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By Lynn McKee, January 18, 2011 10:20 am

I just posted a blog entry sharing the news about Gil Broza’s upcoming interview with Johanna Rothman. As an advocate of the Gil’s Spot On interviews I often blog about them to help spread the news. I am especially excited about this month’s special guest.

Johanna is a much sought-after speaker and consultant, working with people to improve how they manage their product development. I started following Johanna’s work in 2006 after attending the Better Software Conference in Las Vegas. At the time I had tried registering for the “Behind Closed Doors – Secrets of Great Management” tutorial with Johanna and Esther Derby and was disheartened to learn it was sold out. Dang it!

Since 2006 I have really enjoyed Johanna’s blogs Managing Product Development and Hiring Technical People. I have also read Johanna’s book Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management (co-authored with Esther Derby) and found it really useful. I wrote a blog several months back on the book that you can read here. Last year I had the pleasure of meeting Johanna in person at the AYE Conference and attending several of her excellent sessions. Johanna’s style for sharing her knowledge and experience really resonated with me and I had many fantastic takeaways.

I really encourage you to attend this upcoming interview for the chance to spend some valuable time with Johanna and Gil. Read more about the interview on my my blog post here. You can read more about Johanna including a listing of her books and articles on her website at www.jrothman.com or follow her on Twitter @johannarothman.

Gil is hosting an excellent series of “Spot On” interviews with guest experts every 2 months. I recommend you check out his “Spot On” series and his “Q & Agile” podcasts on his website at www.3pvantage.com. You can also find Gil on Twitter @gilbroza.

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By Lynn McKee, January 18, 2011 9:16 am

3P Vantage Agile Coaching, founded by Gil Broza, is bringing another industry expert to you! Every two months Gil is hosting “Spot On” interviews. This interview series is intended to open new horizons for IT professionals interested in effective software development. The selected guest experts, while not strictly promoting Agile methods, teach and consult in related areas. Their specialties overlap and align with Agile; like Gil, they promote effective, humane software development.

The interviews are 45 – 60 minutes long and are free to attend. You should attend if:

• you love learning new perspectives and ideas about your work
• your haven’t been lucky enough to meet the expert at work or at a conference
• you could use help with your professional development

Gil has been bringing pragmatic, effective Agile software development to companies for almost a decade. Relying on his vast experience in programming, management and organizational development, he helps professionals implement non-dogmatic Agility that truly works. Beyond teaching skills and methods, Gil helps people overcome limiting habits, fears of change, blind spots and unhelpful beliefs.

“Agile Management Beyond The Single Project”
Date: January 24, 2011
Time: 2:00pm EDT / 12:00pm MDT
Register: Registration Link

January’s guest expert is Johanna Rothman. Johanna is a much sought-after speaker and consultant, working with people to improve how they manage their product development — to maximize management and technical staff productivity and to improve product quality. Johanna is the author of several books:

• Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects
• The 2008 Jolt-award winning Manage It! Your Guide to Modern, Pragmatic Project Management
• Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management (with Esther Derby)
• Hiring the Best Knowledge Workers, Techies & Nerds: The Secrets and Science of Hiring Technical People

Johanna writes columns on “extreme project management” for Gantthead, and writes two blogs on her website, www.jrothman.com. She is also a host of the Amplifying Your Effectiveness (AYE) conference.

The topic will be “Agile Management Beyond The Single Project” and the interview will cover:

• balancing keep-the-lights-on projects with growth projects
• who’s responsible for managing the portfolio, and the qualities they need
• politics in portfolio management
• making portfolio schedule promises when the underlying projects are Agile

The interview will take place on January 24 at 2:00pm EDT / 12:00 MDT. Register to secure your spot. As an added bonus you can submit questions for Johanna and Gil when you register. If you are unable to attend the call you can register and receive the recording afterwords.

Read more about the “Spot On” interview with Johanna Rothman here.

