Quality Remarks - The Podcast

Ashley Hunsberger and I have known each other through the software testing community for years, sharing panels, conference stages and more than a few conversations about quality, leadership and the realities of working in technology. 

As well as being super smart and a wealth of information about leadership and building learning teams, Ashley is just a great human being speaking with humility and self reflection in all her example packed stories.

In this episode, we explore how her Master’s in Applied Industrial and Organizational Psychology has changed the way she thinks about managing teams, psychological saf...

He’s the co-creator of Rapid Software Testing and the book Taking Testing Seriously and a really good friend of mine - on this episode of the QR Podcast Michael Bolton and I talk about the current state of software testing, where the profession is heading, and maybe (deep breath) just maybe we talk about something the two of us haven’t spoken about in public together -  AI in testing.


It's a long one and we cover a LOT of ground, so strap in and enjoy!

https://rapid-software-testing.com/
https://www.oreilly.com/libra...

Paul Holland is an expert at transforming how organizations test to be more efficient, valuable to stakeholders and finding important bugs fast. He’s built and lead test teams all over the planet and in my opinion, is probably the best hands-on test director I’ve ever worked with in my career.

He’s one of my closet friends in the testing business having worked, taught, and spent some time in the barrel with each other and is always a good laugh. Listen in as we talk metrics, great test reporting, Taking Testing Seriously, training testers and just generall...

Fiona Charles is an absolute legend in the software testing world and I had the honor of sitting down with her to discuss tech ethics, the human side of technology, her adventures with Jerry Weinberg, and her award winning storied career.

Fiona is an encyclopedia of software delivery techniques for communication, risk management, and how to delivery projects with integrity. I'll do my best to add in all the links to every resource she mentioned so enjoy!

Ale Moreira is one of my oldest friends in the testing world, we got to know each other when we were elected to the Association for Software Testing Board of Directors together and then hung around in NYC while we worked at various companies and consultancies.

She has always been a fantastic hands-on engineer in testing, and we see a LOT in common when it comes to talking to the business about the value of testing. Her newsletter Road Less Tested is on my list of “must read” testing blogs and she co-hosts the Engineering Quality podcast with a cou...

These days, your philosophy about testing is more important than ever and a differentiator in the software testing market. Santosh Tuppad has been leading from the front since I first met him as a rising star at Moolya and through his workshops on security testing with me in the Bronx or in Germany with the Afghan Girls Robotics team.

Come take a listen as we talk about the current state of testing skills training in our business, cyber security in the age of AI, and travel far off the beaten path into philosophy, true happiness as a tester...

I first got to know James in 2014 when the Context-Driven community was organising (including your truly) against the rent seeking of ISO 29119 test standard, and as co-chair of CAST for the Association for Software Testing, I invited him to give a talk on Standards – promoting quality or restricting competition?

His blog is a "must read" for any serious software tester, and his clear-eyed work on investigating the Post Office Horizon IT Scandal (including his submission) is the benchmark our community should be striving for when it comes to integrity, ethics, and professional standards.

Listen in as we d...

I've been friends with Ash Hynie for over 10 years ever since we started hanging out in NYC working in QA engineering and developer advocacy.

She has since gone on to greatness through various consulting gigs and heading up the DEI program at Credit Karma to now founding CountrPT, an AI powered career management platform.

Check out our chat about career development, performative DEI, being a good manager, and a lot about how to look out for yourself in today's job market...enjoy!

Talking with Stephen and Dan in 2016 about how we can help testers and the testing community to improve and keep learning including promoting and educating people about better testing practices such as Context Driven Testing and the transition to better testing, particularly in the enterprise.

Talking with Stephen and Dan in 2016 about how we can help testers and the testing community to improve and keep learning including promoting and educating people about better testing practices such as Context Driven Testing and the transition to better testing, particularly in the enterprise.

Driving While Driven: The Way of the Skilled Tester - In 2014 when I was the Executive Vice President of the Association for Software Testing, James Bach and I discussed what it means to be context driven, the role of skills in your development, and how you can become part of the CDT community. This is a long and wide ranging discussion about taking responsibility for your testing, the Context-Driven School of testing, and what it means for every tester to be their own methodologist.

Driving While Driven: The Way of the Skilled Tester - In 2014 when I was the Executive Vice President of the Association for Software Testing, James Bach and I discussed what it means to be context driven, the role of skills in your development, and how you can become part of the CDT community. This is a long and wide ranging discussion about taking responsibility for your testing, the Context-Driven School of testing, and what it means for every tester to be their own methodologist.

