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Does this sound familiar:

• Your company hasn't paid for you to attend a training event in two or more years, yet expects you to stay current in your field.

• Your senior management always seems to release software even though you have worked hard to find problems that are still not fixed.

• No matter how much you test, you feel you can't make a dent in the amount of testing that could be done.

• Your test schedule continually gets reduced because the developers are late, but your deadline doesn't change.
  
  
• You are asked to provide accurate testing estimates, but they always get reduced to meet the deadline.

• You know you're capable of doing far more than you are allowed to do, but you never get the chance.

• You've "lost that lovin' feeling" for your career in software QA and testing. What used to be exciting to you is now a long, hard slog. You hate to get up in the morning and find yourself envying your dog or cat because all they have to do is lie there. You recognize you have all the signs and symptoms of a major burnout, but it doesn't make sense. This is your dream, right? How can you be burning out living your dream?

If any of these sound like you, you're not alone. In fact, the sad, unfortunate truth is you're probably in the majority of testers.

Do YOU know why software testers struggle?

I surveyed over 5,000 testers over the past 12 years to answer this question and have arrived at ten reasons, which I describe in detail in my book, Surviving the Top Ten Challenges of Software Testing.

However, I'll give you a sneak peek of the top 3 challenges: 1) Lack of management support, 2) Lack of adequate requirements and 3) Having to deliver bad news to people who don't like to hear bad news.

Just dealing with one of these challenges can keep you awake at night. But combined, these challenges form a toxic potion that can take its toll on you in a short time.

Secret #1 - All of these challenges exist because people in power do not understand and appreciate the true value testing adds to the company's bottom line.

So, why is the "value" message so important?

FACT: There is someone out there who can test cheaper than you can (and your management might be very willing to give your job to them.)

The reason testers can be in a dangerous position is because to some managers, testing is a commodity that can be performed by anyone. So, it's up to you to promote your added value in software testing and software quality! No one else is going to do that for you.

Even without the threat of outsourcing, the best way to increase your salary and position is to increase your value to your organization. You energize your career and take charge of your life!

The loss of passion for your career has happened to so many people, including me.

I’m Randy Rice, and I was once a frustrated software tester and test manager. I had no knowledge of what worked or didn't work in software testing, no training, no tools, no idea of how the software was supposed to work and very little time to perform testing. I was being asked to find all the defects in the software at our company, but given very little budget and no authority. 

“How do other people do it?” I would go to the free meetings at my local QA chapter and hear people talk about the measurement programs and process improvement models and wonder, “This all sounds great, but they are at Level 5, while I'm firmly at Level 0! What’s the best thing (or things) I can do right now to make a difference?”

Sound familiar? Don’t blame yourself. Nobody said it would be easy, but it doesn’t have to be so hard, either.

One day while listening to a self-improvement program, I heard something that changed my life!

Secret #2 - "If you spend 30 minutes a day reading or listening to any topic, in 5 years, you'll be an expert on that topic."

So, I started reading everything I could get my hands on about software quality and software testing. Believe it or not, even after 13 years as a software developer I had never once seen a functional requirement. I had to go to a university library to see an example! By the way, at that time there were only five books available on software testing!

However, I kept at it and five years later I was getting my feet on the ground as an independent testing consultant. Now, I have written over 50 courses on software testing and software quality so people like you can profit from my mistakes and my collection of knowledge over the years.

Secret #3 - Being recognized as a resident expert in your organization 
adds value to your career and to your company!

You know you’re a resident expert when…

• The number of projects you take on and your inspiration to work on them is in perfect balance.

• You are sought after for your advice - and your advice is followed!

• You have high credibility - people trust you.

• You command respect from your peers and from senior management.

• You are knowledgeable but don't act like a "know-it-all".

This entire site exists to help people like you build your skills and advance your career so you can be successful in software testing and software quality. Although I have many free resources on this site, such as articles, podcasts, narrated conference presentations and The Software Quality Advisor Newsletter, I also offer ways to go much deeper such as my very popular and affordable e-learning courses!

If you’ve already reached your potential – and you’re living a highly successful life of significance – then great. Congratulations. We need people like you to be mentors!

But if you’re ready to get unstuck, become a resident expert, advance your career, stand out from the crowd and change the habits that got you where you are, don’t stop now.

I have been working the past five years experimenting (and, yes, testing!) to see what makes e-learning effective. I have arrived at a combination of ways to deliver ten of my most popular courses PLUS engage with you in the learning process.

• Train at your convenience. If you have to juggle work and training, this gives you the option to spend a little time on a regular basis for training without sacrificing your productivity.
  
• No travel. Forget airport security, bad airport food, and hard hotel beds. Relax and spend time with your family and friends.
  
• You can repeat lessons. In a live class, you get one chance to hear something. In my online classes, you can repeat the lessons as many times as you like. In fact, we give you a full year of access to the course. For my certification prep course, you get access for one year or until you pass, whichever is longest!
  
• Consistent quality - You know exactly who the trainer is and what they are going to say.
  