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By Lynn McKee, October 28, 2010 9:52 am

I truly love to learn and am always seeking new sources. Although I have really diversified my learning avenues over the years, books remain a fantastic resource. I have been maintaining a “Books to Read” list for a couple of years now and it is always growing (despite my frequent book shopping habit). I find myself adding to the list frequently and when I attend courses or conferences, the list tends to take a significant growth spurt!

Today I reached out to Michael Bolton asking for some more good reads. Michael is like a living encyclopedia and somehow manages to drop the name of a new book every time I see him. As it turns out he gave me a listing of 172 books!!! Thank goodness at least some of them are books I have already read. I am excited to sift through the listing and decide what to put on my Christmas wish list.

You can find a listing of great books on my Books page. The majority are books I have personally read although I have added several I know to be outstanding that I simply have not been able to get to yet. If that list doesn’t have anything new and exciting for you, maybe I can share Michael’s list of 172!

So, how about you? Any great books to recommend? If you are like me you probably have a few collecting dust that have a perfectly intact spine still. Take advantage of the upcoming holidays to put some new books on your wish list, and then take some time for yourself and catch up on your reading.

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By Lynn McKee, October 28, 2010 9:20 am

My Resources page recently experienced a growth spurt and I was forced to reorganize. Now each section has its own page and includes a “Featured Resources” section on the right which was fun to create. The resource listing includes:

• Approaches, Techniques, Tools
• Associations & Online Communities
• Conferences & Workshops
• Courses
• Books
• People

The Conference Calendar links can now be found on the Resources and Conferences & Workshops pages or referenced directly at www.qualityperspectives.ca/calendar/. NOTE: There is no change in the URL.

The Testing Mnemonics listing can be found on the Approaches, Techniques & Tools page or referenced directly at www.qualityperspectives.ca/resources_mnemonics. NOTE: This is a new URL so update any bookmarks you may have to this page.

If you know of a great resource I do not have listed, please email me . Enjoy!

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By Lynn McKee, September 14, 2010 1:18 pm

3P Vantage Agile Coaching, founded by Gil Broza, is bringing another industry expert to you! Every two months Gil is hosting “Spot On” interviews. This interview series is intended to open new horizons for IT professionals interested in effective software development. The selected guest experts, while not strictly promoting Agile methods, teach and consult in related areas. Their specialties overlap and align with Agile; like Gil, they promote effective, humane software development.

The interviews are 45 – 60 minutes long and are free to attend. You should attend if:

• you love learning new perspectives and ideas about your work
• your haven’t been lucky enough to meet the expert at work or at a conference
• you could use help with your professional development

Gil has been bringing pragmatic, effective Agile software development to companies for almost a decade. Relying on his vast experience in programming, management and organizational development, he helps professionals implement non-dogmatic Agility that truly works. Beyond teaching skills and methods, Gil helps people overcome limiting habits, fears of change, blind spots and unhelpful beliefs.

“Engage Your Audience”
Date: October 21, 2010
Time: 2:00pm EDT / 12:00pm MDT
Register: Registration Link

October’s guest expert is Naomi Karten. Naomi is a much sought-after speaker: She has delivered seminars and presentations to more than 100,000 IT professionals internationally, helping them improve customer satisfaction, manage change, and strengthen communication and presentation skills. Her just published book, Presentation Skills for Technical Professionals, offers guidelines and advice for engaging your audience and taking the stress out of presenting. Her other books and ebooks include Changing How You Manage and Communicate Change, Managing Expectations, and Communication Gaps and How to Close Them, among others.

The topic will be “Engage Your Audience” and the interview will cover:

• Can everyone truly become great presenters? (And should they bother?)
• Presentation anxiety — and why you should not eliminate it entirely(!)
• The majority of technical professionals are introverts. Can they still give good presentations?
• To PowerPoint or not to PowerPoint?
• Agile teams have more challenging presentation needs than traditional ones (e.g. at the iteration demo and when rolling out Agile). How can team members build that capability?

