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This is the account of my first experience with the Miagi-Do School of Software Testing. I want to shed some light on what it entails to become a student. Cross-posted from http://miagido.org/blog/?p=185

To me testing is important. It feeds me. It provides me with a job I enjoy. I draw happiness from being a software tester. But sometimes I feel lost. Uncertain about what to say. About what I have done. I’m on a quest to be the best I can be. And Miagi-Do offers opportunity to those who seek it.

Founded by Matt Heusser, Miagi-Do is a tight-knit group of individuals with excellent testing on their minds. Through email or face-to-face, a black belt instructor may offer you a testing challenge. Usually you are asked to “test this object for me, please.”

Throughout your challenge, the instructor can be consulted in the form of four different roles: the customer, the product owner, the Forces of Nature and the coach. The customer is asking you to test something for him. The product owner may answer different questions for you. The Forces of Nature are a means to find out answers to questions that might otherwise be hard to obtain. Consulting the instructor in the role of coach may be necessary if you feel you are stuck with a challenge and should be used as a last resort.

When you are confident that you can complete the challenge, you give your answer to the instructor. You present your testing story, covering every aspect of what you have found out during the challenge to support your answer to the challenge. It is important that you support your answer with a concise explanation so there can be no doubt about the accuracy. Your answer doesn’t just have to be correct, it needs to sound.

After you have illustrated your answer you will be debriefed by the instructor. It is an important part of the challenge. You can learn a lot from listening to someone explain how they perceived your analysis. This is where the true transfer of knowledge takes place. After all, you can’t learn what you already know.

My goal is to be the best tester I can be, to improve my craft and one day contribute to the Miagi-Do School of Software Testing as a black belt instructor. But one should keep in mind, that practicing in the dojo is for life, not for points…