Shows
The Testing ShowSynthetic Data in TestingIn this episode, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen welcome Pat Rinaldo and Naresh Kumar Nunna to discuss the importance of synthetic test data for organizations that handle large amounts of customer data and cannot use real data due to privacy concerns. Ally Bank, working with Qualitest, has successfully leveraged synthetic data to enable faster innovation and testing for its automotive and insurance applications. Pat and Naresh discuss ways that they have been able to generate diverse and representative test data to cover a wide range of scenarios, provide significant improvements in test coverage, regression testing speed, and r...
2025-05-0533 min
The Testing ShowSap For Utilities 2024 ReflectionsQualitest 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.
2024-10-1119 min
The Testing ShowTesting in the News: CrowdStrike and lessons for TestersCrowdStrike 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 w...
2024-08-1433 minThe Testing ShowTesting with Generative AIIn 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.
2024-05-0632 minThe Testing ShowDigital Transformation in Credit UnionsIn 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.
2023-09-2927 min
Advancing TalentYou Can’t Achieve A Goal You Haven’t Set with Qualitest CHRO, Einav LaviQualitest Chief HR Officer, Einav Lavi joins host Spencer Stewart in this episode of "Advancing Talent" to discuss the AI revolution happening in the world of HR and how the latest technologies affect your place in the world of work. Lavi shares insights into the work being done at Qualitest, a leader in quality engineering spearheaded by the power of AI, and how embracing digitization instead of fearing it is the way forward. Also, hear what the HR genius has to say about aligning your personal goals with that of the company and how belief alone doesn't take you...
2023-08-1741 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: QualiprideIn 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.
2023-06-2053 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: QualiprideIn 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.
2022-06-2236 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: New York To New You ft. Manoj GuptaWe 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.
2022-05-2537 min
HRchat PodcastHow to Attract Top Tech Talent with Max Nirenberg, CommitIn this HRchat episode, we consider the challenges of hiring and connecting top tech talent.Bill's guest this time is Max Nirenberg, CRO and Managing Director for North America at Commit, a systems house delivering unique and integrative development projects for its customers since 2005.Max’s role is to lead and optimize the sales organization and spearhead strategic management planning for the global account management teams. His primary focus is to introduce the company’s delivery capabilities to the US market.Questions Include:Hiring in the tech world has never been...
2022-01-1326 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: The Dying Business? Really?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.
2021-08-2722 min
Transformation in 10Part 1: Leandro Melendez at Qualitest on performance testing and monitoring — with analogiesLeandro Melendez, aka Señor Performo, Performance Test Manager at Qualitest, gets to the crux of performing testing today – not to be confused with load testing. Leandro is brimming with illuminating analogies to explain peak performance testing and monitoring.
2021-08-0912 minTransformation in 10Part 2: Leandro Melendez at Qualitest on performance testing and monitoring — with analogiesFurther insights with Leandro Melendez, aka Señor Performo, Performance Test Manager at Qualitest. We learn how to overcome obstacles to integrating performance testing into automated pipelines, and discover tried-and-true methods to best test SAP applications.
2021-08-0910 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Quality Engineering with Anbu MuppidathiIt'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.
2021-05-1931 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Record and PlaybackThere 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 t...
2020-09-1234 min
The Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Optimized QA with Aviram ShottenIt 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.
2020-08-2730 min
Nabil Bonduki e o Cotidiano da Metrópole - Rádio USPSão Paulo precisa dar mais atenção para a crescente população em situação de ruaNa edição de Cotidiano na Metrópole desta semana, o arquiteto e urbanista Nabil Bonduki, professor da Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU) da USP, repercute o censo realizado pela Prefeitura de São Paulo, em 2019, e anunciado nesta semana, que confirmou que, nos últimos quatro anos, a população em situação de rua cresceu a uma taxa média anual de 11,5%, saltando de 15,9 mil para 24,4 mil pessoas.
