It\u2019s a good question… Why testing peers? I probably have to go back before the initial ask to answer that.<\/p>\n
I met Chris at the EuroSTAR 2018 pub quiz in The Hague before helping out at the `Test Clinic` at the conference whilst Chris supported the `Test Huddle`. He seemed a decent guy and we hit it off talking testing, leadership and about our responsibilities being track chairs etc.<\/p>\n
When Chris approached me wanting to try something just after the conference in 2018, I was game to give it a go without reading any more, my mind was awash with new ideas and positivity buoyed meeting all the testers and people at EuroSTAR. I preach experimentation to my teams and here was my chance to try something new myself, so I was game before I even read the full idea.<\/p>\n
When I actually read a bit more of Chris\u2019 idea it actually struck a chord, the first line hooked me it put into words what I felt but couldn’t articulate…<\/p>\n
I believe that testers in our position, can often be quite isolated and find peer support lacking.<\/i><\/p>\n
I can\u2019t really share some things with my team, as they report to me, and I can\u2019t always share so easily with my manager as a) he\u2019s a dev and b) I report to him. Professional conflict etc.<\/i><\/p>\n
It requires a degree of honesty and vulnerability, so therefore trust and buy-in. But, essentially, I\u2019m looking for people who will be <\/i>authorised<\/i>\/empowered to check-in\/challenge me where I know I need it.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I\u2019d found it fun to talk testing to a leader outside of where I worked in, The Hauge; the perspective was refreshing. Where I work there were other test managers in other depts. but we rarely talk or meet as we worked in different domains and within separate organisational structures.<\/p>\n
The idea of getting together other like-minded people to talk about ideas, problems, solutions and to check or challenge me and for me to also give back to them seems like a really good idea.<\/p>\n
It started off as a Google Sheet, which didn\u2019t really work other than to collate some data, then moved WhatsApp and finally Slack.<\/p>\n
I found the group a great sounding board, to talk testing, blogs, talks, books, but also to rant and to give\/receive advice to\/from others, I felt listened to, empowered. It stuck.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not a pat on the back club, we do challenge and give each other useful advice and constructive criticism. It\u2019s really helped me with my bias, self-belief and limiting cognitive distortions that I fear creep into things without peer feedback. Thus, I kept participating and kept getting value and it\u2019s been great fun working with the peers.<\/p>\n
Now we\u2019re moving on to look into a podcast which is new to me, I\u2019m looking forward to where our rambling might take us….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Why I took part in the Testing Peers group. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2,3,4,5,6],"series":[208],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-community","tag-eurostar","tag-testing","tag-testing-peers","tag-why","series-testing-peers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testingpeers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/testing-peers-icon-1600x1600-1.png?fit=1600%2C1600&ssl=1","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":[],"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/testingpeers.com\/?feed=podcast&podcast_series=testing-peers","embedCode":"
Russell – Why Testing Peers?<\/a><\/blockquote>