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Testing PeersTesting Peers 100Testing Peers podcast has reached 100 episodes!Beth Marshall (10 episodes), chairs this special look back and forward episode, joined by Simon Prior (78 episodes), Russell Craxford (88), Chris Armstrong (93) and David Maynard (96).Beth skillfully guides the conversation to talk about the podcast and beyond, what are we most proud of?A few little peeks behind the curtain, including some insight into how long the editors typically take per episode. Many thanks to you David and Russell 2024-02-1347 minTesting PeersChristmas Past, Present and FutureHello and welcome to episode 70 of the Testing Peers podcast.As we're drawing toward Christmas this week we thought we'd do a special. Taking a leaf from 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens we do a little retrospective and take a look at Christmas past, present and future. We're joined by the usual crew David, Simon, Chris and Russell and we have some festive messages from some of our testing friends Dan Ashby, Steven Warburton, Beth Marshall, Emna Ayadi and Neil Studd.We share some terrible jokes, our memories of Christmas, some of w...2022-12-1836 min
Testers' Island DiscsTesters' Island Discs Ep56 - Lewis PrescottPodcast links:Cera CareTestSphere Roulette Episode (with Lewis Prescott & Karo Stoltzenburg)TestSphere Roulette Episode (with Neil Studd & Dan Billing)Ministry of Testing workshop: Introduction to Contract Testing with PactPact documentation (including 5-minute Getting Started guide)SwaggerVulture: Jim Carrey not only steals but IS the show on The Weeknd's "Dawn FM"Pactflow Blog: Proving E2E tests are a ScamOfficelovin: Asos office tourPact terminologyPactflowMinistry of Testing: Consumer Driven Contract Testing - Raquel Bautista-GarridoTest Automation University: Contract Tests with Pact - Rafaela AzevedoLewis's GitHub profileLewis's website: Pactman ConsultingLewis on Twitter: @WuigPrescottRegular Links:Sign up to be a...2022-02-2533 min
TestSphere RouletteTestSphere Roulette Episode 5 - Neil Studd and Dan BillingDan mentioned some useful resources particularly around the Social Engineering card:Darknet Diaries PodcastGoodreads list of Social Engineering booksNeil is a very active podcast host and his shows can be found here:Testers Island Discs - @testersIslandTech Team WeeklyScreen Testing (with Dan)To contact Neil:Twitter: https://twitter.com/neilstuddBlog: https://www.neilstudd.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilstudd/To contact Dan:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheTestDoctorBlog: https://thetestdoctor.co.uk/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielbilling/Thank you!Thank you to Ministry of Testing...2021-10-0141 min
Screen TestingEp 28: The Social NetworkWe’re joined by Jenna Charlton to discuss David Fincher’s critically-acclaimed Mark Zuckerberg biopic which straddles a very fine line between hero worship and cautionary tale. We talk about the pre-Facebook internet days of Angelfire and MySpace, how the movie mostly gets its tech correct for a change, and our real-life experiences with the privilege which the film displays. We get a bit serious in the middle as we unpack the overt misogynism on-display in the movie, discuss the impact of Facebook’s push into the editorial and advertising spaces, and look at what happen...2020-09-1600 min
Screen TestingEp 27: The NetIt's time for another long-overdue dive into technology in 90s movies, as we go deep into the "not as bad as you heard it was" Sandra Bullock thriller, The Net. We investigate whether Jack Devlin has the skills required to be an international spy, whether the film merited the little-known sequel and TV series which it received, and whether Angela should be briefer in her emails when she's being pursued. As usual, there are tangents upon tangents, as we uncover the secret behind Neil's unwritten novel, Dan's time spent working at the bleeding edge of...2020-07-3100 min
Screen TestingEp 26: Independence DayTrying to sync your episode with an immovable calendar date? Doing two recordings in one week? Suffering with kidney stones as well? It’s no problem for your favourite (perhaps) test-focused movie buffs, who are here to talk about a sci-fi classic which has an unmentionable sequel, despite the fact that Neil keeps mentioning it. Dan and Neil are your guides on a trip through that most traditional of holiday tales, featuring a weird mix of American bravado and hubris. The explosions are almost as large as the plot conveniences, as they set out to answer all of...2020-07-0400 min
Screen TestingEp 25: The Return!Where have the last two years gone? Neil and Dan reunite as they attempt to quantify the many things that have kept them away from their microphones, whilst also focusing on some of the bigger issues of today (virulent or otherwise). As well as the many subjects of births, deaths, marriages and bubbles, we attempt to put a positive spin on COVID, discuss the ever-evolving impact of Black Lives Matter on historical media, and there's a rundown of the mixed bag which is the current UK box office for 2020. Films and TV shows mentioned:...2020-06-3000 min