This is a long interview I did in 2014 with Duncan Nisbet for the Let's Test Conference which was done while I was running the Global Test Center at Barclays. It captures a lot of the day to day of running that global operation and how we went about trying to balance the business demands with improving testing for everyone.

I gave this interview before my keynote at the 2016 STAR East conference on all the lessons I learned from selling software testing. We also get into why context-driven testing is viable, as well as how to discern between wants and needs of your clients and testers...enjoy!

Had a great time talking about testing and “Rocky” at TestBash Philly in 2017 with the Neil and Dan from Screen Testing! Yo Adrian – enjoy!

Here's a roundtable discussion I hosted between veterans of the software testing industry (James Christie Michael Bolton, Iain McCowatt, Ilari Aegerter, Griffin Jones) on ISO Standard 29119. James gave his talk at the Association for Software Testing conference in 2014, which started a petition to stop the publication of ISO Standard 29119.


Note: The quality of some of the audio was pretty sketchy and I've tried to limit the background noise as much as possible as the content and participants are extremely good...enjoy!

James Bach and I have had too many conversations about testing to remember in our over 20 years of working together, but we finally found some time to sit down and record one. If you've got the time, in the 2+ hours we reminisce and discuss Rapid Software Testing, the testing industry, AI, context-driven testing, ethics, and training horses! Enjoy!

Blog post with links to references here: https://qualityremarks.com/qr-podcast-james-bach/

Heya – Finally found time to spill some tea with one of my favorite people in the testing industry, Elizabeth Zagroba. We cover off all the essentials from moving into a technical testing role, idealism, and our favorite musical theater. Enjoy!

Very happy to dusting off the QR Podcast with my pals Fiona Charles, Dan Billing, Ash Coleman, and our returning champion Michael Bolton to discuss ethics in technology, the responsibilities of software testers, and all that “big brother” noise lately about contact tracing apps in the age of COVID-19.

Really enjoyed this panel session talking about all things test automation with Angie Jones, Bas Dijkstra, Paul Grizzaffi, and Ashley Hunsberger. Check us out discussing managing business expectations, what to look for in test automation engineers, planning for maintenance and playing a couple rounds of "Rate that Vendor Claim". Enjoy!

Really enjoyed this panel session talking about all things test automation with Angie Jones, Bas Dijkstra, Paul Grizzaffi, and Ashley Hunsberger. Check us out discussing managing business expectations, what to look for in test automation engineers, planning for maintenance and playing a couple rounds of "Rate that Vendor Claim". Enjoy!

Back for part two of our discussion, is my good friend, Michael Bolton. Michael has been consulting and training people on software testing all over the world and is the co-author with James Bach of Rapid Software Testing. Join us as we talk about training testers, community leadership, and common problems all testers face. Enjoy!

Back for part two of our discussion, is my good friend, Michael Bolton. Michael has been consulting and training people on software testing all over the world and is the co-author with James Bach of Rapid Software Testing. Join us as we talk about training testers, community leadership, and common problems all testers face. Enjoy!

What more can I say about Michael Bolton. Michael has been consulting and training people in software testing all over the planet for as long as I’ve been in this business. When he's not traveling around the world teaching Rapid Software Testing, he's writing, speaking, and consulting about all things software quality. Check out the first half our our chat as we discuss testing and checking, semantic arguments, and what's it gonna take for people to finally take software quality seriously! Enjoy!

What more can I say about Michael Bolton. Michael has been consulting and training people in software testing all over the planet for as long as I’ve been in this business. When he's not traveling around the world teaching Rapid Software Testing, he's writing, speaking, and consulting about all things software quality. Check out the first half our our chat as we discuss testing and checking, semantic arguments, and what's it gonna take for people to finally take software quality seriously! Enjoy!

Writing, podcasting, running conferences, keynoting, workshops - is there anything Rob Lambert doesn't make look "blazingly simple"? Check out the newest QR Podcast where Rob and I catch up on testing, moving into management, his new company Cultivated Management, and how to strike a balance in your career and life. Enjoy!

Writing, podcasting, running conferences, keynoting, workshops - is there anything Rob Lambert doesn't make look "blazingly simple"? Check out the newest QR Podcast where Rob and I catch up on testing, moving into management, his new company Cultivated Management, and how to strike a balance in your career and life. Enjoy!

Jeff Perkins is the Chief Marketing Officer QASymphony. Prior to that, he's spent time in senior marketing and sales roles at PGi and AutoTrader.com, and previously worked on some of the biggest brands in the world Volvo, HBO, Sirius Satellite Radio, Michelin, Office Depot and Hasbro. We had a great time talking about the testing tool market, what clients want out of testing, developing your own personal brand, and what's behind some of those unverifiable vendor claims! Enjoy!

