There are a lot of ways to get training in testing skills, strategies, and tools, and there are a lot of very capable testers out there. However, there are some testers who stand out from the crowd of even the experienced and trained, regardless of changes in technology or domain. These are professionals who are not only leaders, but also innovators and enablers. They stick in your head as remarkable in their approaches and their accomplishments. What do they do that is so different?
If we look at findings from the fields of psychology, organizational behavior, art, and medical innovations, a number of counterintuitive traits turn out to be quite valuable. These characteristics of extraordinary testers are not typically part of the traditional skill sets we talk about, for testers, yet they have been shown to provide great value in these other fields:
- Understanding the value of being wrong
- Daring to disagree
- Being able to “See by forgetting the names of things”
- Benefiting from ignorance
- Building acceptance across users and teams
These are not things that make us comfortable and they are not easy. They are part of what many testers may feel uneasy about despite believing they are vital to our contributions to our projects.
We will look at evidence from recent TED talks, artist biographies, and popular science writers that explain how these traits can be used to take your confidence and influence as a tester to new levels, or help you come to terms with the tremendous value you can get from the traits you already have in these directions!
Key ideas:Understanding the value of these unconventional traits, both for yourself and for other testers, and for building team soft skills How these traits contribute to project success and support critical non-traditional testing influence, particularly in “agile” / “nimble” environments here to find these traits in unexpected people and places.
