The Testing Show

Sap For Utilities 2024 Reflections Oct 11, 2024

Qualitest recently participated in the SAP for Utilities conference in Florida and we have several key players who part of the proceedings. Matt Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Qualitest and Tricentis regulars Rick Lesley, Ryan Williams, Kevin Flynn, and Jeff Fillegar to talk about utilities moving their SAP systems to the cloud, major digital transformation efforts with aggressive deadlines, and the need to ensure quality and minimize disruption to users and providers alike.

Testing in the News: CrowdStrike and lessons for Testers Aug 14, 2024

CrowdStrike showed the world that problems can be found in unexpected places and can manifest in ways never intended with devastating results. While there is much pontificating about the root cause and how it happened, the point is "it happened". The popular joke of "Maybe they should have tested more" will invariably be said but what specifically does that mean?

Testing Show hosts Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome 1-800-CONTACTS Software Test Engineer Rachel Kibler and Qualitest CTO Vikul Gupta to discuss the various findings and speculations related to the Crowdstrike issue. We then delve into ways that testers can learn from and be better prepared for situations like this going forward, as well as leveraging next-generation technology like Generative AI to assist in the process.

Let's Get Continuous Jun 19, 2024

CI/CD is a topic that comes up a lot and many organizations profess to doing it. Are they really doing it effectively? That was the question we had in mind and to that end, Nikolay Advolodkin, staff developer advocate at Sauce Labs, joined us to talk about implementing automated software testing and improving testing practices, specifically around the CI/CD processes.

What's new in SAP testing? May 14, 2024

SAP testing has its own world in the testing ecosphere. It's a huge component (or set of components) and yet there may be many who know little about it and those who are familiar may only be scratching the surface with what is happening. Daniel Do Valle, Bill Hayden, and Kenneth Small join Matt and Michael to discuss all things SAP, including AI, the future of tooling, and how to get the most out of testing SAP implementations.

Testing with Generative AI May 06, 2024

In this episode of The Testing Show, Matt and Michael welcome Alisha Mittal, Vice President at the Everest Group, and Vikul Gupta, CTO for Qualitest North America, about the role of generative AI in testing. We look at the current state of the market and the challenges enterprises face in adopting generative AI, and how generative AI can enhance testing efforts and improve test collateral creation.

Cognitive Biases In Testing Mar 20, 2024

In this episode of The Testing Show, Michael Larsen interviews Señor Performo, Leandro Melendez, about cognitive biases and how they can affect testing. They discuss various biases such as confirmation bias, the halo effect, the sunk cost fallacy, and more. We like to think that we are immune to cognitive biases and logical fallacies because we testers prize critical thinking but as Leandro points out, you would be wrong, we are as prone to them as anyone else.

Developing and Testing Mobile Apps With Global Teams Dec 15, 2023

Making the move to mobile-first application development is creating interesting challenges for co-located global teams. To this end, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen invited Mav Turner, the CTO of Tricentis, and Smita Mishra, CEO of Fandoro, to discuss the importance of user experience, security, and the need for optimized and secure code for mobile apps. They also highlight the challenges of working with distributed global teams and provide tips for effective collaboration, such as being aware of time zones and cultural differences.

Digital Transformation in Credit Unions Sep 29, 2023

In this episode of The Testing Show, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Dmitriy Melnik from BCU, Sri Aravamudan from Qualitest, and Mike Mokrzycki to talk about the importance of automation and cloud technology in reducing costs and improving scalability. They also highlight the differences between commercial banks and credit unions in terms of resources and investment in technology and the importance of staying relevant and providing a high-quality member experience.

Working Asynchronously Sep 21, 2023

In a time where remote work is much more normal, there is a give and take between what work can be done simultaneously and in tandem with others versus what needs to be accomplished with focused efforts on an individual basis. Caitlin Klink joins Matthew Heusser for this episode to discuss the benefits and advantages of gearing towards more asynchronous work and how enabling teams to leverage asynchronous work can help with productivity gains and better products for everyone.

Testing For Utilities Sep 13, 2023

The world of Utilities is undergoing a massive shift and has been doing so for the better part of a decade. With the advent of new renewable technologies and solar at home, individuals are not only power consumers but are often producers. To this end, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Wayne Tofteroo, Ronald Teteroo, and Scott Swanigan to discuss the changing landscape of utilities and how testing in and around them is full of unique and interesting challenges.

Live From Agile and Beyond Aug 17, 2023

Recently, our show host Matt Heusser headed out to Detroit to participate in the Agile and Beyond Conference being held there. In the process, he gathered together several contributors and testing experts including Holly Bielawa, Damian Synadinos, and Jeff MacBane to discuss areas such as Emotions in Testing, Product Coaching and why its difficult, and how we can just be excited about doing testing well in this day and age.

AI in Testing Jul 27, 2023

We've had a chance to focus on a great deal of speculation and interest in Artificial Intelligence models over the past several shows and for this episode, we asked Dan Geater to join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to help get to the bottom of what AI is actually doing, why the spike in interest, and how testers can prepare and benefit from the AI gold rush currently underway.

The ROI on Testing Jul 14, 2023

We can talk all day long about the importance of quality and testing but for many, this question will always come down to "How much is this going to cost?" Is this expense in quality and testing really worth it? To that end, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen invited Nabhanshu Bambi and Curtis Stuehrenberg to join us and discuss the true costs and the Return on Investment that testing can provide both in the short and long terms of projects and teams.

The Testing Show: Qualipride Jun 20, 2023

In celebration of June being Pride month, The Testing Show is doing a special program focusing on “Qualipride”, which is the Employee Resource Group (ERG) for LGBTQ+ identifying employees and their allies.

To discuss this, our guest host Fiona Dawson joins Bleighton Eppard, Jessica Hose, Miguel Urdinola, Mafalda Chambel, and Elizabeth Argall to discuss how Qualipride champions diversity and that diversity benefits Qualitest in its entirety.