Screen TestingEp 24: SullyWe're back from a brief hiatus with - unbelievably - a film which actually deeply relates to testing! We're joined by Mark Tomlinson, who brings his own experiences of dealing with the National Transportation Safety Board, to discuss a film about a remarkable moment of true-life heroism, and the decisions that we make in the heat of the moment. The events of the movie give us a chance to get into in-depth discussions about the challenges of testing within regulated industries, developing risk mitigation strategies in life-critical environments, debugging/monitoring, and whether quality is a team effort.2018-06-0100 min
Screen TestingEp 23: SpeedPop quiz, hotshot! You want to record a new podcast episode, but you also want a break from some of the darker plots that you've talked about recently. Plus, you're snowed-in at home. What do you do? Dan and Neil decide not to shoot the hostage, but to instead kick back with a discussion about Speed. In an episode recorded at the beginning of March (hence some timeline discrepancies and weird Oscar predictions), they find many parallels with Die Hard, and manage to work-in a surprising number of testing elements, including setting/reviewing acceptance criteria, pairing in t...2018-04-0600 min
Screen TestingEp 22: The Silence of The LambsWe return a little later than planned, as we discuss one of the greatest thrillers of our time, getting into discussions about psychology, interviewing, misogyny and gender politics, and appropriate occasions for purchasing FBI-themed cakes. We also salvage the best bits of our failed Oscars announcement episode, highlighting a few nominations that we hope will win big, and staking our reputations on a few predictions of our own. Miscellaneous Links: Ministry of Testing charity calendar Saving Linnea Wikipedia: List of Big Five Academy Award winners and nominees YouTube: The Silence of The Lambs as a...2018-02-1400 min
Screen TestingEp 21: La La LandWe begin 2018 with a discussion of Neil's favourite film of 2017, and a worrying early revelation about Dan's general problems with musicals. But we persevere, and discover not only a few musical gems in Dan's closet, but also a shared appreciation for some of the plot elements in La La Land. Things get a bit philosophical and introspective as we dig into how we motivate ourselves (and others) when we (or they) suffer setbacks, how we tell our own stories about the world around us, taking the opportunities that come your way, avoiding being paralysed by "what if"...2018-01-1200 min
Screen TestingEp 20: Best/Worst of 2017As the year draws to a conclusion, Neil and Dan give a rundown of their favourite movies of the past 12 months, and highlight a few festive turkeys. The show notes are deliberately brief to avoid spoilers, but if you want to see the films which we discussed in YouTube trailer format, there are some playlists linked below. References: YouTube trailers: Neil's worst 10 films of 2017 YouTube trailers: Dan's films of 2017 YouTube trailers: Neil's top 10 films of 2017 Letterboxd: All of Neil's 2017 cinema viewings ranked Thanks everyone for listening to us this year, and we'll see...2017-12-1400 min
Screen TestingEp 19: Home Alone / Die HardIn an episode recorded over the course of five hours, your hosts gather at Chez Neil for their own mini Christmas party, with a fine array of mince pies, cheeses and ales, as well as two of their favourite festive movies. The result? A fun and rambling journey which gets increasingly erratic as we continue. Both nursing sore throats and hangovers from previous nights' office parties, we nevertheless get to all of the important questions, such as why Hans Gruber owns a TARDIS on wheels, which of Macaulay Culkin's traps constitute appropriate force, whether the Nakatomi Corporation...2017-12-0800 min
Screen TestingEp 18: Rocky (LIVE!)Yo listeners! Another conference means another live episode, as we join you from backstage at TestBash Philadelphia, to talk about Rocky, the only film that we could realistically talk about (despite special guest Keith Klain's best attempts to pitch ludicrous alternatives). In an episode which isn't sponsored by Ministry of Testing (despite how much it might seem like it is), we discuss some of our favourite TestBash talks, demonstrate some terrible impressions, discuss what the film can teach us about coaching and self-actualisation, and are yet again confounded by inappropriate male advances in movies. We...2017-11-1700 min
Screen TestingEp 17: Shaun of the DeadCome get some! We're talking about Edgar Wright's first film in the Cornetto trilogy, and looking into our own experiences versus the film's portrayal of friendship, house-shares, and relationships. Plus, there's a zombie outbreak, so there's that. We analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Shaun's zombie survival plan, and how our own plans might differ. We also debate the issues which rage within Shaun's group, applaud the level-headedness of the female sidekicks, and discuss whether threat modelling is an effective tool against the undead. Also, we reveal plans for a huge on-location episode in 2018! References:2017-11-0300 min
Screen TestingEp 16: GoldenEyeWell, it was inevitable. A trawl through Neil's favourite Bond movie results in an unprecedented level of pedantry, fact-checking and conversational rabbit-holes, as we lean particularly hard into the uncomfortable elements of the movie, including inappropriate remarks in the workplace, the enigma of Boris, and unconvincing love stories. There's plenty to celebrate though, as your presenters explore their respective histories with the Bond series, the novels, and the GoldenEye 007 game on the Nintendo 64. Dan wants a laser pistol, Neil wants to talk physics, everyone reminisces about trying to connect to the internet in the 1990s, and for a...2017-10-2000 min
