by Vernon Richards and Richard Bradshaw
Vernon Richards and Richard Bradshaw discuss all things software testing, quality engineering and life in the world of software development. Plus our own personal journeys navigating our careers and lifes.
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🇺🇲
Publishing Since
4/7/2024
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March 31, 2025
<p>In this episode of the Vernon Richard Show, Richard and Vernon delve into the intricacies of career journeys in software testing, discussing the significance of job titles, the importance of positioning oneself within a role, and the challenges faced in consulting. They explore how to define one's role and impact, navigate client expectations, and the evolution of job descriptions in the tech industry. The conversation emphasizes the need for continuous learning and adapting to different contexts, ultimately highlighting the importance of effective communication and self-reflection in shaping a successful career.</p><p>00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Career Journeys<br>03:49 The Importance of Job Titles<br>10:08 Positioning and Expectations in Roles<br>20:37 Defining Roles and Responsibilities<br>27:47 Evolution of Testing Roles<br>29:09 Navigating Challenges in Testing<br>30:08 The Role of Leadership in Quality Assurance<br>31:09 Understanding Job Expectations in Consulting<br>32:28 The Importance of Experience in Consulting<br>34:38 Context Gathering for Effective Consulting<br>36:33 Identifying Root Causes in Testing Issues<br>37:25 Adapting Responses Based on Context<br>38:51 The Art of Job Crafting<br>41:38 Shifting Perspectives on Best Practices<br>44:16 Balancing Expectations and Reality in Consulting<br>47:17 Recognizing When to Walk Away<br>48:39 The Impact of Context on Job Titles<br>51:48 Reflecting on Skills Beyond Job Titles</p>
March 24, 2025
<p>Summary</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, Vernon and Richard reflect on their experiences at the PeersCon conference, discussing the engaging keynote speakers, insightful workshops, and the overall atmosphere of the event. They share their thoughts on various talks, emphasizing the importance of communication, quality, and personal growth in the software testing industry. The conversation highlights the value of community and collaboration, as well as the significance of learning from both successes and failures in one's career. In this episode, Vernon and Richard reflect on their experiences at Piers Con, discussing memorable moments, workshops attended, and the importance of communication in the testing field. They delve into specific workshops like Pipeline and Risk Storming, and the game 'Defend the Indefensible', which encourages critical thinking and perspective-taking. The conversation also touches on feedback for future events, emphasizing the need for a balance between communication and testing topics, and the importance of recognizing the efforts of event organizers.</p><p><br></p><p>Chapters</p><p><br></p><p>00:00 Introduction and Conference Overview</p><p>03:42 Reflections on PeersCon and Community Engagement</p><p>06:35 Keynote Highlights and Speaker Insights</p><p>09:30 Workshops and Learning Experiences</p><p>12:29 Communication and Quality in Software Development</p><p>15:27 Personal Growth and Career Development</p><p>18:22 Closing Thoughts and Future Events</p><p>25:06 Exploring Engaging Talks at the Conference</p><p>27:57 Tom's Journey: From Manufacturing to Software Testing</p><p>29:10 Linda's Comedy of Errors: A Unique Perspective on Automation</p><p>32:43 The Reality of Coding: Enjoyment vs. Competence</p><p>39:37 Networking and Unexpected Encounters at the Venue</p><p>42:57 Workshops: Enhancing Technical Understanding and Communication Skills</p><p>52:17 The Importance of Communication in IT and Life</p><p>54:39 Feedback and Constructive Criticism</p><p>57:36 Balancing Communication and Testing in Conferences</p><p>01:00:29 Enhancing Event Experience and Sponsor Engagement</p><p>01:04:34 Acknowledging Organizers and Their Contributions</p><p>01:08:34 Sustaining Affordability and Accessibility in Events</p><p>Links to come!</p>
March 4, 2025
<p>In this episode of the Vernon Richard Show, the hosts delve into the nuances of Continuous Delivery and Continuous Deployment, exploring how testing practices evolve in these environments. They discuss the skills required for testers, the importance of risk management, and the cultural shifts necessary for effective quality assurance. The conversation highlights the need for collaboration within teams and the role of testers as facilitators rather than gatekeepers. The episode concludes with reflections on the importance of understanding quality and risk in software development.</p><p>Links to stuff we mentioned during the pod:</p><ul><li>01:35 - Quality Talks<ul><li>Check out their awesome new<a href="https://qualitytalks.co.uk/"> website</a></li></ul></li><li>02:37 - The<a href="https://agiletestingdays.com/"> Agile Testing Days</a> Conference<ul><li>Oh! Their<a href="https://agiletestingdays.com/call-for-papers/"> Call For Papers</a> is open until the end of March. You should submit!</li></ul></li><li>02:42 - Johnny J. Jones<ul><li>Johnny's<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnyjjones/"> LinkedIn</a></li></ul></li><li>03:23 - Continuous Delivery & Continuous Deployment<ul><li>What is<a href="https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-is-continuous-delivery-mLO8uyDxTXyKispeOhbIag"> Continuous Delivery</a>?