tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49010599983367008562026-06-22T08:39:57.097-04:00"Right or wrong, it's very pleasant to break something from time to time." — Fyodor DostoevskyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-33638851325528459992014-05-07T11:13:00.000-04:002016-03-06T12:28:50.668-05:00

I strongly dislike the interview process having gone through it myself many times. I find it very difficult to tell the story of your testing journey in an hour or so.  Plus trying to prove that you are worthy can be disconcerting. I have been lucky in my last few jobs as I was recommended by developers. Even though these interviews were still grueling and merciless, job offers were

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-26564368200655995332013-12-30T13:50:00.008-05:002026-04-03T15:44:12.169-04:00

Year-ends are tough for me. While listening to Trans-Siberian Orchestra this morning I indulged into daydreaming. I was thinking about my family back in Russia and reminiscing about things that happened over the years. I remembered the loved ones that passed on – my grandmother whose birthday was right before Christmas and one of my first bosses in the US who was like a father. It is nice to be

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-24973849617566059612013-09-13T11:13:00.002-04:002025-01-27T16:58:04.196-05:00

I believe that one of the important things in the work life of a tester is to have a good working relationship with developers. This will not only make a tester's job and bug advocacy process easier but will also give him the ability to exert influence on quality, promote positive collaboration and learning opportunities. Roy Osherove interviewed James Bach on “The Role of the Tester” where

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Vienna, VA 22182, USA38.9457197 -77.29797819999998938.8469112 -77.459339699999987 39.044528199999995 -77.13661669999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-37372597264601528352013-03-20T13:03:00.001-04:002026-04-28T09:48:08.021-04:00

Like many of my colleagues I appreciate humor and jokes about software testing and testers. I got a chuckle out of reading the Bumper Stickers for Testers by Harry Robinson  My favorite bumper sticker is "A good tester has the heart of a developer...in a jar on the desk". But I think that I probably get motivated by this one -"Improving the world one bug at a time". 

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-14801739134964107242012-12-31T15:48:00.002-05:002019-03-25T20:01:54.359-04:00

My former test manager, good friend and a mentor posted the following on Facebook which got me thinking about a major accomplishment this year and prompted this blog post. For the last year I have been running crowd-sourced test cycles for my company while testing Android and iOS native apps. I learned a lot, met many good testers, and had the privilege of working with and test leading a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-9551277388145138392012-10-13T21:37:00.000-04:002013-06-11T22:02:27.899-04:00

I am frequently asked about crowdsourced software testing companies and how to best work with them. It’s a tough question as every company is different and therefore the approach and strategy has to be customized accordingly based on what they want to get out of utilizing the crowdsourced software testing model. I have freelanced with crowdsourced testing companies for two years and have

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-31472476971626488472012-06-26T23:15:00.003-04:002026-04-28T09:52:34.305-04:00

Last month I was asked to conduct an online webinar on how I became a mobile tester. It didn’t work out because of my crazy work schedule and miscommunication with the event organizers.  However I had an opportunity to work on my topic with James Bach. I got some helpful guidance, questions and tips from him and then decided to turn the content into a blog post. I want to mention that

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-3677055703382609432012-04-22T22:22:00.000-04:002019-03-25T20:04:54.671-04:00

I attended another amazing event last week organized by MoDevDC, my local meetup group. The event was called MoDevUx – “A user experience, design and development conference discussing all things mobile.” MoDevUx was packed with interesting content, amazing speakers and the exuberant energy of its participants from various mobile design and development shops in the Washington, DC area, and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-77437360995576606632012-01-19T17:11:00.006-05:002015-10-10T21:53:24.326-04:00

I have been testing on the Kindle Fire since December 2011 and have picked up a few good tricks. These include collecting error logs, taking snapshots, debugging with DDMS and installing applications that are currently not available in the Amazon Appstore such as Dropbox.  I am sure there is lots of information scattered around the web and posted on various forums but I want to share my

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-58018230548600303342011-08-17T21:32:00.002-04:002019-03-25T20:02:48.028-04:00

One of the new practical skills I picked up at CAST 2011 was Session-Based Test Management (SBTM). During the testing competition the Miagi-Do team applied this practice to manage time due to the short time-constraints of the competition. We decided on 20-minute test sessions and after each one, Markus Gärtner, our ‘test master’, would hold a 5-minute debrief. It was tough to tune into

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-16217188756557135882011-08-12T22:43:00.016-04:002019-03-25T20:01:24.884-04:00

CAST 2011 is over. I am still digesting the impressions and events of the last 3 days. I feel both intoxicated from all the information and energy I consumed as well as inspired and giddy. This was my first CAST. As a n00b I had the advantage of experiencing and feeling things more acutely than someone who has already attended a similar event or two like this before. This conference was like a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-22786606548509762532011-04-20T21:58:00.006-04:002020-09-23T13:30:11.292-04:00