Enhancing the Reality within Virtual Reality with Q Analysts Apr 26, 2023

In this episode, the metaverse and VR become more and more present and active. To that end it makes sense that there are companies working towards making those interactions as usable and seamless as possible. To that end, Ross Fernandes, Vikul Gupta and Prem Vishwanathan join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about ways that the virtual and the real are coming together and why it's an exciting place for a tester to potentially be.

ChatGPT and Testing Jobs Apr 16, 2023

For today's show, Beth Marshall and Chris Kenst return to continue the ChatGPT conversation, and today's focus is on what effect, if any, Chat GPT may have on testing jobs. Is it a job killer as some fear, or is it yet another tool that will aid the smart and effective tester in being more effective?

Data Management and Analytics Mar 27, 2023

Software testing covers a lot of areas. Perhaps one of the most important, yet often overlooked, is the quality of the data that is both part of testing and the actual business. To that end Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Naren Yalamanchilli, David Small, and Ken Wrem to talk about Datagaps, a company that is focused on making sure that Data Management and Data Analytics are in place so that companies can make sure that they have the best data possible to do business successfully.

ChatGPT for Testers Mar 15, 2023

In the past several months, ChatGPT has been getting a lot of attention as a new cool tool that everyone is talking about. It can generate song lyrics on the fly. It can create code to solve problems and be compiled. Still, do we really understand what it is and what it can or can't do? To that end, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Ted Ariaga, Chris Kenst, and Beth Marshall to talk about ChatGPT, especially as it interests the world of software testing, and explore areas where it is ready for prime time and where it is not, or at least, not yet.

The Testing Show: Assessing Quality Practices Jan 18, 2023

Agile Testing and some would say Modern Testing is built around understanding the processes and quality practices necessary to deliver a quality product to customers. How do we know if the practices our company or organization is using actually deliver what we hope them to.

To help answer that, Selena Delesie and Janet Gregory join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about their new book "Assessing Agile Practices With the Quality Practices Assessment Model (QPAM)" and help determine if the practices an organization is using are effective and ultimately will help deliver quality products in the first place.

The Testing Show: A Tester Walks Through Product Ownership Dec 21, 2022

Many individuals on the team have a vested interest in what the tester provides and reports on. One such important team member is the product owner, who can wear many hats in an organization and represent many different perspectives. In this episode, Holly Bielawa joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about the world of the product owner, their involvement with the organization, and their view of the world and their interaction with QA and testing.

The Testing Show: The Deeper Things of Testing, Part 2 Dec 07, 2022

In this second part of a two-part series, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen continue their conversation with Perze Ababa, Jon Bach, and Jen Crichlow to discuss the broader ideas of testing, specifically the areas of advocacy and addressing situations that are important to people who matter.

The Testing Show: The Deeper Things of Testing, Part 1 Nov 23, 2022

In this first of a two-part series, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Perze Ababa, Jon Bach, and Jen Crichlow to discuss the broader ideas of testing, and to ask, "Are there areas of software testing that deserve greater attention?

The Testing Show: Curating Your Testing Career Nov 09, 2022

When it comes to Software Testing, there is no guarantee that what a tester is doing today will resemble what they are doing five or ten years from now, or if they will still be involved in software testing. Many people come and go, while others make it a point to be "lifers" in the software testing industry. Still, even for the so-called lifers, there is a broad array of options and opportunities for career growth and development. Where to go and how to get there are the broader questions.

Michael Larsen sits down and talks with Vernon Richards and Leandro Melendez at the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC). held in Portland, Oregon, USA in October, 2022. They discuss the challenges and opportunities available to software testers, as well as the responsibility of curating their own testing careers, both in the work they are doing now and the work they might want to do going forward.

The Testing Show: Intelligent Testing Oct 26, 2022

For years, organizations have lured their time talent and resources into Continuous Integration, Delivery, and Deployment efforts, with an additional goal to apply these principals to Continuous Testing. Still, often these efforts can one wasteful and take much more time than is necessary. Vijet Honnavar and Vikul Gupta join Matthew Heusser to discuss ideas of focusing on eliminating waste and taking a more “Intelligent” approach to testing and focusing efforts on needful and necessary areas and less on areas that have not changed or been affected by updates.

The Testing Show: Program Management Oct 12, 2022

Software testing and program management share many of the same skills and what helps make a software tester effective can also be applied to the world of Program Management and how to be effective in that role.

To that end, Jon Bach joins Matt Heusser to talk about his entry and involvement in the software testing world and his current involvement in the Program Management space, and how software testers can help and work effectively with Program Management.

The Testing Show: Testing AI and Machine Learning Sep 28, 2022

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have often taken on a near-mythical status in the software development pantheon as of late. Of course, ask ten people what AI and Machine Learning mean and you're likely to get at least twenty different answers. Understanding how and what to test surrounding it thus becomes daunting.

To help demystify this topic, Jen Crichlow joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to discuss developments in the AI and ML space and how to make sense of the myriad options and, more important, considerations around how to test these technologies.

The Testing Show: "How to Reduce the Cost of Software Testing": A Decade Later Sep 14, 2022

Back in 2012, Matthew Heusser, Michael Larsen, and a number of other testers and test professionals came together to write a book devoted to the topic of "How to Reduce the Cost of Software Testing". To celebrate the ten year anniversary of that experience, Matt and Michael welcome fellow author Petteri Lyytinen to share their experiences writing the book and to see if, ten years later, we have made progress on our goal or if there is more that we can do in regard to the goals we set out a decade ago.

The Testing Show: Teaching Software Engineering Aug 31, 2022

For many years, Computer Science was the only way, educationally speaking, to learn about methodologies related to programming software and building large scale applications.

Software Engineering grew out of the need to have a more streamlined methodology, and our guest Robert Sabourin of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada has been at the forefront of helping developing those Software Engineering courses as well as teaching them to up and coming software engineers.

