Software Test Professionals – 2013 STP Luminary Award

“This is the true joy in life: Being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” – George Bernard Shaw

I was recently awarded the Software Test Professionals 2013 STP Luminary Award, which aside from being flattering beyond belief, was a great honor to be included in such an incredible group of nominees. Every person nominated for the award has contributed a tremendous amount to the software testing industry, and I am grateful to be counted among their ranks. The award describes a luminary as “someone who has inspired others by their actions and the results of those actions on the profession”. I am fortunate to be one of those people who love my industry and have a great job where I get to work with talented colleagues who inspire me by their quiet “illumination” every day.

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Know Your Role! – Being Invested and the Art of Objectivity

“We absolutely must leave room for doubt or there is no progress and no learning. There is no learning without having to pose a question. And a question requires doubt. People search for certainty. But there is no certainty. People are terrified–how can you live and not know? It is not odd at all. You can think you know, as a matter of fact. And most of your actions are based on incomplete knowledge and you really don’t know what it is all about, or what the purpose of the world is, or know a great deal of other things. It is possible to live and not know.”  – Richard Feynman

Recently I gave an interview to Duncan Nisbet from Lets’ Test which ranged in topics from my role at Barclays, the work we are doing with Per Scholas, and my talk on “Testing for Confidence” for EuroSTARThomas Hulvershorn had a great comment and observation on Facebook about the idea of providing information without weighing in on release decisions;

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