Jeff Perkins is the Chief Marketing Officer QASymphony. Prior to that, he's spent time in senior marketing and sales roles at PGi and AutoTrader.com, and previously worked on some of the biggest brands in the world Volvo, HBO, Sirius Satellite Radio, Michelin, Office Depot and Hasbro. We had a great time talking about the testing tool market, what clients want out of testing, developing your own personal brand, and what's behind some of those unverifiable vendor claims! Enjoy!

Karen Johnson has had a fantastic career working, consulting, and speaking all over the globe about software testing and quality. I always enjoy speaking with her whenever I get the chance and then trying (and failing) to mimic her calm, reasoned approach to deal with problems through storytelling. Listen in as Karen flips the script and asks me some questions as well as discusses the state of the testing business, management consulting, storytelling, her new role at Jamf and what really pisses her off! Enjoy!

Karen Johnson has had a fantastic career working, consulting, and speaking all over the globe about software testing and quality. I always enjoy speaking with her whenever I get the chance and then trying (and failing) to mimic her calm, reasoned approach to deal with problems through storytelling. Listen in as Karen flips the script and asks me some questions as well as discusses the state of the testing business, management consulting, storytelling, her new role at Jamf and what really pisses her off! Enjoy!

When I was running the Barclays Global Test Center, I started a meme to inspire our team to be their best. If I saw someone working tirelessly on their craft, challenging the status quo, or being a leader, I would call them a "badass software tester". Anne-Marie Charrett was the model for that name. Never afraid to call it like she sees it, you can count on her to be a fearless voice of reason in our business. As well, she is an awesome force for change in testing through organizing meet ups, coaching sessions, and conferences all over the wo...

When I was running the Barclays Global Test Center, I started a meme to inspire our team to be their best. If I saw someone working tirelessly on their craft, challenging the status quo, or being a leader, I would call them a "badass software tester". Anne-Marie Charrett was the model for that name. Never afraid to call it like she sees it, you can count on her to be a fearless voice of reason in our business. As well, she is an awesome force for change in testing through organizing meet ups, coaching sessions, and conferences all over the wo...

What more can I say about Jerry Weinberg than hasn’t already been said? He’s been consulting and writing for over 50 years, including seminal works like The Psychology of Computer Programming, Perfect Software, and The Secrets of Consulting. In our business of software testing, he has influenced ways of thinking about quality, value, and the role of testing in software development. Check out Jerry and I (and his ringing phone!) discussing leadership, training, the state of software testing, and how to remain relevant after 60 years in this business. Enjoy!

What more can I say about Jerry Weinberg than hasn’t already been said? He’s been consulting and writing for over 50 years, including seminal works like The Psychology of Computer Programming, Perfect Software, and The Secrets of Consulting. In our business of software testing, he has influenced ways of thinking about quality, value, and the role of testing in software development. Check out Jerry and I (and his ringing phone!) discussing leadership, training, the state of software testing, and how to remain relevant after 60 years in this business. Enjoy!

Always enjoy catching up system performance guru, bon vivant, and one of the nicest guys in our business, Mark Tomlinson. Aside from discussing his responsibility for getting this "podcast" interview series started, we have an extending discussion on "thought leaders" and expertise, innovation, ethics, and whats with all those "boring" testing conferences! (FWIW I had to cut over 30 mins of laughing, joking, and cross talk at the beginning and end of this!) Enjoy part one!

Always enjoy catching up system performance guru, bon vivant, and one of the nicest guys in our business, Mark Tomlinson. Aside from discussing his responsibility for getting this "podcast" interview series started, we have an extending discussion on "thought leaders" and expertise, innovation, ethics, and whats with all those "boring" testing conferences! (FWIW I had to cut over 30 mins of laughing, joking, and cross talk at the beginning and end of this!) Enjoy part one!

Google v Microsoft? Ducks v Fish? Dungeons and Dragons? That means I could only be talking to one person – Trish Khoo! Listen in as we discuss making it as a tester in todays world, mental health, and what to do with all those extra ducks! Enjoy!

Some of the links mentioned:

http://www.outofthefog.website http://www.samaritans.org http://trishkhoo.com

Google v Microsoft? Ducks v Fish? Dungeons and Dragons? That means I could only be talking to one person – Trish Khoo! Listen in as we discuss making it as a tester in todays world, mental health, and what to do with all those extra ducks! Enjoy!

Some of the links mentioned:

http://www.outofthefog.website http://www.samaritans.org http://trishkhoo.com