The interview will take place on October 21 at 2:00pm EDT / 12:00 MDT. Register to secure your spot. As an added bonus you can submit questions for Naomi and Gil when you register. If you are unable to attend the call you can register and receive the recording afterwords.

Read more about the “Spot On” interview with Naomi Karten here.

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By Lynn McKee, May 5, 2010 1:34 pm

“Research evidence shows that mental stimulation through brain games and interactive puzzles encourage brain cells to develop more connections with each other, improving our general thinking.” This quote is from the book BrainMatics Logic Puzzles by Ivan Moscovich.

The book is full of excellent brain games and shares some valuable insight into how we can improve our problem solving ability. I found this very interesting and to have great synergy with the craft of software testing. Here is an excerpt from the book on thinking as a skill.

Thinking as a Skill
“Your brain works better than you might think. It is capable of making a virtually unlimited number of synaptic connections, each of which is a pattern of thought. The number of possible connections has been calculated, and the result is astonishingly huge – 1 followed by 60 million miles of zeros.

BrainMatics includes carefully designed visual problems, that will sharpen your ability to recognize and perceive patterns, to stretch your imagination, to make the most of your thinking. And as you do these puzzles and problems, you will improve your creativity, insight and intuition. Thinking is a learnable skill. If you make even a small effort to develop it, you will see improvement.”

The book includes further thoughts on the thinking skills of creativity, problem solving and intuition.

Creativity, Problem Solving and Intuition
“People once assumed that the Sun revolved around the Earth, and that evil spirits caused diseases. Creative thinkers challenged these ideas. If we accept what we are told without every questioning its truth, we may never discover better ways of doing and thinking.

Throughout human history, people have regarded creativity with wonder. Creative thinkers seems to be able to maintain a connection to a childlike state of wonder, and to use it for creative ends. How do they do it? How can we learn to be more creative?

Creativity is the most powerful mode of human thought, a resource we can all draw upon in order to understand our life and to build a better world and future. From earliest history human beings needed creativity to solve practical problems. If our ancestors had not been creative, we would still be living in the stone age. And for this reason we all have a creative urge hard-wired within us.

Yet creativity is difficult to define. More than just the process by which new ideas are generated, it is really a different way of thinking, one less preoccupied with details than with fundamental relationships, less concerned with facts and numbers than with arrangements and connections. The ability to “think outside the box” is highly sought after today. A new age is upon us, in which creativity is increasingly important and more highly valued than ever.

Many researchers into creativity have noted the element of chance in the creative process. American scientist Linus Pauling (1901-94) was asked at one of his lectures how to create scientific theories: he replied that one must endeavor to come up with many ideas – then discard the useless ones.

Recent research suggests that the unconscious mind plays a key role in creativity. The research indicates that complex decisions are best left to your unconscious mind and that the conscious mind should be trusted with simple decisions only. Thinking hard about complex decisions based on multiple factors appears to confuse the conscious mind: people concentrate on only a subset of the available information , often resulting in unsatisfactory decisions. In contrast, the unconscious mind appears better able to consider the information as a whole, and produce a more satisfactory decision.

We use intuition constantly in our everyday life. Yet until recently the scientific study of intuition was largely ignored. New research has found that intuition springs from a set of important human skills that all act together to give a so-called “gut reaction”. The more you use these skills, the better your intuition becomes.”

You may have read my recent blog post “Sharpen Your Testing Skills with Games & Puzzles” in which I commit to providing some interesting games and puzzles on my blog. I look forward to sharing several from the BrainMatics Logic Puzzles book. I hope you will attempt some of the puzzles and games I post on my blog to develop your thinking skills.

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By Lynn McKee, May 4, 2010 12:01 am

My passion is in building high performing software quality and testing teams. I have found that successful and highly regarded teams are comprised of individuals passionate about their professional craft. Establishing a continuous learning environment is key to inspiring and motivating your teams. The following are some of the focuses I incorporate in the learning and development of my teams.