Partindo de uma coluna escrita para o jornal Folha de S. Paulo, Bonduki reforça que os dados divulgados pela Prefeitura podem conter imprecisões, já que grupos como o Mo...
2020-08-2204 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: The BIASED PodcastAs 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.
2020-08-1335 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Scaled Agile with Yoav ZivIt'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.
2020-07-3027 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Career Development in the Time of COVIDAs 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...
2020-07-1737 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: The Secret Weapon of QA ModernizationIt'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...
2020-07-0237 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Prioritizing Testing in DevOpsIn 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!
2020-05-2833 min
Mission Matters Innovation with Adam TorresSoftware Testing and Quality Assurance with Norm MerrittSoftware testing and quality assurance are two key components of delivering complex products in today's marketplace. With complexity increasing, it often makes sense to bring in an outside company to help. In this episode, Adam Torres and Norm Merritt, CEO at QualiTest, explore software testing and quality assurance.Follow Adam on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/askadamtorres/ for up to date information on book releases and tour schedule.Apply to be interviewed by Adam on our podcast:https://missionmatters.lpages.co/podcastguest/More FREE content from Mission Matters here: https://l...
2020-05-2210 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Working RemotelyWith 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 a...
2020-04-1636 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Scaled AgileIn 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?
2020-04-0125 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Performance AssuranceWe'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.
2020-02-2030 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: How to Identify Testing TalentAs 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...
2020-01-2834 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Agile Testing – From DevOps to Continuous DeliveryAgile 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...
2019-12-2032 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Cyber and SecurityIn 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.
2019-11-2129 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: CoverageCoverage 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.
2019-10-2833 min
Healthcare Weekly: At the Forefront of Healthcare InnovationIs Artificial Intelligence the Future of Medical Quality Testing?Learn more about Qualitest by visiting https://qualitestgroup.com/
2019-10-1136 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: A Career In TestingHave 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.
2019-09-2429 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Women In TechFor 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.
2019-08-2740 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: UX and UsabilityHow 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.
2019-07-2527 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Testing In IndiaThis 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.
2019-06-2431 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: SAP TestingSAP (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...
2019-05-1622 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Stress CasesWe 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.
2019-04-1925 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Advanced Agile with DevOpsDevOps 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.
2019-03-1430 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Digital TransformationOver 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 di...
2019-03-0131 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Testing with AI and Machine LearningArtificial 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 wo...
2018-12-1428 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Meaningful PerformanceToday 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. Al...
2018-11-1536 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Usable MetricsOver 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.
2018-10-1826 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Building Great Testing TeamsAs 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...
2018-09-1333 min
Software Process and Measurement CastContinuous Testing, an Interview with Gerie OwenSPaMCAST 504 features our interview with Gerie Owen. Gerie and I discussed continuous testing, DevOps, and testing in an agile culture! We worked through big ideas that can have a big impact on how you work and deliver value immediately. Gerie Owen is the VP of Knowledge and Innovation at QualiTest. Gerie Owen represents the QualiTest team at the client site and manages the offshore team's test activities including the development of an automated regression test suite. Gerie manages large, complex projects involving multiple applications, coordinates test teams across multiple time zones and delivers high-quality projects on time and within budget...
2018-07-2226 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Usability with Smita MishraUsability 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...
2018-05-1732 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Continuous Testing with Gerie OwenContinuous 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
2018-04-1230 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: The Future of Telecom Testing With Jason McIvorIn 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...
2018-03-1528 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Shifting Security Left with Jeffrey WheatIn 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?
2018-02-2332 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: CodeNewbie With Saron Yitbarek, Part 2In 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
2018-01-1831 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: CodeNewbie With Saron Yitbarek, Part 1Welcome 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 o...
2018-01-0432 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Hiring and Getting HiredAs 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...
