I’ve been a professional tester since 2003.
I say I’ve been a professional tester since 2003 but recently realised that I’ve had a “tester” mindset for much, much longer than that; In fact as cliché as it sounds, I’ve pretty much been a tester my whole life.
So today I thought I’d like to suggest a little game to everyone See if you can remember your earliest memory of “testing” something.
For me, as far as I can remember it’s when I was 9 years old and was bought a Bandai Lazer Tank for Christmas.
I remember unwrapping it and staring in wonderment; what on earth does this thing do?
Within minutes I had questions:
- Will it work on lino?
- What about carpet?
- What about the pile rug? It’s a tank after all! Oh nope; stuck on the rug! In fact, the rug is now churned-up inside the wheel. Whoops!
- Do the pieces pop off in a different sequence each time?
- What if I shoot it through the patio door? Or the mirror? Or my granddad’s Ray Bans that I’m specifically forbidden from touching?
- How far from the tank can I be, and still get the laser to hit it? That’s a great reason to go outside in the cold, to the back of the garden in nothing but pyjamas!
I was obsessed with finding the limitations of the thing!
So for me that’s my earliest memory of “testing” and I think a lot of people with testing careers probably have a similar mindset that started WAY before your “profession” as a tester began?
So have a think about your own earliest testing memories and let’s get sharing.