On a recent project with a client, I helped the development team to implement a work in progress (WIP) limit. As the team got used to working towards finishing things before starting to work on new user stories, there was a noticeable improvement in the flow and pace of stories that were ready to […]
Category: Personal Development

SeConf and Our Transition to Paying Speakers’ Expenses
Guest post by Ashley Hunsberger and Marcus Merrell, co-chairs of the Selenium Conference Organizing Committee There’s a touchy subject in the Twittersphere these days around conferences that require speakers to pay to speak (or, #paytospeak). Cassandra Leung discusses in depth why she doesn’t pay to speak in her blog, raising some really […]

Writing Abstracts: Non-Advice from a Speaker and Reviewer
During my last two years as a professional software tester, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at conferences and events around the world, and have also reviewed hundreds of abstracts for a number of conferences. I recently saw a thread from Richard Bradshaw with his opinions on writing and reviewing abstracts for conferences […]

2 Years in Testing: Then and Now
Last year, I wrote about my experiences after one year in testing. I’ve decided to try and make it a bit of a tradition, so I can give people a bit of insight into my experiences and how things are changing, but mostly for myself so I can look back on my own challenges […]

Why I Don’t Pay to Speak
This is a post I have planned to write for the best part of a year, and recent discussions have brought it back to the top of my to do list. This post is a way for me to collate my feelings about, and stance on, pay to speak. I also plan to […]