2017-12-2132 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Testing in DevOpsThis week we are joined by Katrina Clokie, author of “A Practical Guide to Testing in DevOps” to talk about the growth of DevOps, which organizations are actually doing it (and how well/completely they are), and the strange three-way handshake that happens with Development, Operations and Testing. If you have been curious about the ins and outs of testing in DevOps, we have you covered this week. Resource by QualiTest Group
2017-12-0734 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Meetups and Building CommunityIt’s a common expression to hear people say that we should “get involved in the broader testing community” but what does that actually mean? In today’s episode, Jessica Ingrassellino, Matthew Heusser and Michael Larsen get into the specifics of that topic with Melissa Tondi, president of Software Quality Association of Denver (SQuAD). As all of the above are veterans of either participating in or hosting community meetups, we talk about how to make sure that you are meeting the expectations of your members, ways to keep them engaged and to help grow those community ties. Also, in...
2017-11-2331 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Claims and Practices, Part 2We conclude our two part series by talking about Code Review as a Service, who might need such a thing, what it promises and how it corresponds with what organizations are actually doing. As was the case last week, we share opinions and talk about the fact that marketing often drives the perception, but the devil is always in the details and the details may not be as compelling or flashy but they are relevant and more times than not really tell a fuller story of what is going on. Resource by QualiTest Group
2017-11-0923 min
IT Career EnergizerIt’s Important To Have A Purpose with Stewart NoakesStewart Noakes has been an I.T. consultant since the mid 90s. In 2000 Stewart set up TCL, an independent software testing consultancy, growing the company to around 150 employees. TCL was subsequently acquired by Qualitest in 2012. Stewart has since used his entrepreneurial experience to help both new and established organisations to innovate and change. In this episode Stewart tells us that we need to be able to identify the gap between where we are in our career now and where we want to get to. Stewart also explains why you need to be flexible and open minded as...
2017-10-3018 minThe Testing ShowThe Testing Show: Claims and Practices, Part 1For this set of two shows, we decided to do a forum of just us regulars, and we were going to look at a couple of news stories. Those stories turned out to be the bulk of an extended conversation. We realized that the theme in all of them were the claims that companies made vs. what actually happens in workplaces and organizations. Needless to say, this is an opinionated set of shows this go around as we discuss the promise of Machine Learning and what it actually delivers. We look at it in the light of...
2017-10-2628 minThe Testing ShowMachine Learning, Part 2We are back with Peter Varhol for Part 2 of our discussion on Machine Learning and AI. In this episode, we pick up with Peter and discuss the pitfalls of machine learning algorithms, where they can help us and where they often fail us. Also, what is the role of the tester and testing in machine learning and AI? How intimately involved with the problem domain do testers need to be? How can they learn to understand the analytical parts and what they need to accomplish within that problem domain. Resource by QualiTest Group
2017-10-1231 minThe Testing ShowTwenty Years of QualiTest with Ayal ZylbermanQualiTest is celebrating its 20th Anniversay this month. To celebrate, founder and global CEO Ayal Zylberman joined Matt Heusser, Jessica Ingrassellino, Perze Ababa, Justin Rohrman and Michael Larsen to talk about the ups and down, and the growth and changes that QualiTest has been through. Ayal discusses how the climate has changed, the ways in which testing at QualiTest has changed, and what he sees as interesting opportunities for the future. Also, Ayal weighs in with us on the Equifax breach and what it might mean for the quality reputation of Equifax and other companies in the future.
2017-09-2830 minThe Testing ShowMachine Learning, Part 1This is the first of a two-parter with Peter Varhol on both the promises and the hype surrounding AI and Machine Learning. Matt, Perze and Michael go down the rabbit hole on the Machine Learning topic with Peter as we try to wrap our heads around both the realities of Machine Learning, AI and the unique testing challenges such systems offer. From Facebook’s Chatbots negotiating an agreement to systems making predictive suggestions in ways that are both intriguing and creepy. There is a lot to the machine learning puzzle that we are just starting to understand and also pr...