The Testing Show: Infrastructure Assurance and Cloud Conversions Aug 18, 2022

Applications are moving rapidly from company datacenters to the Cloud. With these changes come new challenges with building applications and testing them effectively.

Sriram Sitaraman and Lamech Carnelian join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about "Infrastructure Assurance" and ways to get the most out of the methodologies around putting applications into the cloud and making sure they work optimally once they are there.

The Testing Show: Would Heu-Risk It? What’s In The Cards For You? Aug 04, 2022

This episode goes in some unusual but interesting directions. Lena Wiberg joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about Lana's book and card deck, "Would Heu-Risk It?" which is all about heuristics and ways of looking at problems in a different light. Also, Lena talks about her keynote at Agile Testing Day 2022 titled "Living Fearlessly - While Living With Fear"

The Testing Show: Data Quality Jul 20, 2022

In our ever-changing world of applications, processes, and systems, we spend a lot of time talking specifically about improving those applications and how they are built. However, how many of us have taken a step back and asked about the actual data that we deal with? The quality of our data has everything to do with the ability of applications to be successful and work in ways that actually matter. To that end, Naresh Nunna and Sendhil Selvanathan join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to discuss ways in which we can better assure overall data quality and perhaps introduce a DevOps for Data in conjunction with CI/CD pipeline modernization and analytics.

The Testing Show: The Changing World of Cyber Security Jul 06, 2022

Once upon a time, and in many ways still, there was the sense that Cyber Security was the realm of elite professionals who were trained and experts in all things security related. They were special unicorns who far outstripped mere mortals. Of course, this is not true but it is a perception that persists.

Today, Uri Bar-El joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about how and where Cyber Security is changing and how it is becoming less about the external nebulous threats (which still exist, of course) and more on the way that everyday testers and software developers need to hone their own cyber security skills and bring the issue of security into the development and testing process much earlier and with an eye towards total quality.

The Testing Show: Qualipride Jun 22, 2022

In celebration of June being Pride month, The Testing Show is doing a special program focusing on "Qualipride", which is the Employee Resource Group (ERG) for LGBTQ+ identifying employees and their allies.

To discuss this, guest host Fiona Dawson joins James Barret, Audry, Maulana, Brandon McGuire, Chandra Nair, and Lacy Norris to discuss how Qualipride champions diversity and that diversity benefits Qualitest in its entirety.

The Testing Show: Accessibility For Everything Jun 08, 2022

In many cases Accessibility and Accessibility Testing are done as late in the game processes and done to make sure that a level of compliance is met for those who most need that accommodation. This misses out on the fact that many more people could benefit from having Accessibility features integrated into their products and that the benefits of accessibility go well beyond those who need last-mile technology the most.

Subhash Chhetri and Karan Ahuja join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to discuss their philosophy of Accessibility For Everything, and how making every element and process accessible makes products and services better for everyone that uses them.

The Testing Show: New York To New You ft. Manoj Gupta May 25, 2022

We spend a lot of time talking about the quality engineering of systems and processes. We spend considerably less time talking about the quality engineering related to ourselves and our everyday actions and reactions.

To that end, Manoj Gupta, Qualitest MD of UK and Western Europe, joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen, to talk about his book “New York to New You” and how we can apply the same rigor we do to our coding and testing efforts to build and improve the quality in ourselves.

The Testing Show: Women In Testing, Part 2 Mar 23, 2022

Gwen Iarussi and Rachel Kibler continue their discussion with Catherine Carlos, Christina Codreanu, Rajini Padmanaban, and Maaret Pyhäjärvi. In this episode, the conversation is centered on how COVID has had an impact on them in general and as Women in testing in particular. Additionally, what can companies and other Women in the industry do to help enhance opportunities that are available and help out all Women in technology?

The Testing Show: Women In Testing, Part 1 Mar 16, 2022

This is the first part of a two-part series that we are recording for Women’s History Month. To that end, we have changed things up. Gwen Iarussi and Rachel Kibler are taking the reins and moderating these episodes.

They welcome Catherine Carlos, Christina Codreanu, Rajini Padmanaban, and Maaret Pyhäjärvi to discuss the changing nature of Women in the testing space and what they have learned and adapted to along their journeys.

The Testing Show: Testing For Pharma Mar 02, 2022

The pharmaceutical space (Pharma) is an area where many people have ideas of a tightly regulated environment, where initiatives can range from in-house software tracking systems to literal life-saving devices. Testing in this sphere is often seen by many as an intense challenge but does it really (or should we say "fully") deserve that reputation?

To help answer that, Guy Anbar joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to discuss the variations and different areas that make up the Pharma space and how to test in and around it.

The Testing Show: Six Personas in Software Testing to Avoid Feb 16, 2022

Have you ever noticed that there seems to be a certain level of dysfunction that can take hold in various companies? If that may feel like too strong a word, consider it traits that numerous software testing individuals often exhibit, whether they intend to or not.

Kristin Jackvony joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to discuss six personas (and perhaps some additional variations) that could spell trouble for projects and programs. The tricky part? We might very well recognize these personas in our organization and possibly in ourselves.

The Testing Show: Do We Still Need the Phrase "Agile Testing"? Feb 02, 2022

Agile as a development practice (and by extension Agile Testing) has been around now for two decades. By virtue of that, many changes and adaptations have been made and it brings up a simple question: is the term "Agile Testing" all that relevant any longer? To this end, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen have a chat with Janet Gregory and Jenny Bramble about Agile Testing as a name and as a practice and dare to consider... is an Agile Testing practice by any other name just as effective?

The Testing Show: Building Testing Frameworks Jan 20, 2022

Automation is a key component of most software development initiatives. It's not just for testing, it also figures into the build process, Continuous Integration (CI), and Continuous Delivery (CD). To that end, having a stable automation framework makes a lot of sense but what exactly goes into making that framework? Today, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen have a chat with Chris Loder, the "Rogue Automator" about where to start, what to include, and four specific areas every good automation framework must have to succeed.

