As 2015 comes to a close, it's time to start setting goals and laying out plans for 2016. Before I go into my resolutions as a tester for 2016, I wanted to express my thanks to the brave readers of this blog.
Without further ado, this testers New Years Resolutions...
Linux and the Cloud
If it's not already here for you, Linux and cloud computing are major areas for testers to get familiar with.
I see testers being more and more involved in deployment and to keep my skills up I plan on going through the AWS Training and I'm checking out if their certifications are worth pursuing just to show proof of familiarity.
Linux goes hand in had with the push to the cloud. I don't think testers have to be Linux gurus but we need to be proficient on it and at least unintimidated by the command line. I found a class at my local community college to provide some structured learning on the subject. If education is on your 2016 list consider your checking what your local community college has to offer. It's cheaper than many online alternatives and sometimes the structure helps ensure you stick with it.
Test Plan Alternatives
You may have seen my post on Test Case Pain, and I want to push the #NoTestPlans movement inspired by the #NoEstimates movement.
It's easy to criticize, I'd like to present a practical light-weight, tester-friendly alternative to detailed, prescriptive test documentation. Hopefully, I'll be posting more on that soon.
Session Based Testing
From what I've read so far Session Based Test Management or something inspired by it will play a key part in replacing the test plan. I love that it allows testers freedom and provides management some visibility into the process.
I haven't used this process before so in the new year I'll be researching and practicing.
BBST
I really enjoyed taking the BBST Foundations Course this year. It was great to collaborate with other testers and improve my craft.
I haven't decided whether it will be Bug Advocacy or Test Design yet. I'm leaning towards Test Design but I'm confident either would be well worth the time investment. Maybe both time permitting, I wouldn't mind doing the instructor class at some point...
Meetups and Conferences
So I started a local testers meetup and gave a lightning talk at a JavaScript meetup. I want to engage more with both in the coming year.
I'd also like to step outside my local community and attend a testing conference. I am really hoping to attend CAST 2016 since the live stream of the 2015 version was great. Twitter and blogs are great but getting to meet and talk to a diverse group of testers looks amazing.