2017-09-1427 minThe Testing ShowUbiquitous ComputingIn an age when computing and communications is happening on anything and everything imaginable, Matt and Michael reached out to Paul Grizaffi of Magenic to discuss the proliferation of the Internet of Things as well as the convergence of so many devices that used to be discrete components requiring space, attention and connections that had to be closely monitored. With the Internet of Things and, more to the point, the spread of Ubiquitous Computing that goes even beyond the Internet of Things, we chatted and geeked-out on some developments in tech that have changed our everyday realities (we went...
2017-08-3132 minThe Testing ShowContinuous Delivery, Part 2We conclude our conversation with Adam Goucher with some discussion about the goals organizations hope to achieve and the fact that many of the problems encountered with CD are people problems as opposed to toolchain problems. We talk about using CD approaches even when your organization has decided not to push several times a day. Additionally, what can you do when the long-distance goal is represented, but it’s not clearly defined and how to get there is also not clearly defined. Adam’s been there and he has plenty to say about it. Resource by QualiTest Grou...
2017-08-1725 minThe Testing ShowContinuous Delivery, Part 1Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment, Continuous Delivery, and a host of other continuous options abound out there. Do you know the difference? Would you like to? We asked Adam Goucher to come out and discuss with us the variations on the theme between these three distinct disciplines, what they mean, how they are implemented, and where testing and testers fit into the processes. This is the first part of a two-part interview. We will conclude this interview in our next episode. Also, in the news segment, do you trust the idea of an open source autonomous automobile? Also...
2017-08-0326 minThe Testing ShowTesting Retail SoftwareBrick and Mortar stores have a lot of software in their operations. From supply chain to ordering, point of sale, inventory management, customer procurement and customer satisfaction, that’s a lot of moving pieces to keep track of. It’s a challenging endeavor to keep it all together, and QualiTest’s Mike Hershkovitz joins Matt and Jess to talk about the ins and outs or testing for the retail space. Also, in a separately recorded segment, the Amazon purchase of Whole Foods and what it might mean is discussed by Matt, Perze, Justin and Michael. Is it really...
2017-07-2026 minThe Testing ShowDealing with DeadlinesYou know the feeling. Someone is breathing down your neck ,saying that we have to get the release out on this date at this time or else… well, it won’t be pretty, let’s just leave it at that! Sound at all familiar? Yeah, we feel your pain, and we talk about it quite a bit. Deadlines are a reality. Sometimes they are essential and necessary. Often they are nebulous and ill defined. Regardless, testers deal with them and the Testing Show Panel shares a few of our experiences and how we managed, or didn’t manage, those expectat...
2017-07-0626 minThe Testing ShowIn Search of RequirementsCassandra Leung and Pete Walen join us today in a discussion about Requirements. What are they? Do we get enough of them? Do we understand the ones we do get? Can we make them better, and if so, how can we help that process? If you’ve ever struggled with trying to make sense of a story, or fear that programmers are just implementing things for the sake of implementing them, and there’s no rhyme or reason, you may not be alone. It’s possible that you really are dealing with a severe case of Requirements Deficiency. Fortunately, we are...
2017-06-2229 minThe Testing ShowAdventures with SeleniumFor many testers, Selenium is a well known tool and a familiar friend. For others, it may be something you are curious about but haven’t had a chance to do much with yet. All of our panel has had some level of experience with Selenium, and Brian Van Stone visits us again to tell us what he’s been up to and how his Adventures with Selenium have informed his Test automation service processes and overall testing. Also on the Selenium and testing tools front, what is up with the VC community making big bets on softw...
2017-06-0829 minThe Testing ShowPerformance Testing and MonitoringThis week we are joined by Kim Knup, who is with Songkick and tells us a tale of intrigue and guile, and the behavior of concert attendees. Wait, what? OK, not quite that juicy, but she does work with Songkick, she does test and monitor performance, and it turns out that different audiences and different fans of different performers have distinctly different approaches to how the source and buy tickets through Songkick, and Kim shares some of those examples with us. Also, in our news segment, when Apple Support is down, do we care as much as when AWS...