The Testing Show: The Accessibility Mindset? Dec 03, 2021

When we think of making a website accessible, we often think of making sure a screen reader works to help navigate a site or to make sure we have alt tags for images. There are of course many other areas to consider and ways in which looking at accessibility can go well beyond making a site usable for people with disabilities and towards making sites and services more usable and effective for everyone. Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Aditya Bangari and Riya Sharma to discuss how we can adopt an Accessibility Mindset and how that mindset can help guide us towards a more inclusive user experience.

The Testing Show: Is It Testable? Nov 07, 2021

One of the great challenges of software testing is the fact that software is often designed to accomplish goals for a user but is developed in a way that is resistant to testing. In addition to knowing what to test and where to test, we should be asking how we want to test and if our testing goals are even possible. Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Gil Zilberfeld to discuss how do we make our products more testable and how we can leverage those capabilities.

The Testing Show: Live from QASummit: Post Game Wrap Up Oct 15, 2021

This week's show comes live from the QA Summit, held in South Jordan, Utah on July 28, 2021. Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome back Rachel Kibler and Gwen Iarussi, as well as Pax Noyes to discuss takeaways from the QA Summit talks and to also highlight QA at the Point, Women Who Test, and other initiatives happening around the Salt Lake valley to inspire and help develop current and future software testers.

The Testing Show: The QA Summit Pre-Game Show Sep 22, 2021

It's been quite some time since we have been able to attend in-person conferences. For a brief window, vaccination rates and easing of travel restrictions allowed Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to attend the Xpanxion sponsored "QA Summit 2021", held in South Jordan, Utah, at the end of July, 2021. As part of the speaking group at the conference, Matt and Michael met up with Gwen Iarussi and Rachel Kibler to discuss their talks and the conference in general.

The Testing Show: The Dying Business? Really? Aug 27, 2021

How many times has the death of testing been touted? How many talks have been giving declaring the death of testing? Granted, those talks have a specific context that is not often noticed, but the statement gets said a great deal. In this episode, Senthil Ayyappan, Head of Market Strategy for Qualitest, joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about how Quality Engineering is much more than basic testing and how it is very much a growing industry. In short, reports of testing's death, especially Quality Engineering's death, have been greatly exaggerated.

The Testing Show: TestOps Aug 08, 2021

As the idea of melding operations and software development led to the discipline of DevOps, so has the idea of melding testing and operations led to the concept of TestOps where many of the operations areas also fall under the role of the testing teams(s) and help organizations actually get a handle on how they can better test for infrastructure needs and make sure that feature enhancements and code changes aren't just deployed efficiently but work their best as well. For this episode, Alex Langshall and David Vydra join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to discuss TestOps, its role in the development lifecycle, and ways that organizations can leverage the benefits for better systems and better release management.

The Testing Show: Insurance Testing Jul 15, 2021

Does the idea of wearing a device that can monitor your movement, heart rate, and blood pressure to lower your health insurance premiums (or raise them in some cases) intrigue you or scare you? Does the idea of a plug-in for your car that measures your driving habits, perhaps affecting your insurance rates have you questioning things? If so, then come join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen as they talk with Simon Pickersgill and Anthony White about some of the areas related to testing in the world of insurance. Whether it be auto, home, health, or life insurance, more and more organizations are moving to models where big data, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning are playing a part in determining premiums and claims payouts. There's a lot of coding happening and a lot of testing opportunities, so listen in and get a bird's eye view of an interesting area.

The Testing Show: Talking About Risk Jun 17, 2021

Today's show gets away from the typical risk and testing approach, as in what techniques to use. Instead, Jenny Bramble, Director of Quality Assurance at Papa, joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to discuss the more challenging aspects around talking about risk, specifically how to talk to people who don't want to recognize that it exists or is possible.

The Testing Show: Quality Engineering with Anbu Muppidathi May 19, 2021

It's our 100th Episode and Qualitest has a new Chief Executive and "Chief Testing" Officer designate in Anbu Anbu Muppidathi who joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about Quality Engineering as a unique discipline and differentiator. How does Quality Engineering go beyond traditional notions of Quality Assurance? Come join us for this milestone episode and find out how COVID helped make the case for quality orchestration and where Qualitest thinks quality is going both now and into the future.

The Testing Show: Building Testers May 06, 2021

For many organizations and educational systems, there's a need for testers and testing talent but there isn't a clear path for someone to go learn about testing and become a software tester, at least not in a traditional education sense. There may be a school or two that has some testing curriculum specifically but for many educations systems, it's taught superficially if at all. How does a potential tester learn what they need to and how can they be encouraged to pursue software testing in the first place?

Dave Harrison and Simon Prior join Matthew Heusser to talk about the need for software testing to be considered a viable path for colleges and universities, the type of education that would be helpful for institutions to teach, what types of people and educational background would work well as testers, and how to help them get the best leg up if/when they decide to make that decision.

The Testing Show: Test Management Apr 22, 2021

What does test management mean in today's software development world? Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Gwen Iarussi and Lalitkumar Bhamare to talk about the differences in test management of previous decades vs. today's needs and requirements. Finding that "what is the value driver for our business?" is a critical piece among many.

The Testing Show: Storm Readiness Testing Mar 31, 2021

Have you ever wondered what happens when something like a nor'easter, a tornado, a blizzard, or a wildfire comes through your area? How to critical systems like utilities, hospitals, and emergency services deal withy these situations? How can they help ensure their IT capabilities will remain intact, or as intact as possible? Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Kimberly Humphrey and Scott Swanigan to talk about Storm Readiness Testing and how organizations can plan for the worst and be up and running as quickly as possible.

The Testing Show: API Testing Mar 18, 2021

In todays fast paced and ever more complex software development landscape, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are more important than ever. Testing them has their own unique challenges. This week, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen talk with Beth Marshall, Ben Dowen, and Andrew Knight about the unique challenges testers face when working with and testing APIs and the variety of methods to make those challenges a little less daunting.

