There are so many good blogs out there on software testing so why start another one? What value do I think I can really add here that isn’t covered by others? Why bother with this?
I used to blog, back before Facebook and Twitter. In those days it was what we used as social media. Things have changed (of course! – we are talking about software here) and I have changed as well. I’ve been working as a software tester for 8 years now and hopefully I have learned a few things along the way. However, I am also discovering that I’m getting to the point in my career where the learning curve has slowed down. The easy stuff has been covered. What is left now is the stuff that takes a lot more work and effort to learn. This is the stuff that really stretches me beyond my natural talents and that requires digging deep on different topics.
In highschool I was homeschooled and this meant that when I was stuck on something I had to figure out my own way out of it. Sometimes this meant finding someone who could help me (for example, finding a family friend who was an engineer and could help me with my algebra) but one of the most useful skills I found was to explain it to my younger siblings. I learned very early that one of the best ways to learn something difficult is to explain it to others. Doing this revealed the flaws in my own thinking and showed me where I wasn’t fully understanding things.
I think it is time for me to get back into that mode. It’s time to start explaining things to others so that I can come to clarity for myself. It’s time to put into words what I am trying to do so I can see where I’m missing things and where I don’t understand concepts that are crucial for me to get if I want to continue to advance in my abilities as a tester. I’ve been reading and taking in a lot of information on how to be effective at software testing in the past few years, and now it is time to see how well I really know it.
So come on and join me. If you’re confused, let me know. If you disagree, let me know. If you like it, let me know. Maybe we can learn a few things together!
offbeattesting 