I received a 'QUEST 2011: Thank You Letter' from QAI Global Institute yesterday that was emailed to the participants list. I meant to post a blog about the conference when I came back on April 8 but got carried away with my busy work routine and getting ready for a release. This email brought back good memories and I thought I would share a few sentiments here. This was my first

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-23095708056715296492011-01-30T23:44:00.029-05:002026-06-22T08:39:57.097-04:00

My son's birthday is in a few weeks and I have been thinking about a gift for him. I have also been reminiscing about our journey together. It's been seven years since he came to live with us. Back then my mother was in charge of a baby home, an orphanage for babies and toddlers, in my hometown in Siberia. She and I usually catch up over a weekend and back then she would update me on what's

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-47193320799780486642010-11-26T09:24:00.003-05:002011-02-04T10:27:56.002-05:00

Thanksgiving has a special meaning for me. It is an acquired holiday that I have been celebrating since I came to the US - at first not comprehending what it really meant for many of my local friends even though I studied American history and Thanksgiving. As years have gone by I could not help but feel sentiment and gratitude on that wonderful holiday. I celebrate a 'harvest' of opportunities,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-45249021395573008992010-11-01T14:57:00.009-04:002013-09-14T08:03:45.401-04:00

 - doveryai, no proveryai (an old Russian proverb). I like Russian proverbs and this one is one of my favorites. It is an overused cliché but to me it has so much power. I say it a lot whether it applies to my testing and validating programs or my team reviewing my bug and test reports. It is a two way street. Not sure what prompted me to google for this phrase. Here is what Wikipedia

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-64247031107550878532010-10-15T22:37:00.009-04:002011-04-23T10:45:25.495-04:00

I attended a Learning Tree course on 'Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving: Making Better Decisions' this week which was an eye opening experience and fun. I will try and blog about it later. In the meantime I would like to post a few brain teasers that the Course Instructor challenged us with every morning - some are easy and some were tough. Needless to say that many can be found if

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-41889245437624661792010-10-12T08:58:00.003-04:002013-03-22T15:36:58.942-04:00

So I have decided to give Selenium RC a shot and try to automate some of our web app GUI tests. I worked with WinRunner in the past on a waterfall government project and was familiar with ‘record and playback’ features and editing TSL scripts. On that project we abandoned automated tools as scripts updating became too time-consuming and labor-intensive due to the fact that our test environment

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-8881235701007875872010-10-09T21:46:00.006-04:002011-02-04T10:39:11.635-05:00

I don't know what's going on in my head anymore. I have been reading, learning about context-driven and Agile testing, reviewing automated tools, playing with Selenium and trying to create at least simple regression tests in the process while waiting for my developers to finalize their research and design ideas. It seems the more I play with automated tools the more discouraged I feel...and the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-74960682455439400582010-10-03T22:43:00.007-04:002011-02-04T10:39:35.599-05:00

I actually ask this question in a calm voice with a smile on my face. I make an effort to explain the difference between Testing and QA if the offender is open and willing to receive my message. What I feel and what I hide from the offender is different from what I hope shows on my face and in my voice. It feels like my hair is standing up on the back of my neck. I feel that my evil tester twin

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-37581830290947798062010-09-30T17:03:00.003-04:002012-02-27T23:05:12.597-05:00

A co-worker sent the following email today --A paraprosdokian (from Greek "παρα-", meaning "beyond" and "προσδοκία", meaning "expectation") is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect..  1.  

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-51254667160866402442010-09-29T23:53:00.008-04:002011-02-04T10:41:11.940-05:00

I have been 'allocated' to test fixes for upcoming patch releases for 2 different projects. I haven't touched Project A since last August and felt rusty. Project B was just released a week ago and the customer reported a bug that must have been introduced shortly before the release. The team missed it as we were too focused on the last minute fixes and, in my case, exploratory and functionality

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-40283838388534298092010-09-27T22:10:00.009-04:002011-08-13T21:52:13.985-04:00

My son brought home a Big Book of Pictures and Puzzles that some fellow testers may find interesting. On the cover it says “With Over 4,000 Things To Spot”. The book contains pictures about different people and places from history such as early cities in Mesopotamia, Egyptian Pyramids, European castles in the Middle Ages and many others. It also has sections on the World, Castle and Dinosaur

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901059998336700856.post-50301920585202630302010-09-24T22:10:00.008-04:002011-03-28T20:43:39.747-04:00

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Buddhist Proverb And he did. I met James Bach, a teacher, consultant and guru in the software testing field this week. Here is how it happened. I am a recent involuntary Agile convert after 5-6 years of a solid waterfall testing career. In the course of the last Sprint, while continuously running exploratory tests to no end, I realized that

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4