The Testing Show: The Intersection of Testing and Quality Mar 04, 2021

Once upon a time, testing was about creating the right documentation, making sure requirements were correct, be the quality police, and tell everybody else to do their job well. Lagter, we focused on specific testing, diving in to find defects and problems, and act like an insurance policy so that if there's a problem, we find it, but stop telling people how to do their jobs.

Have we gone too far from that original focus? Is it possible for us to give generalized observations about the quality of the software we are delivering? How would we do it? To answer those questions, Rachel Kibler and Chris Kenst join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to discuss where testing and quality interact and make a case as to which is more important and at which point in time.

The Testing Show: New Thinking In Management Feb 18, 2021

On today's show, Matt Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Johanna Rothman, long time management author and coach to talk about the changing roles in management, the ways in which traditional management culture is not well suited for the Information Age, and ways in which thinking about managing oneself and managing others can be improved for the realities of today's workplace, specifically in the area of software testing and testing management.

The Testing Show: Open Source Testing Jan 25, 2021

For many software testers, it can be challenging to build up a portfolio of work that can demonstrate skill, knowledge, and expertise. Having GitHub account for coding skills is one approach but many testers work on proprietary systems where people outside their company cannot see what you are capable of. Open source projects are a way to get involved in an externally visible way but where does a tester start and what can they actually do?

Dr. Jessica Ingrassellino from InfluxData joins us Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about her initiative to make open source projects more available to testers and testing and ways that testers can get involved and why they would want to in the first place.

The Testing Show: Chaos Engineering Jan 05, 2021

Many of us are familiar with the idea of negative testing, where we feed bad data or inputs to a program or application to see how it behaves. That works for a program or an app but how about an entire infrastructure? A discipline that has come to be known as Chaos Engineering is where this level of "testing" comes into play. Intriguing but what is "Chaos Engineering?"

Claire Moss joins Matt Heusser and Michael Larsen to discuss the good, bad, ugly, and just plain odd aspects of a discipline that is not readily understood but bears a resemblance to Exploratory Testing. It is also available to any organization that wants to implement it, provided they are ready and willing to go down a rabbit hole or ten.

The Testing Show: Your Changing Career Dec 17, 2020

Now more than ever, the idea of working for one company and doing one job for our working life is an outdated notion. For many of us, curating and developing a career is a job unto itself, especially in today's ever-changing job and career landscape.

Raj Subrameyer comes back to discuss his new book "Skyrocketing Your Career" and we all talk about our personal journeys and how we have arrived where we are and hope to go next.

The Testing Show: Infrastructure As Code Dec 03, 2020

In this day and age, everything is becoming code. It used to be just the applications but with the proliferation of software to create software (think of Jenkins pipelines) or the aspects to Terraforming servers in the cloud (and Terraform being just one way to do it), there is ever more code being written to set up and deploy software. Who tests all that, and how does one get to play in these extensive sandboxes?

Perze Ababa and Gwen Iarussi join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about these areas of recent and new development, the skills needed to be successful, and ways to make sure that you get to be in "The Room Where it Happens", to borrow from Hamilton.

The Testing Show: External vs. Internal Software Testing Nov 19, 2020

Software fills many niches and does many things for individuals and businesses. Some software is designed and developed for mass user interaction, while other applications are designed for specific purposes and markets. Some software is literally developed to work within a company for the benefit of its staff and is never seen outside of the company it serves. Still, it feels as though the testing advice that is given and received often focuses on big players and customer facing software.

Perze Ababa, early show alumni, joins Matt Heusser and Michael Larsen to discuss his role in software initiatives that reach both to customers and those projects that are specific to organizations and their workers to be productive and effective. He explains how one size definitely does not fit all.

The Testing Show: Virtual Conference Testing Oct 22, 2020

The title this week may seem odd but it is indeed correct, as Michael Larsen participated in and in effect helped to test out the various challenges and solutions that go with putting on a virtual conference in this current period of time.

In this episode, Michael talks with two long time veterans of the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, Philip Lew (Program Chair) and Bill Opsal (a long time volunteer and troubleshooter) about the ups and downs of putting on a virtual conference, things that went well, challenges faced and some lessons learned that may help anyone with putting on a virtual conference in the future.

The Testing Show: De-Risking Enterprise QA with Simon Evans Oct 09, 2020

As organizations get larger or infrastructure/software becomes more relied upon, testing itself can have its share of risks. For this episode, Matt and Michael chat with Simon Evans about how to approach larger systems (and perhaps not so large systems), make the needed decisions to focus on important areas and make QA a less risky proposition altogether.

The Testing Show: Dealing with Tech Burnout Sep 24, 2020

It's safe to say that 2020 has introduced challenges into people's lives in unprecedented ways (at least in our current times). Some are thriving but many are feeling the results of burnout. Raj Subrameyer joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk through common issues of burnout as it relates to tech workers and some approaches and methods that can be used to deal with said burnout if not banish it entirely.

The Testing Show: Record and Playback Sep 12, 2020

There have been record and playback tools available for the past few decades, with varying results and reputations. They often over promise and under deliver. Today, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen are joined by Rex Feizi of Subject7 and Leandro Melendez (Señor Performo) to talk about the latest generation of record and playback tools, how to leverage them effectively and use them in spaces where they are intended (as well as explore other areas where they can be beneficial) and get some good advice about how to make the best use of these tools both now and into the future.

The Testing Show: Optimized QA with Aviram Shotten Aug 27, 2020

It may feel that your team may be doing a lot of testing but how do you know if you are doing the right testing or the needed testing and not wasting time on areas that are not as important or add little value to your efforts? Aviram Shotten joins us to have a conversation about optimizing QA efforts and putting those hard-earned QA dollars and cents to best use.

The Testing Show: The BIASED Podcast Aug 13, 2020

As software testers, we are often told that we need to check our biases at the door, to not go in with preconceived notions, to look past logical fallacies, and prevent them from entering into our daily work. As our guest Rachel Kibler helps us see, that is easy to say but much harder to do.