Advocate for Testing Within Your Organization
Advocating for software testing within your organization is fundamental as a test lead or manager. In fact, it is important for all testers to champion their profession. As it relates to training, it is important for management to understand the value of your team in order for you to secure appropriate budget and support for team development.

Establish a Continuous Learning Mindset
Our industry is constantly changing and it is imperative to maintain a commitment to the training and development of our teams. Continuous learning encourages an awareness of industry trends, provides a focus on continuous improvement, inspires personal growth, and through creative thinking it advances the craft of software testing. Ideally you will be able to establish the continuous learning mindset for your team, and more importantly instill a lifelong commitment to learning for each individual. Ultimately each individual needs to take ownership for their professional development.

Provide Frequent Learning Opportunities
Frequent training and development opportunities are important to remain current with the industry and to sustain the learning momentum. Being mindful of potential budget constraints, there are numerous low cost options to consider incorporating.

Incorporate Diverse Learning Opportunities
There is a tremendous number of learning opportunities for software testers. It is important to incorporate diverse opportunities in alignment with the organizational needs and the skill sets of your team. Consider including a variety of the following options:

• Courses
• Conferences & Workshops
• Organizations & Associations *
• Webinars & Interviews *
• Books, Magazines, Newsletters *
• Discussion Forums & Blogs *
• Internal Cross Training & Lunch and Learn Sessions *
• Networking, Networking, Networking *

In defining your team’s training and development plan, be sure to emphasize the options highlighted with an ‘*’. These options are typically low cost or free. From my experience, actively engaging in a few insightful organizations, magazines, books, discussion forums, blogs and by networking has the potential for greater learning than more traditional options. That said, there are some excellent courses and conferences available. Research the options and leverage your network for recommendations.

Often there are internal training options that can be considered. Leverage the strengths of your current team through cross training and hosting lunch and learn sessions. Encourage the sharing of new ideas by team members who attend courses and conferences through white papers or informal presentations.

Networking is a powerful tool for learning. Extend your network of software testers and interesting minds to discuss and constructively debate ideas. Challenge your team members to seek out perspectives that differ from their own. If there is the opportunity for team members to attend courses and conferences, place networking at the top of their “to do” list. Lessons learned from networking are just as valuable as the material covered during the conference sessions. Additionally, the industry relationships that can be developed at these kinds of events can be invaluable for future discussions or support.

Do not discount the online social networking options such as Twitter. If you are selective in the individuals, lists or tags you follow, there is a wealth of valuable information. In fact, if you follow many of the industry leaders you will quickly find that the volume of insightful information can be overwhelming. These folks are constantly tweeting about new articles, blogs, interviews, courses, conferences and challenges related to the craft of software testing.

Also consider sources not directly related to software testing and find synergy in the concepts. Michael Bolton is excellent at this. He finds synergy in everything from books such as Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, to theatre and music.

Consider referring to my Resources page for a listing of Associations, Conferences, Workshops, Courses, Books and People (many with blogs) you may be interested in learning from.

Place an Emphasis on Integrating the Learning
Knowledge and skills are truly gained when new concepts are applied and integrated into our existing frameworks. The statistics on learning retention rates are staggering. The following statistics are from http://www.tenouk.com/learningretentionrate.html:

Be mindful of your organization’s context and quality needs. Practices that work well in one organization are not guaranteed to fit in your organization. Consider identifying appropriate pilot projects to incorporate new concepts, techniques, tools, etc. on your teams. Continually assess the integration of a new concept and adapt or drop it as appropriate.

Provide Coaching and Mentoring Opportunities
Many times as leads and managers we adopt roles as teachers, coaches or mentors to share our knowledge, perspectives and passion for software testing. Ensure coaching and mentoring opportunities are provided for your team members. Often times the coaching may need to be from an external source such as a consultant to assist with implementing new concepts.

Set a Positive Example
My final thoughts are to be active in your own continuous learning and share your excitement. Enthusiasm is energy that easily spreads from one person to the next.