Show notes
A listener asks which domino to push first, and the chaps immediately disagree about where to start.Shady has been a QA engineer for about five years and has recently joined a new organisation. Like most of us walking into somewhere new, he can see more things worth improving than he could ever get to at once, and no obvious order to do them in. So which one goes first? Vernon goes straight for wherever the pain is greatest. Richard says do it the other way round entirely, and has a spreadsheet ready to prove it. Between the two of them sits the part nobody warns you about when you take the job: the thing you were hired to fix is very often not the problem, your credibility to say so out loud has a half-life, and the clock started the moment you walked in. Also, a man who finds water leaks for a living turns out to be running a testing process most of us could learn something from.Chapters00:00 - Intro01:16 - Welcome: Energy levels and an idea for a future episode03:07 - A question from the audience03:51 - Shady’s question: Which QA domino do you push first?04:48 - One line answers FTW!06:04 - Rich maps the terrain08:24 - Vern does the not so obvious obvious thing10:12 - What’s the underlying problem?12:19 - How to choose between a quick win and a long-term play?13:55 - Instead of creating a master plan, do this instead.15:47 - Work like a… Drug dealer?!17:38 - Pickles19:44 - Because reasons21:05 - Rob Meaney thinks we have our priorities backwards24:01 - The colleague who argued against more test coverage, and won26:16 - Can you even prove the flaky automation is the problem?28:54 - GitHub's availability has never been worse. Rich has a theory why29:54 - Is Shady looking at a testing problem or a quality problem?31:12 - What happens when you tell them their problem isn't the problem32:50 - Education over illusion, and why "you're wrong" never lands36:18 - Does it matter that you can't name the technique you just used?37:24 - The page object question Rich asks, and the answer that ends the interview41:12 - Jonesy, a gambling machine, and the certificate that taught him nothing46:05 - The leak is never where the damage is47:14 - The leak hunter who checks the water company's homework first49:39 - Cars, doctors and solicitors are all playing 20 questions with you52:19 - The videos where he gets it wrong, and why testers never post those53:44 - Wrapping up, and a plea for more questionsLinks to stuff we mentioned during the pod:02:05 - Leigh RathboneLeigh's LinkedIn03:07 - Shady ZahranShady’s LinkedIn03:31 - Olly FairhallOlly's LinkedInOlly's Bluesky03:31 - Emily O’ConnorEmily's LinkedIn06:15 - The 10 P’s of TestabilityArticle on testability featuring the 10 PsThe book Team Guide to Software Testability by Ash Winter & Rob Meaney17:38 - The Prescott Pickle Principle from Jerry’s book The Secret’s of Consulting19:44 - “Things are the way they are because they got that way. Another one from The Secret’s of Consulting book!20:42 - The fairy tale The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen22:20 - Rob’s great article about how to prioritise our work called Most Product Development Teams Have Their Priorities Upside Down28:14 - Dan AshbyDan’s LinkedIn34:00 - Richard's automation and testing principles, including "education over illusion"37:24 - The page object model47:14 - This is Josh Pollard, the drain and leak specialist Richard follows on Instagram49:39 - Mat Armstrong, the car YouTuber from LeicesterVernon's newsletter Yeah But Does It Work?That's the answer we gave Shady, and we're fully prepared to be told we got it wrong.If you agree, let us know. If you disagree, let us know. If you violently agree or violently disagree, definitely let us know. Where would you start on day one in a new team, and what did it cost you when you started in the wrong place? Questions, comments and concerns are all welcome, and if you send us a question we will answer it on the show, same as we did for Shady.Like, subscribe, and share.