Screen TestingEp 15: WarGames After finally overcoming the communication problems associated with talking to the other side of the world, we're joined by Mike Talks for a discussion about WarGames, the film that did for the 80s what Hackers did for the 90s, yet somehow without feeling anywhere near as dated as the latter. It's an enjoyable film with plenty to celebrate, and plenty of relevant discussion points including how humans interact with artificial intelligence, and the many obvious security vulnerabilities that are on display. However we don't neglect our duty in highlighting some very disturbing gender roles, and we...2017-10-0600 min
Screen TestingEp 14: Yes ManThis week, we "embrace the possible" as we chat to Leigh Rathbone about Yes Man, a Jim Carrey romantic comedy which tells the somewhat-real-life story of Carl Allen, an unconfident recluse who is encouraged to say "yes" to more things in his life. We talk to Leigh about how Yes Man inspired him to do the same with his testing career, and the opportunities that opened up for him when he did this. There are discussions about work-life balance, the responsibility of employers to help with maintaining balance, and when it might be appropriate to say "no".2017-09-1500 min
Screen TestingEp 13: CommandoIt's time to LET OFF SOME STEAM as we look at one of the finest examples of the 80s action movie genre. Arnie's on a mission to rescue his kidnapped daughter, while Neil and Dan are on a mission to constantly over-think every situation in the film. Amongst all of the crazy one-liners, explosions and deaths, we study John Matrix's mission, his requirement-gathering skills, and bemoan his poor password security. On the other side of the fence, we look at villain Bennett's seeming love for his nemesis, discover the interesting real-life circumstances which led to some odd...2017-09-0100 min
Screen TestingEp 12: Hidden FiguresThis week, we're honoured to be joined by Angie Jones and Ash Coleman to discuss one of the most important films of recent times, Hidden Figures. It's a heartwarming tale of three women overcoming terrible systemic prejudices, though it's bittersweet as we talk through how many of its stories are still prevalent today. Our guests take us on a deep-dive through some important cultural talking-points, including how we educate children about race issues, how feminist movements tend to favour white women, how we can shift a community's mentality, and the labeling of so-called "Social Justice Warriors". 2017-08-1800 min
Screen TestingEp 11: The CircleIn an episode best summarised as "it seemed like a good idea at the time", Neil and Dan attempt to get their teeth into Netflix's recent high-profile tech offering, The Circle, starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, only to find there's very little meat on those plot bones. It's light on spoilers (as there's not a lot to spoil), but we envision a story which might have been, had they decided to actually include character arcs, plot developments and meaningful conclusions. We keep ourselves amused along the way, coming up with the rules of proper...2017-08-0400 min
Screen TestingEp 10: WhiplashIn a long-awaited episode, Dan and Neil are joined by special guest Christopher Chant to discuss the Oscar-winning picture Whiplash, a film which tells the story of the relationship between budding jazz drummer Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) and his tutor Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons), and how their worlds collide in a quest for perfection. In a deep and serious episode, we share information on coaching and mentoring techniques that we have observed and used, exchange thoughts on how to motivate others and ourselves, talk about balancing personal and professional commitments, and ways that we can demonstrate/uncover...2017-07-2100 min
Screen TestingEp 9b: Doctor Who - Jodie Whittaker revealWe interrupt our regularly-scheduled programming to bring you our first emergency broadcast! Hot on the heels of our discussion of The Deadly Assassin comes the announcement of the new Doctor, with Jodie Whittaker becoming the first woman to play the show's leading role. In an episode where Neil and Dan spend most of their time agreeing with each other for a change, we delve into the inevitable social media outrage, discuss the reasons why the announcement points to an exciting future, bemoan the lack of non-violent superheroes in the modern age, and debate the nature of fandoms.2017-07-1900 min
Screen TestingEp 9: Doctor Who - The Deadly AssassinIn our first venture into the world of Doctor Who, guest Andrew Morton adds to Dan's expertise (and Neil's ignorance) to unpack a Fourth Doctor story which has vibes of The Manchurian Candidate and The Matrix (with a bit of a whodunnit and a courtroom drama in the middle). Plus there are fisticuffs! We take a reverential look at some of the series' tropes, including The Doctor's skill at hiding behind things, the speed at which cliffhangers are negated, stilted deathbed monologues and a villain's inability to finish off his enemy. We also analyse The M...2017-06-3000 min
