tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951904624959546499.post4460626647410020318..comments2009-01-12T21:43:42.112-05:00Eric Jacobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216361684596485033noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951904624959546499.post-28182401406136013132009-01-12T14:49:00.000-05:002009-01-12T14:49:00.000-05:00One thing important to remember is that you're not the cop. You're there to provide as much information about the software to your customers and management so that they can make the proper business decisions.<BR/>Be clear about all the work you see out there that's not getting done, and what the risks are if you let that work hang around undone.<BR/><BR/>And of course I can relate. I've been there! Literally!Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07298916960841993037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951904624959546499.post-52412577715610270592009-01-12T12:34:00.000-05:002009-01-12T12:34:00.000-05:00Thanks, Michele! Your comments made me feel better. <BR/><BR/>I think will ask for help compiling a list of emergency production patches and hold a little meeting to determine what the testers can do better next time.<BR/><BR/>It will help ensure we are not just responding to reported issues, we are also adding some extra value to prevent history from repeating itself.Eric Jacobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216361684596485033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951904624959546499.post-37708168726690594492009-01-10T06:10:00.000-05:002009-01-10T06:10:00.000-05:00<I>Am I doing something wrong?</I> <BR/>Is there a team involved in the effort? If so, you cannot really ask if you are doing something wrong, but what can you all do different, if anything, next time. Write down things that aren’t quite right in how you all are doing so that you won’t forget what can be improved next time. It is often a good thing to gather together, when things settle down a bit, and discuss what went right and what went wrong. <BR/><BR/><I>Do I suck for letting these bugs get to prod in the first place?</I><BR/>Why, did you distract the other testers? Did you find bugs and not report them? Were you sleeping? Or, did you do the best you could, with what you had, at that time? <BR/> <BR/><I>Am I the bottleneck, too slow at getting patches to users?</I><BR/>Are you tying up management? Are you preventing them from releasing the patches? Are you making the business decisions as well as testing the application/product/system?<BR/><BR/><I>Should I be out in the trenches, watching the user behavior?</I><BR/>More bugs may escape and less patches certified if you are watching the users instead of testing, so probably not. But by reading the bug reports and communicating with the support people you may learn a lot about how the customers use/abuse the product/application/system. <BR/><BR/><I>Can I relate?</I><BR/>As a tester myself, I hate when the customers find a really good bug that we (the test team) missed. But I also know we can’t find all the bugs, test completely, or make the business decisions to release the products. <BR/>When I feel like you describe in the post, I generally take a step back as soon as there is an opportunity to do so, and do something to relax. When I have my own sense of being back, I remember who I am (my values, ethics, and principles). When I remember these things I remember that the situation cannot beat me up, and I can approach it with my attitude in a better place and my head in a better frame of mind.Michele Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05639189538178022310noreply@blogger.com