• Geographic coverage - You can train people around the world at the same time without huge time and expense commitments.
  
• Interactivity - You have e-mail and forum access to interact with the instructor and other students. We know there is no substitute for the human touch, but we try to get as close as possible with e-mail, forums and chat sessions.
  
• High value - The cost is less than either a public course or an in-house course. Our team prices allow you to train your entire team at a very attractive rate.
  
• It's a great way to integrate new team members. This is true just-in-time training!
  
• It's a great way to build your team. Train as a team, discuss as a team and improve as a team.
  
• Certification Preparation - If you are preparing for certification exams, the basic training course is a great primer.
  
• Continuing Education - If you already have a testing certification and need Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits, online training can allow you to get those credits right away - you don't have to wait months for a class to come to your city. (Of course, you will need to verify with your certification provider if our training is accepted. QAI does accept it for CPE credits.)
  
• Quizzes and feedback - There are exams at the end of each module to help you assess your learning. You get instant feedback on each question. You can also review the quiz to see the correct answers versus your answers.
  
• There are also fun training games throughout the modules to help you reinforce your knowledge.

Compare the Costs

And, this is just for one person!  Think about these costs for a team of five!

If you do the math, you'll see the benefits add up fast. With the money you save, you can buy a test tool, buy some books, hire an assistant...

We took care to deliver a learning experience that gets you as close as possible to a live course without being there in person. Here's what you will experience:

Deliverables:

• Access to the course for ONE FULL YEAR! (That's far longer than anyone else)
  
• A complete set of course notes in Adobe format, which includes pictures of all slides, checklists, examples and templates. These are the exact same materials that students get in our live courses.
  
• Streaming slide show presentations of each module in Flash shockwave movies which allows you to advance or review the presentation to see specific slides. This slide show is narrated by Randy Rice, just like he would in a physical class, except without all of his bad jokes.
  
• Exercises in each module, with sample solutions with which to compare your solutions. There are links that allow you to try your test cases on an sample application.
  
• Templates and examples in electronic format.
  
• Streaming video clips of supplemental topics, such as taking a tour of a test lab, how to perform regression testing, etc.
  
• Streaming video demonstration of screen video of tests being performed.
  
• Access to the instructor via e-mail, chat sessions, and message boards.
  
• Access to other students to share experiences via chat rooms and message boards.
  
• Certificate of completion upon completion of the course and submission of your evaluation.

The courses are designed to be viewed by people at all connection speeds from dial-up to DSL and high-speed cable modem. However, before registering and paying, please view the demos first to make sure you have the technical compatibility to access the course.

The course uses an online learning management system (LMS) called Moodle. This full-featured LMS provides many features and is easy to use. The whole idea about Moodle is that you can learn at your own page, interact with others and explore the topics as you like. You are not forced to follow any particular order.

Course Name	CPU Credits (Hours of Presentation plus Exercises)			Cost	Register
Introduction to RCS Online Training				Free	Click here to view.
Foundation Level Course in Software Testing  NEW!!	15	Outline	Free Demo	$890 per person	Add to cart
Basic Training in Software Testing	16	Outline	Free Demo	$395 per person	Add to cart
Gathering, Documenting and Testing User Requirements	11	Outline	Free Demo	$349 per person	Add to cart
Structured User Acceptance Testing (Full Version)	17	Outline	Free Demo	$570 per person	Add to cart
Structured User Acceptance Testing (Fast Track Version)	9	Outline	Free Demo	$349 per person	Add to cart
User-Oriented Methods for Delivering Quality Software	17	Outline	Free Demo	$395 per person	Add to cart
Unit Testing	4	Outline	Free Demo	$129 per person	Add to cart
A Process for Deliverable Reviews	4	Outline	Free Demo	$89 per person	Add to cart
Applying IEEE Standard 12207 for Software Life Cycles	8	Outline	Free Demo	$89 per person	Add to cart
A Short Course in Performance Testing	3	Outline	Free Demo	$59 per person	Add to cart

My guarantee

If you are dissatisfied with the course, just let me know before your third session login and we will refund all of your registration fee or give you credit toward another online course - your choice. No hassle. No risk.

But How Effective is the Training?

I'll be the first to admit I love meeting people and training in a live classroom. At first, I was very skeptical that e-learning would even work at all. In fact, I didn't even want to do all this work to create this environment. Then on 9/11 our world changed.

I was supposed to be conducting training across the street from the World Trade Center in New York City on that day, but the class had canceled a few weeks prior. However, after that day companies placed their employees on travel restrictions, conferences were canceled or were poorly attended and basically the public training business was bad for about nine months.  That all caused me to drastically reconsider the possibility of effective web-based training.

While there has been scholarly research on the question of e-learning effectiveness, I'll let some of our past participants give you their comments:

Still Have Questions?

Just check the Frequently Asked Questions page. If you don't see an answer to your question, just contact me!

Still not sure, but want to start building your skills?

Fill in your name and email address to get your FREE Testing Skill Building Packet. Start on your journey to becoming a testing resident expert today!