The Testing Show: Scaled Agile with Yoav Ziv Jul 30, 2020

It's one thing to apply Agile principles to a new project or to a small initiative. It's another thing entirely to apply these principles to a large organization with many moving parts, focused teams, and existing products. How do larger companies take agile and actually "make it scale?" In today's show, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen go in-depth with Yoav Ziv to discuss the advantages and pitfalls of applying Scaled agile approaches to an organization and examine how these changes are having an effect on organizations and testing teams.

The Testing Show: Career Development in the Time of COVID Jul 17, 2020

As the weeks turn into months and COVID-19 infections continue in many places around the globe, plans for Career Development and conferring with others are transforming to meet the unique challenges. In this episode, Smita Mishra and Anna Royzman join Matt Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about ways that conferences and other providers of learning opportunities are coming together to address ways in which to create meaningful learning opportunities and the fact that going to a conference in person and attending a conference online from home are not at all the same thing. We also bring back the immediate news portion of the show with a quick discussion of both the technology and ethics of contact tracing and happily announce that The Testing Show will be moving to a two-week format starting in July.

The Testing Show: The Secret Weapon of QA Modernization Jul 02, 2020

It's tempting to think that, in an area like Software Testing, "it's all been done" in some ways or another. To say that there's some "secret weapon" out there can raise some skeptical eyebrows. Yet Maya Ben Lerner and Leandro Melendez both say that there is indeed an area that can unleash great power if approached from the right angle. We don't want to spoil the surprise... well, OK, we do a little bit. That angle is infrastructure automation. Even with that, there's a lot of meat to discuss, so join Maya and Leandro as they talk with Matthew Heuser, Michael Larsen, and returning guest Mike Lyles on how to make your environments stand up and help you take control of your testing.

The Testing Show: Prioritizing Testing in DevOps May 28, 2020

In this "COVID" edition of The Testing Show, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome James Back to discuss the state of testing and the push towards DevOps. Are we missing something with this push? Are we losing the actual testing that is needed? Are there testers legitimately excited about these changes? Have a listen and find out!

The Testing Show: Working Remotely Apr 15, 2020

With Shelter at Home orders in place in many cities and entire countries due to COVID-19, we are experiencing an experiment not yet tried in our history. Many are working from home who have not had the opportunity to before and it is creating some unique challenges.

Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome back Yadira Arevalo and Elle Gee to have a frank conversation about the stresses and realities of working remotely. We talk about both the challenges and opportunities with so many working remotely, as well as ways to do the best work possible and cope with what may be a new normal.

The Testing Show: Scaled Agile Apr 01, 2020

In what is proving to be a challenging month for most of the world, we decided to tackle the topic of SAFe, basically the Scaled Agile Framework. Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen have a chat with Jennifer Fawcett about SAFe. What is it? Why does it matter to your organization as a whole and to testing and testers in particular?

The Testing Show: Performance Assurance Feb 20, 2020

We've heard of Performance Testing but what is Performance Assurance? In a One on One conversation, Matt Heusser talks with Leandro Melendez about the difference between Performance Testing and Performance Assurance and how the changing landscape of systems and infrastructure makes Performance Assurance an area worth paying attention to.

The Testing Show: How to Identify Testing Talent Jan 28, 2020

As it is a new year, we decided it would be interesting to discuss the hiring of testing talent as well as being the testing talent and looking to be hired. What do recruiters actually look for? Do I have the right skill set? What do hiring managers actually look for? How important is a culture fit and why does it matter? Also, what are the areas that we can't fake on our interviews?

These questions and many more are being asked by Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen as they talk about the details of interviewing testing talent with Yadira Arevalo and Elle Gee.

The Testing Show: Agile Testing – From DevOps to Continuous Delivery Dec 19, 2019

Agile Testing has now been around in some form or another for two decades, yet it seems that what people are calling Agile Testing and what Agile Testing actually is are still two different things. Why is there such a gap in both understanding and practice? Matt Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Lisa Crispin, Elle Gee and Jamie Phillips to discuss exactly that. In the process, we get into how Agile is practiced in both small teams and in larger organizations, where it is practiced well, and some of the common pitfalls even the best of Agile organizations still face.

The Testing Show: Cyber and Security Nov 21, 2019

In many organizations the security testing is often done by an outside group or entity, often late in the project and with very little interactions by members of the main team. This month, Matthew and Michael are joined by Uri Bar-El, a cyber and security expert who has seen a few things in a twenty-year plus career. We are also joined again by Elle Gee to have a look at the unique challenges we face in the cyber realm and things we can do to meet those challenges head-on.

The Testing Show: Coverage Oct 28, 2019

Coverage is a broad area and asking ten people will probably get you ten different answers. We didn't ask ten people but we did ask three and this podcast sums up that discussion. Join us as we delve into the topic of coverage with Perze Ababa, Elle Gee, Matthew Husser, and Michael Larsen to see the good, the bad, the ugly, and the just plain necessary of coverage as it relates to software testing.

The Testing Show: A Career In Testing Sep 24, 2019

Have you thought about what brought you to your testing career thus far lately? If you are looking to get into testing where do you even start? That’s the topic of today’s show, where Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen talk with Lanette Creamer, Elle Gee, Sangeetha Gururaj, and Jessica Ingrassellino about the ins, the outs and the often times sideways about careers in testing as well as the fact that we can do better with building up and helping new developers learn.

The Testing Show: Women In Tech Aug 27, 2019

For this episode of The Testing Show, Matt and Michael step back and invite Elle Gee, Jessica Ingrassellino, Rachel Kibler, Claire Moss, and Lihi Segev to share and discuss their own journies in the world of technology and the various and varied experiences they have had and highlight areas that have been successes in varied places like Australia, Israel and the U.S., as well as areas where we as an industry can do better.

