Ministry Of Testing

Mike talks to Sérgio Freire from Xray about his career in software development, as a developer, team lead and then a subtle shift in career. He discusses his background in Telco and how teams worked back then and his path to becoming a Product Owner for Xray and then a Solution Architect, covering the differences he encountered in each role and reflections on what he wishes he had known when you started out in software development. He also covers how Xray is helping teams and what they aim to do in the future.

Mark and Gwen had such an awesome time at  Test.bash('Online'); that they thought, why not keep the party going!? So the two got together for a rambly chat about what stood out to them in the experience reports, the themes that appeared during the day and how the event was prepared. So come relive the energy and enthusiasm as Mark and Gwen chat all things  Test.bash('Online'); Links: Creating A Test Automation Portfolio Episode 4: API testing for Restful Booker using Postman Automation week introduction and challenges Christine Zierold's GitHub Repo Automation week - YouTube Livestreams Test.Bash() Experience report series

Neil chats with Louise about her experiences of introducing sustainable test automation practices within a team, how parallels can be drawn to a painful accident from her past, and discuss some of the situations in which record/playback tools can serve to be a net benefit. In a month during which Louise has also spoken at TestBash Manchester Online and Test.Bash(Online), there are also discussions about the special steps that you need to take when prepping for online events, and a deep dive into the art of sketchnoting. This podcast is sponsored by our friends at Sauce Labs. The award-winning Sauce Labs Continuous Testing Cloud delivers a 360-degree view of a customer’s application experience, ensuring that web and mobile applications look, function, and perform exactly as they should on every browser, OS, and device, every single time. Learn more about Sauce at the Ministry of Testing Automation Week at the end of October!  Regular Links: Listen to and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and

He’s back! The one and only original castaway of the Island, Neil Studd. After a year off, Neil is back to host Tester’s Island Discs. So why not finish Mark’s time on the podcast like it started. With a good old waffle between two podcast hosts. Neil catches us all up on the wild ride that has been the past year for him including a discussion about remote working, job hunting and strategies for working in a lockdown. Mark also shares exciting new features and ideas that are coming to Ministry of Testing in the coming months. This podcast is sponsored by Xray, the leading Quality Assurance and Test Management app for Jira. More than 4.5 million testers, developers and QA managers trust Xray to manage 100+ million test cases each month. It is a mission-critical tool at over 5,000 companies in 65 countries, including 137 of the Global 500. With Xray you can plan, execute and track your testing with full requirements traceability supported by both manual and automated tests, including BDD u

Adam Leon Smith talks to Jonathon Wright from Digital Assured and the QA Lead podcast about Model-Based Testing, what it is, why it's growing in adoption, and the benefits of it in the quality engineering process.  This includes talking about how Jonathon used models to design tests for complex applications like Pokemon Go. This podcast was kindly sponsored by Wonderproxy. Testing locale-specific code when you're stuck at your desk is like flying blind: you can't see where you're going. From our versatile testing solutions to our worldwide network of proxy servers, WonderProxy is built for localization testing. Squash those bugs and ship that next release. P.s. did you know you can listen to and subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes and SoundCloud?

Adam Leon Smith talks to Paul Reinheimer from Wonderproxy about browser location, GeoIP and how mismanagement of GeoIP can result in some interesting bugs.  Paul discusses how Wonderproxy could help you test your website to lots of different locations around the world - all without stepping on a plane or using dodgy hacks. Find out why Wonderproxy came into being, how it functions and how you can implement it to make the most of it. Paul shares some of the more common bugs found and how you can use Wonderproxy to integrate with your automation tools. This podcast was kindly sponsored by Wonderproxy. Testing locale-specific code when you're stuck at your desk is like flying blind: you can't see where you're going. From our versatile testing solutions to our worldwide network of proxy servers, WonderProxy is built for localization testing. Squash those bugs and ship that next release. P.s. did you know you can listen to and subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes and SoundClou

In this Meet The Coaches Podcast episode, Adam Leon Smith speaks with Anand Bagmar to get to know about his background and experiences. Anand is a Software Quality Evangelist & brings to you over 20 years of experience of helping build a Quality Product. In this time he's worked in traditional & Agile teams across varying domains, in Product & Services organizations around the globe. He is passionate about coaching, consulting & helping enable teams in implementation on aspects of Quality, Test Automation, & setting up optimized and fit-for-purpose processes and practices in teams to help build a better quality product Why not book a coaching session with Anand now?! Did you know you can listen to and subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes and SoundCloud?

