CNN had an articles on teens being ‘fake’ Christians recently. Religiousness aside, one paragraph describes the four traits of what they label a ‘committed’ Christian.
- They have a personal story about God they can share
- A deep connection to a faith community
- A sense of purpose
- A sense of hope about their future
In the quality world, I would say there is a split between the ‘fake’ testers and the ‘committed’ ones. You can spot the fake ones easily as they are the ones at the elevator precisely at 5; whereas the committed ones are writing and exploring the craft. It is pretty easy to swap Quality for God and faith for testing in the above list and have something useful in a new context.
The article also blames the apathy of teens on their parents. But in the office we don’t have our parents to guide us; just management. Yes, you and only you are responsible for your career, but management is an enabler of that. So if you are in management, are you helping your flock, or hindering it?
Good points Adam, and I certainly agree with the last paragraph. I do however think your fake-tester-spotting method is a bit simplistic (although I think I understand what you’re getting at).
From your description a tester leaving at 5 (or what ever goes for the local version of end of business day) every day to pick up their kids from kindergarten, or to have dinner with the family before everybody leaves for football or other hobbies is a Fake, ignoring that he or she might be spending the evening reading your blog, discussing on the testing forums, preparing for this weeks edition of WeekendTesting finishing of by reading a few chapters in some relevant book or do testing on some open source project to get a bit of different pratice?
I don’t think your tester greatness points should be based on what time you leave the office (or arrive in the morning) or how many hours of overtime you put in.
I love this post!
I saw the article on CNN, but you are right, it can apply to committed testers as well. Fostering that environment in your team and in yourself is important and makes all the difference in not only the quality of your work, but also in your enjoyment of your job.
I like your stuff, but the comment on hours is way off. Please reconsider your oracle