The Testing Show: UX and Usability Jul 25, 2019

How often do we look at an application and wonder what the people who were designing it were thinking? When jumping through hoops that seem odd or out of place, it's easy to ask "how can this have been designed this way?!" If it makes you feel better, there are people who research the areas of Usability and User Experience (UX) specifically. Michael Larsen talks with Charlotte Dijksman of Test Birds and Nick Leal of Qualitest about the good, the bad and the just plain out there of Usability and UX.

The Testing Show: Testing In India Jun 24, 2019

This time on The Testing Show, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Mahesh Chikane and Smita Mishra to talk about the unique challenges and opportunities facing the software testing community in India.

The Testing Show: SAP Testing May 16, 2019

SAP (Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing) is a large suite of software products best described as being an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Many large scale companies use SAP to cover a variety of processes related to accounting, finance and commerce, as well as a variety of other functions. While a tester may not be working directly with it, it's a very good bet that if you visit sites that are large enough, you are absolutely interacting with a SAP system(s) somewhere. For this episode, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Simon Evans to talk about all things SAP, the ways in which it shows up in so many places, and ways that testers can level up and come to grips with this large ecosystem of inter-related systems.

The Testing Show: Stress Cases Apr 19, 2019

We are all familiar with stress testing when we put an application under load or negative conditions but what about when we put ourselves under those same conditions? Rachel Kibler and Elle Gee join Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about this more human element of software testing that often gets overlooked and how applying it to our everyday testing activities might help us do better testing overall.

The Testing Show: Advanced Agile with DevOps Mar 14, 2019

DevOps is a common term and one that seems to be hard to pin down or to define. Additionally, it seems that for many, the idea behind DevOps seems to be an elimination of testers or testing. Our guests Lisa Crispin of mabl and Jessica Ingrassellino of Salesforce.org are here to discuss how software testers are indeed important in the process of DevOps and some ways we can get involved in ways we may not have considered. A key element is Observability (#olly) and we get into the details of considering observability as part of the DevTestOps equation.

The Testing Show: Digital Transformation Mar 01, 2019

Over the past several decades, we have witnessed many changes in the way that we do things. Catalogs are mostly things of the past, as are phone books, a crew of phone operators and a variety of other services that we may often take for granted today. Each of those transformations, however have gone through their share of growing pains to bring us where we are today and truth be told, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. For this episode, Matt Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Shachar Schiff and Gerie Owen to talk about the benefits of digital transformations, where things have gone well, where things have gone not so well and a few surprises along the way. In addition, they discuss the continuous nature of digital transformation and the software testers unique role in that process:

The Testing Show: Testing with AI and Machine Learning Dec 14, 2018

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are the hip buzzwords at the moment and if you listen to enough people, they are the hot new technologies that are poised to make software testers obsolete. Is that accurate? Well, yes and no. More of a “kind of but not really”. Today, Matt Heusser and Michael Larsen chat with Daniel Geater and Jason Arbon to get to the bottom of this “AI and Machine Learning” thing. Is it real? It sure is. Is it going to transform testing? Potentially yes? Should testers be scared? Absolutely not. There are opportunities galore with this AI/ML world and Daniel and Jason are happy to tell you all about them.

The Testing Show: Meaningful Performance Nov 15, 2018

Today as we see the ideas of server-less architecture, cloud-based implementations and more distributed services come into play, the way that we think of performance and performance testing is changing. Nevertheless, it’s still critical and can be a make or break element of a site or applications suffers or demise. To talk about the ways that performance impacts testers as well as ways to discuss the broader implications of the changing performance space, Scott Barber and Caleb Billingsley join Matt Heusser and Michael Larsen to chat about ways to have conversations with those who make the larger decisions. Also, the conversation covers ways to give those who are not as familiar with the performance space a point of reference to get in and start tuning up their performance game.

The Testing Show: Usable Metrics Oct 18, 2018

Over the years, a variety of metrics have been gathered to measure and determine how well or how poorly the processes of software quality and software delivery have progressed. Sometimes these metrics are helpful. A lot of the time they are benign or irrelevant. Sometimes they can actually be hurtful or stymie progress, which defeats their purpose altogether. Matt and Michael welcome Tom Cagley and Nausheen Sayed to discuss meaningful metric, what they are, how to find them, how to make them work for us, and we discuss some metrics train wrecks.

The Testing Show: Building Great Testing Teams Sep 13, 2018

As the software delivery process matures and grows, a variety of teams are forming and becoming part of the everyday testing landscape. These teams may or may not resemble anything that many testers are familiar with. New roles and responsibilities are coming into play, with many software testers taking on roles such as Scrum-master, Release Manager, Product Owner and other positions that would have been seen as out of the ordinary for testers a decade or so ago. The role are blending, the responsibilities are blending, so how does a tester determine what the best course of action is and how to participate in this brave new world? Perze Ababa, Paul Grizzaffi, Matthew Heusser, Michael Larsen, Gerie Owen and Peter Varhol all gather together to consider what makes for good testing teams and good teams in general.

The Testing Show: Conferences and Conferring with Anna Royzman, Claire Moss and Mike Lyles Aug 17, 2018

August is a busy time of year for software testing conferences (not to mention conferences in other industries). This month, we decided that, with everyone heading off to conferences hither and yon that we would dedicate a show to the topic, and we have done exactly that. Anna Royzman (Test Masters Academy), Claire Moss (DevOps Days) and Mike Lyles (Software Test Professionals) join us as guests in their capacity as conference organizers, speakers and attendees (not necessarily in that order) to riff on Conferences and Conferring with Matthew Heusser, Michael Larsen and Perez Ababa. Want to know where to go, what format to take part in or if you want to try your hand at speaking/presenting? We’ve got something for all those bases!

