Asides

Step away from the book

Do you ever feel like you’re overwhelmed by all the things that you need to learn? Everyday you hear of a great new technique or receive a new book recommendation. What do you mean you haven’t read “Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow”? Next you’ll be saying you haven’t read Milton, or Proust.

Years ago most people were taught by rote. The system appeared to work well, certainly at least some people did come away with a broad bed of knowledge. More recently it seems that a shift has taken place. Some, but probably not enough, kids are learning for themselves. This approach isn’t entirely new, in 1907 the first Montessori school opened, allowing children to learn through play. More recently unschooling has gained popularity, allowing kids to have the space to think for themselves and guide their own learning. These kids are likely to be far better equipped for the world around them because they are curious and used to working out what the answer is, and why.

Now consider your own education. Why do you read all those books? Are you genuinely interested in what they have to say? Do they provide a particular answer that you have been seeking? Or are you reading them simply because you feel you should? If it’s the latter then step away from the book. Learn because you are genuinely curious and you will remember the lesson for far longer than if you plug away at a book just to be able to say you’ve read it.

James Bach does a great job of explaining how he learns in his book “The Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar“. Actively seeking connections between your knowledge can be an effective way to build understanding, and seems to be a method that ties in with this article which explores the physical side of how we learn. Successful learners are people who find a passion and then chase it. Don’t allow yourself to be overwhelmed, or constrained by what other people are saying and doing.

Ask your own questions and seek your own answers.

Finding your motivation

Everything you do, or don’t do, is driven by motivation. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs makes a frequent appearance in conversations or books on how to motivate people. As does Herzberg’s two-factor theory. The basic idea is that people need food and safety before they start forming relationships. Only after they have formed relationships will they start working towards achievements and recognition. In short you have to get the work environment right before you can expect workers who are creative and self-driven.

Once, long ago, I was a pretty average tester. I was lucky that I knew I loved testing; University had given me the time to read a number of books on testing and each one fascinated me. Unfortunately the reality of being a tester turned out to be a little different from my dreams. There were highlights when I would get the chance to perform some meaty testing but also long periods of boredom. Test environments needed time to be built and recovered, there were endless rounds of manual regression testing, or worst of all, re-testing all the ‘fixed’ bugs only to find that they weren’t even remotely fixed.

Nowadays the testing industry has improved no end. As well as many more great testing books it is easier than ever to hear and form ideas via Twitter, blogs and, of course, conferences. Despite this there will probably always be motivated testers trapped on projects where they are expected to ‘just test’ with no chance of influencing the actual process or culture (caveat to this sentence is that you should always try to improve culture).

Testing on the sort of project that just wants some ‘testing’ can be a horribly de-motivating experience so how do you cope? If you are committed to the role and know you have no chance of improving things to allow you to actually test in the way that you want to test then you have to seek a new motivation. I survived many uninspiring projects by focusing on what I was learning; New tools, domains, or methodologies will all improve your ability to test. In many cases I learnt more about what I didn’t want in a job than what I did but it’s all valuable experience.

Even dull, death march projects are working towards delivering something to a user. When I get on board an aeroplane I trust that the software will work well enough that it isn’t going to drop from the sky. I trust that the ATM machine is going to give me the correct amount of money and update my account correctly. Every time I use a piece of software, get into my car, or basically do anything at all I hope and trust that someone has done their job and created a safe and effective system.

As a tester you have the ability to influence the end product. Maybe you don’t make the final decision on whether something goes live or not but you certainly play a significant role in identifying who your users are and testing to the best of your ability. So no matter how boring that insurance software is always remember that somewhere out there a user is going to buy insurance and trust that your product works. Do your best for them.