News

~ by Randy Wagner Which is More Important—Efficiency or Predictability? It depends. All of us make decisions in our work, regardless of our role in projects or our level in our careers. We endeavor to do the best we can, over-deliver on our promises, and manage our workloads. Some work can be done individually; other…

~ by Randy Wagner How to Think about QA to Promote Success Some concepts are perceived in black and white – binary terms. Justice, for example, denotes that a wrong has been righted. What about the quality aspects of justice? Was the punishment severe enough? Was the process fair to both parties along the way?…

~ by Randy Wagner Why the Ability to Ask Penetrating Questions Matters As we move from newbie to experienced in our careers, we’ve all been in a meeting where we are busy explaining something to management, only to have them ask some incisive question that completely alters the discussion and outcome. While there is obviously a…

~ by Randy Wagner One of the Challenging Aspects of the Software Development Lifecycle is Keeping Everyone on the Same Page BAs write requirements, Developers design and code, QAs write tests, and the Product Owner (PO) gives the final blessing or requests rework, hopefully to complete within the sprint. That’s an agile process but it…

CastleBay Companies (CastleBay) is pleased to announce the addition of Robb Creary as Director of Canadian operations based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “Robb brings a wealth of expertise in the Guidewire cloud space, as well as deep roots in the Canadian property and casualty marketplace; two areas which we have targeted for growth in 2024,”…

~ by Randy Wagner How to Spot Problems When Metrics Fail to Accurately Represent Reality Much of the work we do is reduced to metrics. Test cases completed, defect counts, and accepted stories drive the numbers.  We measure velocity and plan accordingly. We gauge health accordingly. But then there are times when the numbers just…

~ by Randy Wagner Three Things Every Consultant Needs to Deliver Value Consulting is an interesting mix of traits. On one hand, you need to have a decent bag of tricks but on the other, you may just need enough courage to fake it until you make it — with a ton of hard work…

~ by Randy Wagner How to Balance the Past, Present, and Future in QA Today is present in multiple ways for Quality Assurance (QA). The work we do is a result of our past, hopefully informed by the future as we see it, and limited by the time and resources at hand. It’s up to…

~ by Randy Wagner Some Tasks Just Don’t Seem Worth the Effort All of us face a myriad of tasks, seen and unseen, that get our projects done. Sometimes it’s late in the evening; other times it’s just another task in a long list of tasks. We’re all human. It’s tempting to think that no…

~ by Randy Wagner Hardship Can Pay Dividends When I look back at the toughest struggles in my life, both personally and professionally, I’ve found that hardship usually pays unexpected dividends. There were definitely tough spots but if you embrace the challenge and the change, then you can make it work. How to Embrace the…