The Testing Show: GDPR with Daniel Leigh Jul 19, 2018

Like many software users, it’s a good bet that you received a lot of pop-up messages or emails telling you that you had to log in to various sites and read a number of new statements and provide Consent to companies to let you use their services. If that’s how it seemed, you are not alone, there was indeed a lot of that, and it was for a very specific purpose. After Many of 2018, individuals and companies doing business with or using data belonging to anyone residing in the European Union had to, by law, make it clear that users had rights concerning how their data was being used and that they had choices as to what they could do about it. These changes are called The General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR and is now law regarding data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA).

On today’s show, we welcome Daniel Leigh who helps us understand GDPR a little better, what the ramifications of these new laws are, what they mean to companies doing business in or dealing with data relating to anyone residing in the EU, what they mean for software development and data protection and privacy, and how software testers can help make a difference in this new reality of consent and privacy.

Additionally, in our news segment, what would it have cost various companies like Yahoo, eBay, and Equifax, based on how they responded to their data breaches in the past, were they subject to the new GDPR rules?

The Testing Show: When Complete Automation Seems Impossible with Graeme Harvey Jun 14, 2018

It seems that "Automating Everything" is an implicit of not an explicit goal in many organizations. In the process of trying, many projects fail in accomplishing this goal. Our guest Graeme Harvey gives a popular talk about this and takes an interesting journey on approaching and discussing how to do this via comparisons to the book and movie "The Martian". Graeme joins Perze Ababa, Matt Heusser, Michael Larsen, Gerie Owen and Peter Varhol to riff on ideas from the book and movie and how to use these principles in our everyday automating experiences.

Also, in our news segment, it seems Elon Musk is realizing that "automating all the things" can actually be a detriment as it has been a major cause of impact to the delayed delivery of the Tesla Model 3.

The Testing Show: Usability with Smita Mishra May 17, 2018

Usability is a big deal with applications and application "stickiness". The better the Usability, the more likely an application will be successfully adopted. This week, Smita Mishra of QAZone Infosystems and Fandoro (and a lot of other things) joins Matthew Heusser, Jessica Ingrasselino, Michael Larsen and Gerie Owen to discuss what makes applications painful to use and discuss methods for making them less painful. We also discuss a variety of ways that testers can get a leg up on Usability as an advocacy platform and ways in which to encourage good UX.

Also, in our news segment, we address five possible usability issues with Electronic Health Records that go beyond frustration issues with applications. These can literally be a matter of life or death!

Resource by QualiTest Group

The Testing Show: Continuous Testing with Gerie Owen Apr 12, 2018

Continuous Testing. Sounds cool, doesn't it? The bigger question, though, is "What does is it really mean?" In the DevOps world, it's something that more and more organizations are hoping that they can get a handle on, and Gerie Owen joins Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen to talk about her experiences with Continuous Testing, DevOps and the literal sea change that such an endeavor taking on Continuous Testing actually is.

Resource by QualiTest Group

The Testing Show: The Future of Telecom Testing With Jason McIvor Mar 15, 2018

In this episode of The Testing Show, we welcome Jason McIvor to talk about the upcoming changes in the Telecom Testing world. Specifically, we look at the rollout of the 5G standard and what it will mean to consumers both in speed as well as the level of ubiquity. Jason discusses new uses for Telecom beyond the consumer space and the introduction of autonomous vehicles and Augmented Reality for both consumer purposes (games, certainly) as well as more unique angles (real time blueprints of buildings and electrical gas lines for firefighters). In addition, Jason shares with Matt and Michael his view of the changing marketplace for testing in the telecom sphere and how people who are interested can get involved.

Resource by QualiTest Group

The Testing Show: Shifting Security Left with Jeffrey Wheat Feb 23, 2018

In this episode, we are joined by Jeffrey Wheat, Director of Cyber Operations for QualiTest Group. Jeffrey spoke with Perze Alaba, Jessica Ingrassellino, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen about the changing nature of security, security vulnerabilities and ways that the discussion around Security topics can be handled more directly and earlier in the software development process. Also in our news segment, what happens when a security issue affects nearly every current version of a CPU, even when the machines are not turned on?

The Testing Show: CodeNewbie With Saron Yitbarek, Part 2 Jan 18, 2018

In this episode, we conclude our interview with CodeNewbie founder Saron Yitbarek. We discuss the value of shared learning through the Ruby Book Club, discuss what makes the Codeland Conference unique, and talk about the challenges and opportunities of sharing our own stories and coding journeys. We also turn the tables on Saron and ask her to play a version of her own podcast’s “Rapid Fire Fill in The Blank”.

Resource by QualiTest Group

The Testing Show: CodeNewbie With Saron Yitbarek, Part 1 Jan 04, 2018

Welcome to 2018! It’s a new Year and with a new year many people make New Year’s Resolutions. Learning how to code is a frequent resolution choice, so Jessica Ingrassellino and Michael Larsen kick off the new year by talking with Saron Yitbarek, the founder of the CodeNewbie Podcast, CodeNewbie Community and the Codeland Conference, all initiatives based around helping and supporting people new to programming and helping hem navigate their way on their coding journey.

Saron shares her journey, the highs and lows, the excitement and the ever present frustrations, and the fact that programming is one of those areas where you are not penalized for not being 100% right all of the time right off the bat. This is Part 1 of a two part series. Part 2 will be posted in two weeks.

Resource by QualiTest Group

The Testing Show: Hiring and Getting Hired Dec 21, 2017

As we close out the year that was 2017, we welcome Gwen Dobson to The Testing Show to talk about Hiring Testers and Test Managers, the challenges and changes that re happening in the market, the issues and frustrations many of us face as we look for new opportunities, and all that that entails. Matt Heusser, Jessica Ingrasselino and Michael Larsen also join in with their own takes on entering the testing world through the side door, having conversations about money and skill, and not selling short the very real-life experiences and opportunities from learning in other work and experience capacities that don’t necessarily make sense as part of a bullet list of testing skills.

Also, in our news segment, in several states and metropolitan job areas, it is now illegal to ask about your salary history. How do you approach such a discussion if that’s the case?

Resource by QualiTest Group

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