Mark is joined by the Test Manager, Association of Software Testers (AST) board member and most importantly king of the puns, James Thomas. The two discuss James’ work with the AST his time running the Cambridge Exploratory Testing Workshop (CEWT) and his own experiences and path to becoming a speaker. Thank you to Browserstack for sponsoring this podcast- BrowserStack is the world's largest software testing platform powering over two million tests every day across 15 global data centers on more than 2000 real devices. With BrowserStack, Dev and QA teams can move fast while delivering an amazing experience for every customer. Check out Browserstack Podcast links: Rule of three About CEWT Lessons Learned in Software Testing  Gather Collaboration - Gather Software Sequencer - Trackers  Managing to Test - Joint post with Lena Wiberg Galumphing with James Bach K-Cards - K-cards James’ music Glow by The Guy Who Invented Fire James’ Twitter Regular Links: Lis

In this Meet The Coaches Podcast episode, Mike speaks with Maria Kedemo to get to know about her background and experiences. Maria started working with Software Development in 2000 with a focus on software testing and quality. Since then Maria has gained experience & knowledge in building teams, recruitment, teaching, coaching and mentoring testers, supporting organisational change and much more. She can help you with most topics related to software testing, as well as, support you in public speaking and career building. Maria’s approach to coaching aims to help you maximize your personal and professional potential. Why not book a coaching session with Maria now?! Did you know you can listen to and subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes and SoundCloud?

In this Meet The Coaches Podcast episode, Mike speaks with Richard Bradshaw to get to know about his background and experiences. Richard is an experienced tester, consultant and generally a friendly guy. He shares his passion for testing through coaching, consulting, training and giving presentations around the world on a variety of topics related to testing. He is enthusiastic about helping folks implement automation that supports testing. And, with over 10 years of testing experience, he has a lot of insights into the world of testing and software development. Why not book a coaching session with Richard now?! Did you know you can listen to and subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes and SoundCloud?

Adam Leon Smith follows up on talking to members of the testing community about their perspectives on test data with part 2 - what is test data, what are typical challenges, and innovative solutions to them. In particular in integrated complex data flows in e.g. onboarding customers, exploratory testing, automated test data creation and automated checks. Perspectives on Test Data Part 2 with @ButchMayhew @Louise_J_Gibbs @djidee @MaikNog@anks461 This podcast is sponsored by PractiTest Organize, run, and visualize all your QA efforts under one roof. PractiTest's ALM test management solution incorporates all testing types: manual, exploratory, and automation for any testing methodology. Connect all aspects of your testing with built-in integrations for a unified process and improved team communication. Extract and view valuable insights from your real-time test results using advanced customizable reports and dashboards to make smart decisions and release better software, faster.

In this Meet The Coaches Podcast episode, Adam Leon Smith speaks with Helena Jeret-Mäe to get to know about her background and coaching experiences. Helena has spent 12 years in IT and gained experience as a technical writer, test lead and tester, coach and mentor, competence head and quality coach. Helen’s favourite topics to help people figure out include: Professional development as a tester (for the beginners and the confused) Recruiting and onboarding testers How to build a test team and lead people in a testing context Designing and running workshops Public speaking Improving ways of working and collaborating that eventually improve quality Test and quality strategy Why not book a coaching session with Helena now?! Did you know you can listen to and subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes and SoundCloud?

Mark is excited to be joined on the podcast by the wonderful Louise Woodhams who is more than happy to share her experiences in starting out and growing as a tester. So much so that Mark gets a bit rambly in places! The two discuss imposter syndrome, debate whether testing can be taught and the difference between instincts and deliberate practise and their love of testing APIs. Podcast links:  A-Galumphing We Go - James Bach Owning Your Craft - Mike Smith AB Testing Podcast Testing Ask Me Anything - API Testing - Hilary Weaver-Robb ChaiJS Swagger Regular Links: Listen to and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud Sign up to be a guest on the show Testers' Island Discs playlist on Spotify Testers' Island Discs reading list on Goodreads Follow us on Twitter

