Testing and Quality

This is a living document and by no means complete. It is only intended as a starting point to continuously learn about testing, quality and everything related.

Table of Contents


Social Media

Back in the days, the old Twitter was a hub to a wealth of resources regarding testing and quality. I highly recommended to follow other testers, quality engineers, developers, product people and the like to gain further insights and learn what's new. The community was largely represented, very active, and sharing valuable content.

Nowadays, there's no one common place anymore (granted, also the old Twitter was only a bubble). Therefore I can only encourage folks to look for their social media platform(s) that fulfill their needs. Awesome folks can be found everywhere. Want to find me on social media? Just search for my handle "lisihocke". I'm in many places, yet most active on Mastodon: @lisihocke@mastodon.social

 

Blogs

Many testers have their personal blog which is worth following as well. Here are some rather famous examples (some very active, some less so), but I'd also recommend to check out the many more blogs of less known testers.
Key blog posts & articles:

Newsletters & Mailing Lists

Subscribe to these newsletters and let them point you to a wealth of valuable resources every week.

Podcasts

There are several awesome podcasts talking about testing, agile, development and more. The following are worth checking out.
Key episodes:

Videos

In case you'd like to watch and learn, there are many and more video resources out there. The following are just some starting points.
  • Ministry of Testing Dojo. You can watch recordings from conference talks or take courses. Though many videos require a pro membership, some videos are available for free, you just have to sign up for a free account.
  • Test Automation University. A project initiated by Angie Jones, offering freely accessible and well taught video courses by renowned instructors on all things automation. Massively recommended!
  • Agile Testing Days keynotes and webinars. Lots of great session content from the previous Agile Testing Days editions as well as webinars.
Key videos:

Cheat Sheets & Test Ideas

Having something in hand to trigger new ideas on what else to test is just awesome. Even for experienced testers. They are also perfect to share with your product team to share testing knowledge and help them come up with ideas.

Wikis


Books

If you want to dive deeper into a topic, books are still just wonderful. Here are some I really recommend.

Books closely related to testing:
Books not obviously related to testing but really valuable to think outside the box and broaden your horizon:

Conferences

I wished I would have discovered conferences earlier in my career - the opportunity was just not available then. By attending conferences I met the larger community and got inspired in so many ways that I honestly think this to be one of the best ways of personal development. I you don't have the support and opportunity to join, consider applying as volunteer or speaker to get your entry ticket. By becoming a conference speaker allowed me to participate in a lot more conferences than I would have been able to otherwise and hence build a larger network.

Still active conferences:
Paused or discontinued conferences:

Meetups & Regular Tables

There are many local community events like meetups and regular tables taking place close to you, or even closer thanks to remote options. Just go the meetup page and find the next group around you. And if none exists yet, it might be time to think about starting one! :-)


Slack Teams

Slack is a wonderful tool for quick and easy communication and collaboration. On the following you will find fellow testers ready to listen and support.

Learning Tools & Apps


Other Formats

There are probably many more formats to learn agile testing. So far I came across the following really interesting ones.
  • Tech Voices. Want to improve at speaking? This program had been recommended by many people. You'll have mentors from the community to help you start sharing your stories at conferences.
  • Learning partners and groups. Ask another tester you feel connected with to become your accountability buddy aka learning partner! Meet regularly to exchange challenges, solutions, knowledge and questions and hold each other accountable on your objectives. I paired up with Toyer Mamoojee and it's been invaluable for both of us! Or form a whole learning group to support each other. Or maybe a book club? Whatever works and helps you in your context.

Fun

Last but not least - testing is also lots of fun, so let's not neglect that! ;-)
  • On Testing. Check out this classic - I just love it! :D And don't miss to read through the awesome comments!
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