Screen TestingEp 8: Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryNeil and Dan get their teeth into the latest movie in the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One, a prequel to Episode IV which is steadfastly doing its own thing, complete with retconned Death Star powers, penis-tentacled monsters and sarcastic droids. In a midichlorian-free episode, we discuss whether the Imperials should have discovered the Death Star's fatal flaw, how workplace politics can hinder us from achieving our goals, the nature of Chirrut Imwe's Force-like abilities, and the merits of re-casting versus CGI. Along the way, Dan proposes a potential spin-off podcast to explore his inner dictator, N...2017-06-1600 min
Screen TestingEp 7: HackersHACK THE PLANET! Your regular hosts Neil (aka Integer Overflow) and Dan (Shoe_Gazer) are taking over the airwaves with special guest Matthew Bretten (Mr Null) to pull apart the most 90s film of all-time. We analyse the visuals, the clothing, the soundtrack and the tech, all of which help to make Hackers a hundred times better than Swordfish. To keep our critical eyes sharp, we debate whether curiosity was really their only crime, whether the hacks still hold up today, and whether the recycle bin is really a good place to store secure files. A...2017-06-0200 min
Screen TestingEp 6: SwordfishIn a Screen Testing first, we take a guest's love for a movie and weaponise it against them. It's no holds barred as (alongside Mark Winteringham) we unravel the film which gathers everything that you love about hacker culture, and adds Vinnie Jones and blowjobs. There's explicit language from the start, as we wonder why John Travolta's character loves to spoil the ends of movies, we compare Gabriel to a demanding product owner, we crowdfund an interesting (but potentially libelous) reboot, and listen to a disturbing number of candid remarks from the director's commentary. We fi...2017-05-1900 min
Screen TestingEp 5: NerveAre you a watcher or a player? We're joined by Gem Hill to discuss last year's teen psychological thriller, Nerve. It's a deadly (and somewhat cheesy) technological game of truth or dare, available to stream now on Netflix. We discuss the game within the movie, the weird pockets of fame within social media, teen cliques, and how effectively the film manages its portrayal of hackers, the dark web and open-source software. We also deal with our usual array of distractions, including the unusual pricing/prize structure of Nerve, whether the game could truly run without...2017-05-0500 min
Screen TestingEp 4: Ex MachinaHow do you measure humanity? We go deep into spoilers for Ex Machina as we recap Bluebook's work to produce a robot that can pass as a human. In a reference-filled episode, we talk about the challenges of passing (or manipulating) a Turing Test, we debate the ethics of creating sentient machines, and compare the "planning/interview/debrief" structure of the film against how we approach our testing sessions. As we proceed, we get distracted by discussions about the capabilities of helicopters, we wonder how a CEO can run a business from a location with...2017-04-2100 min
Screen TestingEp 3: Star Wars Holiday Special (LIVE!)Recorded live with guests at the TestBash Brighton Open Space on Saturday 25th March 2017. Expect some occasionally dubious sound quality, and some strong language, as we try our best to unravel the story behind the Star Wars Holiday Special. We focus on the "requirements" and the various different audiences for the show, wondering whether any of them would have been impressed that the previous summer's breakout sci-fi hit had been watered-down into a variety show format. There are thoughts about whether George Lucas was paying attention, the role of pornography in the Star Wars universe, and...2017-04-0700 min
Screen TestingEp 2: Father Ted - Speed 3It's our first (and possibly not our last) visit to Craggy Island, as we take apart arguably the finest episode of Father Ted, in which our heroic priests do battle with a randy milkman and a bomb on a milkfloat. Discover how every mishap in the episode is a direct result of Ted's inability to communicate clearly, join our contest to find the best use for a brick, we analyse the priests' five possible solutions to the bomb problem, and learn which joke Neil took 19 years to get. Among our many distractions, we discuss how man...2017-03-2400 min
Screen TestingEp 1: Deepwater HorizonJoin the Screen Testers' first full-length episode, as we discuss the Berg/Wahlberg movie which inspired the podcast. It's a disaster film with a uniquely testing twist, as we analyse the events that led up to the catastrophe. We investigate the culture of miscommunication, debate how we know when testing is completed, the importance of quality in a safety-critical environment, and how false positives/negatives can blight automation. Along the way, we'll debate foreshadowing, alarm clock precision, jump-scares, and whether Kriss Akabusi holds the key to surviving a catastrophe. For a wordier version of this epis...2017-03-1000 min
Screen TestingEp 0: IntroductionsIt's introduction time: join Neil and Dan as they take you through a potted history of their experiences with testing, movies, and podcasting. Learn about Arnie's movie debut; the episode you'll never hear; and discussion on the statute of limitations for spoilers. Hear it before it gets awarded the Golden Poddy™! Podcasts that we name-checked that are undoubtedly better than ours: Testing in the Pub Let's Talk About Tests, Baby How Did This Get Made? Bad Puns and Machine Guns James Bonding Radio Free Skaro Verity Wittertainment Empire Fi...2017-02-2400 min