Written by Dimitro Fioole
Anyone who does “anything with testing” has wondered: How will the rise of Agile development methodologies affect the future of my profession? Indeed, if this thought has not yet occurred to you, then you have probably been living under a rock. After all, to say that Agile is on the rise is an understatement. Look at the number of publications, presentations and books (inevitable in the testing world) and one thing becomes clear: Agile is here and it is here to stay.
I, too, wondered how Agile would affect my future as a tester. Actually since 2007, the year I first came into contact with Agile. Since that moment I have been on many Agile teams at various clients and outside of my assignments I have continued to follow developments in the field of Agile (testing). Anno 2015, it is a topic that is taken for granted within Nekst IT. So obvious that we as colleagues have decided among ourselves that it is part of our “baseline” profile: Every employee must master the/a Agile methodology. No different than all of us mastering our testing methodologies, tools & skills.
To link that Agile methodology to the testing profession, there is a wide range of Agile Testing courses. However, these courses mainly focus on people who are new to Agile, new to testing or new to both. Not the depth or perspective that I find useful on a day-to-day basis. Since every Agile team is different in both setup and approach, exchanging knowledge and experience, best-practices and new (technical) developments is a welcome contribution to my development.
The Survival Experience
With this in mind, the Agile Testing Survival Camp caught my eye. The description of the two-day training seemed to match my level, experience and vision exactly. In addition, the names of the specialists involved captured my imagination. Because survival is easier in a team than alone, we decided to send three colleagues to the camp, each with a different level of experience and
background. This way we would get a good idea of the added value of the camp for our employees.
To get right to the point, survival it was. Two days in a row from 09.00 to 17.00. Two coffee breaks and a lunch break totaling an hour were the only times when there were no role plays, exercises, board games, presentations, or discussions. Everything in groups, everything practical, and above all everything Agile. Continuous alternating forms of work addressed predetermined topics, as well as learning objectives and questions from course participants.
Survival, also because not all subjects are discussed in the same depth. The idea is that people are given a basis, but that they will eventually work with the material themselves (in their daily work). For this, Agile and testing knowledge and experience is very useful! In terms of content, the camp is cleverly divided. Day 1 could be named as: Business facing. It covers skills and tools that an Agile Tester can use to improve the quality of the team, specifications, process and user stories. Day 2 is then: Technology facing. The focus here is on test execution, test automation and the link between specifications and tests.
After surviving two days, I can say that the picture I had about the future of the testing profession fits exactly the picture that was painted in the two days. It also confirms that we as Nekst IT are on the right track, as we focus on two types of testers: Agile testers with Technical knowledge & skills and Agile testers with Business knowledge & skills. Above all, I think that regardless of your preference, the Agile Testing Survival Camp adds to your value as an experienced Agile Tester. Whether you’re on the business side or the technical side, it creates more framework and understanding for both sides and thus lays a foundation on which and -about which to communicate. In any case, I can move forward with a lot of new leads on the Business facing front.
