in our Testing the Limits series is Lanette Creamer. Known to many in the QA blogosphere as “Testy Redhead”, Lanette has over ten years of experience in the software industry, including her current role as Quality Lead with Adobe. Like many of our guests, she writes a popular testing blog, publishes technical papers and has been known to speak at a conference or two. And yes, she’s on Twitter.

In part I of our interview, we get her thoughts on testers vs. hardware; the idea of “quality advocacy”; why unemployed testers should study The Price is Right;  life as a shift manager at a charity bingo parlor; and much more. When you’re done with one, be sure to check out part II.

uTest: What’s the biggest trend/challenge in testing that no one’s talking about yet?
LC: Testers are breaking out of the office like William Wallace, but with laptops, not swords. How much more affordable is it for a company to buy a great laptop every few years than all sorts of different hardware? Let someone else manage the machines so we can focus on the testing. Of course, this isn’t appropriate for every context, but I’m interested in going beyond multi-boot systems, local images, and to truly getting out of the business of managing hardware. I’m interested in cloud-based imaging. Part of my personal strategy of investing in one laptop that can run multiple operating systems is the temping ability to verify the scope of a bug on one machine. To do that without even rebooting with more built-in logging and debugging tools is really the next step to freedom from hardware and location-reliant testing.

uTest: In the last year, we’ve noticed you blog about the prospect of unemployment. What advice do you have for other testers who find themselves in this situation? Should they just wake up at noon, watch The Price is Right and eat nachos until a hiring manager comes knocking on the door? Or should they try to keep their skills sharp? If it’s the latter, then please elaborate on how to go about this.
LC: The Price is Right can teach you something amazing about interviewing. Have you ever noticed who they pick? It is the most enthusiastic people with the best stories. Come on down, job candidate! You’re the next contestant on The Job is Right. Can you imagine what The Price is Right would be like if they picked a contestant who was just above it all? Laughed at the fabulous prizes? Ignored the host? Win or lose, play the job interview game with style and be memorable. Also, I do like nachos. Layer the cheese and make them in the oven.

Well, rather than bouts of unemployment, I’ve been facing one very long pending layoff. I’ve not yet experienced the unemployment part, so maybe your readers can help me out with their advice when that happens. As a part of the CS5 team, my layoff isn’t effective until June, and it impacted every tester on my current team. The day I first became aware of my pending layoff, I felt a bit powerless. I realized that it was really up to me to decide what to do next. I decided that I wanted to end well and finish the project, and I really wanted to complete my 10 years at Adobe. I am proud of my work for my entire career at Adobe, and that hasn’t changed with my layoff notice.

Here’s what I recommend for those of you working in a job that you know is ending:

• Choose your exit strategy and end well, whatever that means for you.  Software testing is a small world.
• Know that you aren’t alone and continue to reach out to the quality community.
• Decide what to learn. It is your life, your brain, and your chance to choose what you want to become! I’ve had a personal learning syllabus since 2007 when I attended the Self Education for Testers tutorial by James Bach. Create your learning syllabus and hold yourself accountable.
• Be yourself. Be sincere, honest, and upfront about your skills and experience. Finding a job that will grow your skills and be a good fit may take longer, but it will also be mutually beneficial to you and your employer.
• Volunteer. Keep testing. Consider speaking at a conference near you for admission. Want to test for a certain product? Sign up for the beta and go to a user group.

Getting laid off was a real “Come to Kaner” moment for me. Who am I if I’m not a tester? Are testing skills relevant in the marketplace? Is talent at finding bugs totally obsolete? You’ll see in my blog that I started meeting with the people I admire most in testing. Mostly I asked them their story. How did they get past the doubt? Does it mean that I’m not a good tester or that I don’t belong in quality? Every person I spoke with has been through more adversity than I’m going through and it made them stronger in their career eventually. It helped them define boundaries when working with and for companies. Many of them are now independent consultants who decide which jobs they work on. All of them realize that they are not their job. They have an identity and a reputation as a tester that goes well beyond one company. When I hear Jon Bach, does it cross my mind that he’s been laid off before? No. Because every person you know of substance has been laid off. Most of them have been fired from somewhere, quit under non-ideal circumstances, or their startup went under.

Being laid off is an opportunity to transform. At any given job in software you are more likely to be laid off than you are to retire from the same company. Career growth has to be more about growing as a person and less about climbing the corporate ladder at the same company. My upcoming layoff is both terrifying and exhilarating. I’m about to learn something, and it may not be pretty, but I trust it needed to happen and everything is exactly as it should be.

uTest: Jon Bach recently told us that “QA” should stand for “quality assistance” rather than “quality assurance” – do you agree with that sentiment or is he sand-bagging?
LC: I think Jon has a great point. If he could talk to each business person about the value of testing it would help us so much on the biggest challenge we face in 2010. Ok Jon, it’s all you! Hope you have those frequent flyer miles saved up. It’s going to be a long year.

I like to think of myself as providing a bit more than just “quality information”, but also providing “quality advocacy” as the cherry on top of the best information I can possibly provide. My job as a tester includes understanding and advocating for a great customer experience. This means feedback beyond “does this meet requirements” and evaluating “does this meet the customer needs overall based on all that I know and continue to learn about the customer?” If not, there is an issue the team needs to discuss and make a decision on. Delivering a great product is something we can’t assure and can’t do ourselves, but we are a part of the team to make it happen, and we certainly can contribute our ideas and effort to make it a reality.

I’ve been working on a session for Better Software/Agile Development Practices 2010 to share some of my ideas with other testers. I’m speaking on Quality Beyond the Code and Requirements on June 10^th in Las Vegas. It isn’t just a presentation, but also a chance to practice hands on with real examples. It will be my first ever SQE conference as a presenter and by far the biggest conference I’ve presented at so far.

uTest: If Al Gore hadn’t invented the Internet, what would you be doing with your career (bullfighter, gourmet chef, cobbler, explorer)?
LC: My dream job is driving a backhoe, so heavy equipment operator. Before I switched my major to graphic design, I did take a quarter of auto mechanic courses along with beginning arc welding. If needed for survival, I could fix brakes, although I’m a bit out of practice. Prior to software testing I was a shift manager at a charity bingo parlor. I did call the bingo numbers as well as deal pull tabs. If you are in need of a bingo caller/backhoe operator for your next charity game of backhoe bingo, please email me.

Editor’s note: We hope you enjoyed part I of our interview with Lanette Creamer. Go check out part II.