2017-05-2529 minThe Testing ShowSecurity and PrivacySometimes, you can find experts on topics in unusual places. This week we discuss security and privacy with Doug Traser, an Information Security Manager with Five9. He’s also the guitar player for Michael’s band, Ensign Red (or is Michael Doug’s singer? We’re never entirely sure). Regardless, if you have questions about security, OWASP, polities that drive you crazy and wondering if any of this makes any sense, Doug has some answers, and maybe raises a few more questions. Also, in our news segment: what happens when Amazon Echo might hold the key to a murder...
2017-05-1132 minThe Testing ShowDark PatternsHave you found yourself looking at deals and services online that seem too good to be true? Wondering “where’s the catch?” You’re not alone. There are lots of ways that software uses and manipulates us to give up details about ourselves, or to somehow get us to pay for services that we either didn’t want, or to provide information about ourselves and our habits to others that we don’t really want to be known. These practices are grouped together under the phrase ‘Dark Patterns” and Emma Keaveny has made it a point to learn about and warn about t...
2017-04-2730 minThe Testing ShowExploring Roles in and Around TestingHow well do we know the work that we do as testers? Do we understand what it is we do? Really understand it? Jon Bach thinks we can do better at figuring out what it is that we do in our roles as testers and in the roles that support and offer service to people in our organizations. Much of what we do is implicit, and carries responsibilities, expectations and even contracts for what we do and how we act. In today’s episode, Jon helps us break down both traditional and not so traditional roles that we may fi...
2017-04-1327 minThe Testing ShowConferences and ConferringHave you been to a testing conference? Wanted to go? Wondered which ones you should attend? Matt Heusser, Jessica Ingrassellino, and Michael Larsen have been to more than a few as participants and presenters. We discuss our favorites, the pros and cons of various conferences, and what makes each of them worthy destinations to consider. Also, putting a different spin on the News Segment this time around, Michael shares his enthusiasm for and about “The Privacy Paradox”. Resourced by QualiTest Group
2017-03-3030 minThe Testing ShowCareers in Software TestingThe truth is, no one will care as much or be as interested in your developing testing career as you are. There are studies that say that Software Testing is one of the Happiest Jobs there is. Does that sound weird, or does that sound spot on? In this episode of “The Testing Show” we welcome back Alex Schladebeck and welcome for the first time QualiTest’s Elle Gee to discuss software testing careers and how they differ or are similar depending on the organization in question. Regulars Perze Ababa and Justin Rohrman also riff along with Matt Heusser on the...
2017-03-1624 minThe Testing ShowState of the Testing Practice (Part 2)This is Part Two of our discussion with Alex Schladebeck and Joel Montvelisky. We tackle regression testing and share a few stories from the trenches (and a ghostly Michael even makes a contribution to this topic), discuss the idea that perhaps continuous testing is a concept that’s time really has come, and look to see if we can possibly break out of the “hardening” process at the end of sprints in favor of more testing up front, so that discoveries can actually be addressed sooner rather than pushed off to later. Resource by QualiTest Group
2017-03-0223 minThe Testing ShowState of the Testing Practice (Part 1)It seems that 2017 is shaping up to be the year of the two-parter, as we are back with another two part episode. This is Part One, in which the Testing Show regulars chat with Alex Schladebeck and Joel Montvelisky about the way that testing is practiced globally. Joel has some insights on this in that he steers the State of Testing Questionnaire that runs in January and February each year, and gathers statistics about how testers actually work. We look at some issues that were discovered with the survey, such as how many organizations claim to do automation versus...
2017-02-1627 minThe Testing ShowAutomation and Defining “Done” (Part 2)We continue our conversation with Angie Jones about ways that automation can be put first in stories (yes, really) and ways that she has been able to get team buy in and cooperation to make that process effective. Also, we have a mailbag question that we answer in depth, or as much as we can… is it possible to be paid as much as a developer or an SDET if you are just a manual tester? The answer is “it depends”, but we go into a lot more about why that is the case. Resource by QualiTest Group
2017-02-0229 minThe Testing ShowAutomation and Defining “Done” (Part 1)Have you wondered how your team could better utilize its automation resources? Does your definition of “Done” include new automation efforts for stories that are in flight? How about when changes to functionality (or new additions) cause your old tests to stop working? Do we play continuous catch up, or is there a better way to applying automation efforts? Angie Jones of Lexus Nexus joins us to talk about better ways to have those automation discussions, who should be responsible for what, and how everyone on the team can contribute to automation efforts (hint, you don’t...