Our resident podcaster, Adam Leon Smith, talks to members of the testing community about their perspectives on test data - what is it, what are typical challenges, and innovative solutions to them. With thanks to Stuart Crocker, Peet Michielsen and Francesco Gadaleta for joining the Perspectives on Test Data Part 1 podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Xray, the leading Quality Assurance and Test Management app for Jira. More than 4.5 million testers, developers and QA managers trust Xray to manage 100+ million test cases each month. It is a mission-critical tool at over 5,000 companies in 65 countries, including 137 of the Global 500. With Xray you can plan, execute and track your testing with full requirements traceability supported by both manual and automated tests, including BDD using Cucumber as well as JUnit, NUnit, Robot and others. Discover the future of testing and start your free trial today at getxray.app

After the brain melting experience of the previous podcast Mark is joined by Jesper Ottosen for a leisurely and broad discussion of different aspects of testing ranging from leadership, biases and leadership to forming your own learning pathway. Jesper also shares his reflections on the very awesome TestBash Home and how the wordplay in his song picks trigger different ways of thinking about testing. Sauce Labs is proud to bring you the 2020 Continuous Testing Benchmark Report, which details the best practices and metrics critical to successful continuous testing. Based on real customer data from more than three billion tests run on the Sauce Labs platform, the benchmark report will show you the state of continuous testing today and how organizations worldwide are performing. Get your copy of the 2020 Continuous Testing Benchmark Report. Podcast links: Police Bells and Church Sirens lyrics Drive - Daniel Pink Jesper’s blog Jesper’s Twitter Regular Links: Listen to and subscribe to thi

Carlos Kidman talks with Joel Montvelisky from PractiTest, about some of the challenges testers face in modern software development, how they can adapt and help, and how PractiTest can help align teams as a Test Management System. They also discuss how PractiTest is active in the community and provides not only resources but also conferences that are free and a platform for new presenters to jumpstart their speaking career! Did you know you can listen to and subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes and SoundCloud?

It’s Mark squared for this podcast as Mark is joined by Mark Tomlinson for an amazingly brain melty in-depth exploration of the relationship between music and testing. Mark shares five tracks that not only are personal favourites but each also has a testing story such as how the rhythm of one track reminds him of the ‘rhythm’ of an application he once ran performance tests against. It’s a long one, but oh boy are you in for a treat! Podcast links: PurePerformance podcast - https://www.spreaker.com/user/pureperformance  The Death of Liberal Arts - Ashley Hunsberger - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5CdM87B9wo  Shouting in the Datacenter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDacjrSCeq4  The Music Lesson - Victor Wooten - http://www.themusiclesson.com/  PerfBytes podcast - https://www.perfbytes.com/  Mark’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/perfsherpa  Regular Links: Listen to and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud Sign up

Mark speaks with Stu Johnson who is passionate in equal measures about all things testing and all things Scandinavian (as shown in his song picks). The two discuss leading a culture of learning and building a community of practice both inside his community and in the wider testing community. Stu also shares how an introverted person can still contribute in ways that don’t result in having to speak to a large crowd of scary people! This podcast is sponsored by Xray, the leading Quality Assurance and Test Management app for Jira. More than 4.5 million testers, developers and QA managers trust Xray to manage 100+ million test cases each month. It is a mission-critical tool at over 5,000 companies in 65 countries, including 137 of the Global 500. With Xray you can plan, execute and track your testing with full requirements traceability supported by both manual and automated tests, including BDD using Cucumber as well as JUnit, NUnit, Robot and others. Discover the future of testing and start your free tr

Our resident podcaster, Adam Leon Smith, meets Mark Abrahams and Geoffrey van der Tas who are hosting a workshop together at TestBash Netherlands 2020. They discuss Microservices, Performance Testing and Resilience Testing, as well as, their upcoming workshop from TestBash. This podcast was kindly sponsored by Sauce Labs. Has your company shifted to a remote workforce, making it impossible to test on physical devices in the office? The Sauce Labs Real Device Cloud lets you test from anywhere, on any device, at any time. Learn more about expanding app testing coverage with Sauce Labs. Did you know you can listen to and subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes and SoundCloud?

Mark is joined by the talented cartoonist, tester and test automator Corina Pip. The two dive into a deep conversation about the challenges of implementing robust and stable automation and what it can help in. Corina also shares her experiences of being on both sides of the submission process for getting talks accepted at conferences. Podcast links: Little tester cartoons The Waiter Selenium Testers the OO way Websites to practise testing Hustef conference Regular Links: Listen to and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud Sign up to be a guest on the show Testers' Island Discs playlist on Spotify Testers' Island Discs reading list on Goodreads Follow us on Twitter Corina Pip's Twitter