Friday, May 24, 2013

Test Profession Survey Results Preview

First, thanks for your thoughts, prayers and concerns after the tornado this week. I helped a friend go through the rubble of her former home on Monday. It was amazing to see her positive attitude. As we arrived at the debris, she said, "Welcome to my humble abode."

While there, she was interviewed by a Brazilian TV crew who also remarked to me how impressed they were with her attitude. Yes, that is inspiring, and many others here are also holding up well even in trying times.


 Also, thanks for those of you responded to the test professional survey last week. I ended up with 100 responses. I need a while longer to write the article (and perhaps white paper) on this, but I thought you might want to see some early results.



I am working on the article and should have it by next week. To me, the early impressions are that (at least to those that responded) the majority of testers see themselves as professionals and it is important to have that view. Management may not see testers as professionals as much, but there is still a significant percentage of managers that do find importance in the view of a test professional as opposed to some other view. I think this has some larger, and very good, implications for those of us in the field of software testing.

More to come soon. Of course, I would love to get your thoughts on these findings.

For those in the U.S., have a great Memorial Day. Remember those who have given their lives for our freedom. Remember those who are rebuilding in Oklahoma.

Thanks as always for being the best at what you do!

Randy

2 comments:

halperinko said...

Thanks Randy for posting that,
While reading the results,and you summing notes - one thing which came to my mind was -
The survey might be a bit biased, as those who get such links, and take the time to participate in a survey, are probably part of the minority of our testing community,
Those who take the time to read articles, blog posts, twitts, and be part of testing communities and forums.
The silent majority is unfortunately too focused on daily chores to raise their eys and seek for ways to perform better.

@halperinko - Kobi Halperin.

Randy Rice said...

Hi Kobi,

Thanks for your comment. That's a good observation and I'll address it when I write the article. I agree there are a lot of people in the testing field so busy they don't have time for much else. I get that way sometimes. I sent the survey to my list which also probably has a degree of bias because they are in my client base and community. I'm leaving the survey up and open (I copy and refresh it every time it hits 50 - I am a creative tester!). If you have any ideas of how to extend or expand the audience, please let me know. Thanks again! Randy