2017-01-2027 minThe Testing ShowNew Year’s TesterLutionsIt’s a new year, and it’s that classic time for people to make New Year’s Resolutions, as well as quickly run out of steam trying to actually succeed at them. We discuss ways in which we have set goals, or not set them, how we have been stymied in the past, or how we have pushed on regardless of failing, and the fact that failing is often the key element that helps us progress and ultimately succeed. Also, in the news, we look back on the fifth anniversary of the death of Christopher Hitchens, how a...
2017-01-0529 minThe Testing ShowTesting for the Greater GoodAs we come to the end of 2016, we consider ways that software testing can go beyond just testing products, and looking at ways that we can use our super powers for good in the world. Abby Bangser works with ThoughtWorks and ThoughtWorks makes this a core part of their mission with ThoughtWorks University, a combination of training and integration of all roles, including software testing, as they learn how to work with ThoughtWorks model. Additionally, they take on a variety of projects that focus on social and economic justice, bringing groups of people from all over the world to...
2016-12-2231 minThe Testing ShowThe Renaissance TesterFor centuries, the Liberal Arts education was the gold standard that all education endeavors were based. The idea of a ‘Renaissance Person” was someone who had skills and abilities in a variety of fields, grew out of the classic Liberal Arts education. Some say that it’s a bygone piece of history, but many feel that it is a vital part of working and interacting with people, and in many ways, it’s perhaps the most vital of underpinnings for success as a software tester. We welcome back Jess Ingrassellino to talk with us about the value of a classic...
2016-12-0829 minThe Testing ShowAccessibilityAccessibility and Inclusive Design are two approaches to help make software available to the broadest possible group of people. Today, we welcome Alicia Jarvis, a Toronto based Accessibility advocate, to discuss her own Accessibility advocacy, her experiences in software testing around accessibility, and how we need to look beyond a checklist for compliance, and think about Accessibility as a core part of our design approach from the beginning. Also: Samsung seems to be having issues with exploding batteries, both with the Note 7 and the Galaxy J5. Resource by QualiTest Group
2016-11-2431 minThe Testing ShowMaking the “Full Stack” TesterThis week, we are joined by Jess Ingrassellino and Garry Heon to talk about where testing is going, and what the future of testing holds, going beyond Agile and dev-ops, or at least seeing where and how testers today will better be able to work and thrive in this brave new world. In the process of talking about that, we joked about the idea of a “full stack tester” to go with the increasing demand of “full stack developers”. Is there such a thing as a full stack tester? We weren’t sure, but if there was, we figured we could r...
2016-11-1029 minThe Testing ShowWhat Makes a Tester a Tester?Do you have to be a career tester to perform the testing role? If you are facilitating, coaching or leading others, are you testing? Does it really matter who does the role, as long as somebody does it? The Testing Show is back in the studio and chatting with Qualitest’s Yaron Kottler on exactly these weighty questions. Needless to say, we discussed these ideas of “what makes a tester a tester” and then some. Also, the panel shares their frustrations with the recent Apple updates of iOS10.1 and macOS Sierra. Resource by QualiTest Group
2016-10-2730 minThe Testing ShowSensemaking with CynefinWhat happens when software development takes a cue from disciplines like law enforcement, counter intelligence and military operations? What do we do when we need to look at complex systems to find clues about issues that we didn’t even know existed, but the data shows it plainly? How can we harness the gut feelings of testers in a more scientific manner, and “make sense by sense making”? Confused? Dave Snowden wants to help with that. Dave Snowden is the creator of Cynefin Framework, and it has been used with a broad array of applications, including government, immigr...