</li><li>What is<a href="https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-is-continuous-deployment-d6jYhsXFTsSMg23bsVo0vg"> Continuous Deployment</a>?</li></ul></li><li>03:31 - Abby Bangser<ul><li>Abby's<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbybangser/"> LinkedIn</a></li></ul></li><li>05:24 - Keith Klain<ul><li>Keith's<a href="https://qualityremarks.com/"> blog</a></li><li>Keith's<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@KeithKlain"> podcast</a></li><li>Keith's<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithklain/"> LinkedIn</a></li></ul></li><li>23:51 -<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-ashby/"> Dan Ashby</a>'s famous post called "<a href="https://danashby.co.uk/2016/10/19/continuous-testing-in-devops/">Continuous Testing</a>" (featuring his famous diagram!)</li><li>28:45 - James Bach's<a href="https://www.satisfice.com/blog/archives/1372?t"> Test Jumper</a> concept<ul><li>James'<a href="https://www.satisfice.com/"> website</a></li><li>James'<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bach-6188a811/"> LinkedIn</a></li></ul></li><li>31:20 - All of these people should probably change their last names to "Bourne"</li><li>40:18 - James Christie<ul><li>James'<a href="https://clarotesting.wordpress.com/"> blog</a></li><li>James'<a href="https://clarotesting.wordpress.com/the-post-office-horizon-it-scandal/"> body of work</a> regarding the Post Office Scandal</li></ul></li><li>43:37 - Trunk-Based Thierry de Pauw<ul><li>Thierry's<a href="https://thinkinglabs.io/"> website</a></li><li>Thierry's<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tdpauw/"> LinkedIn</a></li></ul></li><li>48:30 - Jerry Weinberg's 2nd Law of Consulting from his book<a href="https://leanpub.com/thesecretsofconsulting"> The Secrets of Consulting</a><ul><li>"No matter how it looks at first, it's always a people problem."</li><li>Find more of Jerry's<a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gerald_Weinberg"> quotes on this page</a></li><li>Jerry's<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Weinberg"> Wikipedia page</a> (his books are highly recommended)<p></p></li></ul></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Bonus links to further study on the topic:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.perplexity.ai/search/whats-the-difference-between-c-d_Tb0NuXRW6iS28ZorOJKw"><br>What's the difference</a> between Continuous Delivery and Continuous Deployment?</li><li>The book<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0321601912"> Continuous Delivery</a>, seminal work on the topic by Dave Farley & Jez Humble</li><li>Speaking of Dave Farley...<ul><li>You can visit his<a href="https://www.continuous-delivery.co.uk/"> website</a> to find links to allTheThings</li><li>Here's his excellent<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ModernSoftwareEngineeringYT"> YouTube channel</a> Modern Software Engineering</li><li>He's written a second book<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09GG6XKS4"> Modern Software Engineering</a></li></ul></li><li>Speaking of Jez Humble...<ul><li>He wrote the excellent book<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Accelerate-Software-Performing-Technology-Organizations-ebook/dp/B07B9F83WM"> Accelerate</a> with lead author<a href="https://nicolefv.com/"> Dr. Nicole Forsgren</a> (<- all of Dr. Nicole's work is recommended reading at this point)</li><li>And here's his<a href="https://continuousdelivery.com/"> website</a></li></ul></li><li>I asked ChatGPT for some resources and it gave me<a href="https://chatgpt.com/share/67c329f7-9e84-800f-af71-107a76bfcb09"> this list</a> (proceed with caution just in case!). <p></p></li></ul><p><br></p><p>00:00 - Intro</p><p>01:06 - Merch tangent</p><p>02:53 - Today's topic:</p><ul><li>What skills and behaviours does a Tester need, in order to be successful when they work in a CI/CD context?</li><li>What does testing look like in a team using CI/CD?</li></ul><p>04:08 - ⚽️ Footy</p><p>04:40 - Compare and contrast</p><p>07:00 - What conversation(s) needs to happen before "pressing the button" and who needs to be involved in it?</p><p>08:25 - Deployed Vs Released</p><p>13:37 - Monitoring and tooling to enable CI/CD practices</p><p>17:25 - Where/how do reviews fit into this?</p><p>20:38 - Back to Shift Left!</p><p>23:51 - Where does the testing happen?</p><p>24:36 - The link between chef Gordon Ramsey and software testing</p><p>25:45 - What are we <strong>reeeally</strong> talking about here?</p><p>27:09 - How to reframe things when someone makes the polarising claim "We don't need Testers in CI/CD/DevOps teams"</p><p>29:35 - Q: So how <strong>would I</strong> test differently if I were a Tester in a CI/CD team? A: Test like Jason Bourne.</p><p>32:00 - The value of having a tool belt and using it regularly</p><p>33:06 - How to catch a unicorn? How to unbundle testing skills</p><p>35:40 - This all loops back to risks & culture</p><p>37:03 - Where would it be a bad idea to use Continuous Deployment?</p><p>40:45 - Q: So how <strong>would I</strong> test differently if I were a Tester in a CI/CD team? A: Test like a Circus Ringmaster.</p><p>42:39 - Moar Shift Left: Real Devs build on Main</p><p>48:48 - Modern Vs Traditional mindsets</p><p>50:30 - Quality enters the chat...</p><p>51:00 - The relationship between risk and quality</p><p>52:47 - Testing Vs Quality Engineering</p><p>55:50 - ⚽️ Footy</p><p><br></p>
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