tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36118108.post1657065663094878663..comments2023-12-06T00:17:28.519-08:00Comments on Creative Chaos: The Boutique TesterMatthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956714498778698672noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36118108.post-46283549090949391162011-01-04T02:27:37.312-08:002011-01-04T02:27:37.312-08:00awesome blog...
great posting...
thank for sharing...awesome blog...<br />great posting...<br />thank for sharing this post.Aparajayahhttp://www.aparajayah.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36118108.post-46072662981226418562009-08-07T05:37:56.669-07:002009-08-07T05:37:56.669-07:00aarone -
One thing you can do, and I am serious,...aarone - <br /><br />One thing you can do, and I am serious, is offer to drop by and do some testing. If you find enough bugs to justify your expense, they should bill the client. If not, offer to work just for travel expenses. <br /><br />The key is to make it an /offer/ where you are not arrogant, but, instead, trying to be humble and respect the awesomeness of the other party.<br /><br />It is possible, after all, that you can't find enough bugs to justify your expense. This way, both parties can save face.<br /><br />I understand Pradeep did something similar in India to kick-start his consulting career.<br /><br />Good luck!Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05956714498778698672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36118108.post-60244489381531545832009-07-17T08:52:27.864-07:002009-07-17T08:52:27.864-07:00I agree, and hope it becomes more feasible to be a...I agree, and hope it becomes more feasible to be a "boutique" tester. I'm trying to do it right now, and the really hard part is finding people who believe they need it. <br /><br />I like your description of how it should go down, but the problem is, the "boutique" development company usually feels they don't need the tester (after all, their work is perfect, and QA is part of the bureaucracy they struck out on their own to avoid) and the customer usually doesn't even know he has the option. In his case, the ideal would be to have inside testers, but if they're outsourcing development, they probably don't have the IT infrastructure for test as well, which usually requires more of an operations outlay than development, since you want a more production-like environment.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16778156590700212643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36118108.post-59346443385323907062009-06-15T11:24:56.293-07:002009-06-15T11:24:56.293-07:00Hi Matt,
I had a somehow longer reply urging up w...Hi Matt,<br /><br />I had a somehow longer reply urging up when reading through your article, so I put it on my blog. http://blog.shino.de/2009/06/15/testing-in-the-days-of-software-craftsmanship/ <br /><br />Basically I agree with you, but there are some points that strike myself, since I am not sure whether or not it's a good idea to give in the need to have a testing view following the craftsmanship movement.Markus Gärtnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15728306418553053255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36118108.post-18179563333022845032009-06-15T08:00:25.042-07:002009-06-15T08:00:25.042-07:00Matthew,
Really nice post! Tester role must evolv...Matthew,<br /><br />Really nice post! Tester role must evolve, and consequently testing boutiques should emerge.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10588382985307468546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36118108.post-75050883293771406102009-06-15T07:15:32.212-07:002009-06-15T07:15:32.212-07:00Mike:
good points, thanks. I tried to hint at tha...Mike:<br /><br />good points, thanks. I tried to hint at that with the comment about the dev shops making using a tester part of the general strategy. In that case, I see the tester sub-contracting and getting a somewhat fixed number of hours per month.<br /><br />Besides a boutique shop, sure a tester could work with other local IT shops that don't have full-time testers. <br /><br />Most of the people I know doing "boutique"-like work today do an eclectic mix of traditional work, boutique work, writing, speaking and training.<br /><br />Thanks again for the thoughts.Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05956714498778698672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36118108.post-64692089531451763202009-06-15T07:11:46.566-07:002009-06-15T07:11:46.566-07:00I suspect it's possible to do that sort of wor...I suspect it's possible to do that sort of work full time. In my last go-round as an independent, I filled about 50% of my time doing that type of "boutique" work without really trying. I suspect I could have done it full time if I wanted to, but it would have required more work tracking down leads than I really wanted to spend. <br /><br />The other 50% of my time went to contracting with some local companies close to my home. That work was a more traditional testing role. I wouldn't call it boutique, but it was low stress, close to home, and easy to get. That made it attractive. <br /><br />If I were to go back to working as an independent, I think I'd still do something similar. Some portion of my time would be allocated to "boutique" projects (which I view as having higher costs - marketing so people know you're there, planning for project schedule over-runs and under-runs, etc...) while some portion would still likely go into contracting on more traditional projects (where costs are low, as is risk).Michael Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04227016623375910829noreply@blogger.com