2016-10-1317 minThe Testing ShowTestopsiesThis time around, The Testing Show is coming to you “Live” from the Conference for the Association for Software Testing, held in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Matthew Heusser, Justin Rohrman, and Perze Ababa met up with Michael Bolton to discuss “Testopsies”, a focused examination and task analysis, and applying it to the opportunities for learning and refocusing of efforts often bundled under the label of “testing”. Resource by QualiTest Group
2016-09-2927 minThe Testing ShowDev-Ops and Technical TestersNoah Sussman knows a bit about bringing Dev-Ops to fruition at a variety of organizations. To that end, we asked him to come join us and tell us a bit about what Dev-Ops is, and what it isn’t. We also discuss the ways that testers can develop their skills and become more technical (hint: it’s not as difficult as many may think, but it will require work and interaction with others to really be successful at it). Also, how does Bing Maps manage to put Melbourne, Australia in the Ocean somewhere near Japan? Resource by Quali...
2016-09-1528 minThe Testing ShowReal Work vs. Bureaucratic SillinessIt’s another “On the Road” episode of The Testing Show, with Matt Heusser attending Agile2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. While there, he gathered an impromptu forum to discuss the way we work and what we often have to do so we can get to the work we actually want to be doing. Emma Armstrong, Dan Ashby, Claire Moss and Tim Ottinger join in to dissect the continuum that is “Real Work vs. Bureaucratic Silliness”. Resource by QualiTest Group
2016-09-0130 minThe Testing ShowThe Tester’s ToolkitIf you were going to be at liberty to drop into any software testing job you wanted, anywhere, in any software related industry of your choosing, what would be part of your “jump kit”? The Testing Show sits down with Curtis Pettit (of Huge) and asks exactly that. We geek out on favorite tools, and quickly discover that we all have some perennial favorites, but we discuss some lesser known exotics as well, really just scratching the surface of possible tools. Also, have we reached a point where, when systems go down for Airlines and Credit Card comp...
2016-08-1831 minThe Testing ShowSecurity TestingThis week, we are joined by Dan Billing, a software security penetration test specialist at New Voice Media in the U.K.. Dan describes his path from everyday software tester to security expert, and the variety of approaches and methods, as well as tools, that come into play if you want to take a crack at being a software tester with a specialty towards security testing. Also, can thirty years of fMRI results really be invalid, and what are you doing to take on the “30 Days of Software Testing” challenge? Resource by QualiTest Group
2016-08-0432 minThe Testing ShowUnified EngineeringToday, we are joined by Alan Page of Microsoft to discuss the Unified Engineering model, what that means, how it is working at Microsoft, and how that might effect software testing and software testers going forward. Also, what happens when the Air Force has a database crash and can’t recover their data, and is the Testing community really anti-automation? Resource by QualiTest Group
2016-07-2136 minThe Testing ShowAvoiding the Commodity TrapWhat does it take to differentiate yourself as a tester? How can you demonstrate the unique values and attributes you can bring to the role of tester? How can you push back against the race to the bottom where “everyone can do the job”? Is that really true? These questions and more we posed to Andy Tinkham, and shared ideas as to how we can bring much more to the table that we often think we can. Also, can software be specified in such a way that it can actually be made error free? Justin had a chan...
2016-07-0732 minThe Testing ShowReinventing TestersRecorded live from Orcas Island, Washington, Matt, Justin and Perze attended the Reinventing Testers training run by James and Jon Bach. James sat down and talked with The Testing Show about reinventing testing skills, developing them, and the importance of words. Resource by QualiTest Group
2016-06-2328 minThe Testing ShowMeasurement and MetricsWe all know that what we measure is something we can improve, right? We can measure anything and everything, and way too often, organizations attempt to do exactly that. The net result is we measure stuff that is not important to try to inform us of things that absolutely are. Mike Lyles joins us for a spirited talk about measurement and metrics. We can’t escape metrics completely, but we can be a lot smarter about the metrics we do use. Also, how would you feel if your software update destroyed the product you were working on? Wh...
