Comments on: Are agile testers different?

By: Agile Testing Days Berlin III – First presentations « shino.de

Agile Testing Days Berlin III – First presentations « shino.de — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:06:58 +0000

[...] Adzic did a good write-up of the session. Lisa opened up with a quote, that I need to remember: We don’t break software, it comes to [...]

By: James Hill

James Hill — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:11:31 +0000

Have to agree with above posters. I do second round technical interviews for the consultancy I work for and wouldn’t be interested in hiring testers – regardless of whether they’re destined for an agile or waterfall project – if they didn’t demonstrate at least those characteristics. Self starting tech heads – the kind who download testing tools in their spare time just to see what they do or play with a new language just for the fun of it – are the kinds of people who will add a load of value to any project. While I’m tired of interviewing button pushers, those with the above traits are always a breath of fresh air, whether they have 3 years or 20 years experience. Doesn’t mean they have an Agile background.

By: Joe Strazzere

Joe Strazzere — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:23:39 +0000

- Constantly look for new challenges and ways to improve
- Are proactive and willing to take on any task
- Collaborative, not antagonistic
- Customer-focused
- Results-oriented

I don’t see anything here that is inherently “agile”. These attributes apply equally to every “non-agile” team I have ever led.

We have to be careful when promoting a new technology or process, not to over-glamorize it.

There may indeed be distinguishing characteristics between “Agile testers” and “Non-agile testers”, but this doesn’t list any of them.

By: Stefano Ricciardi

Stefano Ricciardi — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:21:36 +0000

Lee and Bob have beaten me here. I pretty much agree with everything they said.

Nothing particularly speaks “agile” in the traits you have described above. I have been working in a very “non agile” team in my previous job and yet most of our team members (not just testers) demostrated these qualities.

By: Rob Bowley

Rob Bowley — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:00:29 +0000

All those qualities are merely the traits of a a good team member and could apply to pretty much any role I could think of. In fact most CVs I see say something along those lines in their opening blurb to the point where it becomes meaningless.

Are agile testers different? No, agile testing is different. In general people and the qualities they exhibit are a reflection of the environment within which they exist.