2016-06-0932 minThe Testing ShowTooling and AutomationFrom the idea of automated trucking to the notion that testing will all be automated “at some point in time”, we thought it would make sense to bring in someone who has been part of this challenge for many years. Paul Grizzaffi joins us to give us his take on the promise of automation, the realities of tooling that go into those processes, and what the future might hold for the testing role as well as the possibility of “automated everything”. Resource by QualiTest Group
2016-05-2631 minThe Testing ShowTesting in the Broader PictureAs part of a follow on to the Making Testing Strategic discussion that happened at QA or the Highway, Jared Small joins us to talk about ways that software testing can add value to the software development process, and ways that we can extend the strategy conversation and help make sure that we can be both helpful and make an impact to the organization. Additionally, we talk about the idea that Scrum can get us 250% better quality (by some definition) and the persuasion of Trump, though we promise, this not a political show.
2016-05-1129 minThe Testing ShowMaking QA StrategicThis week, Matt takes The Testing Show on the road, or more specifically, the Highway. At QA or the Highway held in Columbus, OH, in March 2016, Matt was a panelist for a discussion on Making QA Strategic. This is a live recording from that event. From testing and its place within an organization, How does testing fit into an overall IT strategy? Josh Assad, Kevin Malley, Jared Small, Diana Woodruff, Erik Davis and Matthew Heusser tackle that primary question of Should software testing have a seat at the strategic table? Resource b...
2016-04-2831 min
The Testing ShowTest ManagementIn this episode, The Testing Show talks about auto makers stepping back from the robots and giving human beings a reconsideration. Do humans suffer a skill loss when automation is too heavily relied upon? Maybe adaptability is important after all. We are also joined by Kate Falanga of Huge, Inc. to discuss Test Management, the changing role of test mentorship in the testing team, and if there is a value to having a dedicated person to be a guide, mentor and potential BS diverter, and what happens when that person goes away? Resource b...
2016-04-1328 minThe Testing ShowTesting in ScrumIn this episode, recorded February 10, 2016, The Testing Show talks Super Bowl aftermath, analytics in sports and how accurate they are (or not), expectations and wild guesses, and the benefits of having a beginner’s mind to a situation and how that may give a person a better chance at seeing how things will turn out (it also shows pretty clearly who on the panel actually pays attention to football). We talk a bit about legacy systems and what happens when critical systems go down (the IRS being a prime example), and the fact that organizations with legacy ap...
2016-03-3028 minThe Testing ShowTesting When You Don't Have TestersIn this episode, The Testing Show crew takes a trip to New York City to participate in James Bach’s presentation to the NYC Testers Meetup. We discuss a bit about the GitHub site outage, and the ramifications of inevitable downtime. This leads into the main topic, which is “what do we do when we don’t have enough testers?” Is testing really a bottleneck, or is it set up in a way that delays are inevitable? What can we as organizations, and as testers, do to mitigate these issues, and what means do we have to change t...
2016-03-1833 minThe Testing ShowTesting as a Trusted AdvisorIn this episode, The Testing Show crew is joined by Yaron Kottler, Qualitest’s Americas CEO. We discuss the changes at Yahoo and the elimination of most dedicated software testers, how this change is happening in a variety of companies, and what these changes actually mean for the dedicated testing role, and what may happen in the future. We discuss the idea of software testing as a trusted advisor to an organization, and the benefits of wham that role works, as well as the frustrations and costs when that role does not work. Resource by Qua...
2016-03-1824 minThe Testing ShowSkill on the Test TeamIn this episode, The Testing Show tackles the NEST Thermostat, early release of inmates in Washington state due to a computer error, and what can we do when our password site gets hacked? We discuss test design, bug advocacy, long term auditions, and think about how robots can help you see the way software testers pivot (or not). Resource by QualiTest Group
2016-03-1830 min