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Randy's book, Surviving the Top Ten Challenges of Software Testing, will help you solve some of your toughest testing problems: people problems!

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Thanks for visiting my site! My goal in developing this site is to equip you to do your job better as a software tester or Quality Assurance (QA) professional.

You will find articles, conference presentations, tutorials, book reviews, a glossary and other resources to help you in your journey in software testing.

I have been in the trenches of testing, just like you. I've spent the last 30 years of my life designing, building and testing systems. I have experienced the joys of success, but have also learned the bitter lessons of failure. In fact, many of my articles, courses, and conference sessions were born out of past lessons learned. I have included many of those lessons in the book "Surviving the Top Ten Challenges of Software Testing."

Here's what I am telling the testers in my courses and at conferences: 

• Build your skills, not just in testing but also in business. Learn the language and objectives of business.
• Add value to your team by doing more than just testing.
• You must find ways to creatively market yourself.
• Develop skills on the business side of your company. There will always be a need for testing there.
• Think about why you do what you do. One day you may need to teach others.
• Contribute to your profession. Write an article or a book. Speak at a conference or local QA meeting. These things separate you from other testers.

Why do I make this message? Not to be an alarmist, but in this economy you must be better than 99 other people to stay in the testing business. You must continually ask yourself, "Why should my company keep me?" If you can't answer that question very well, you had better find some good reasons and start to communicate them.

Outsourcing has changed everything. For the U.S. testers, it means you will need learn business-oriented testing (user acceptance, etc.) as opposed to technical testing (system or integration testing). For the testers in the India, the Philippines and other countries which are outsourcers, you need to focus on building your communication skills and becoming proficient in technical testing.

I conduct public training sessions four to five times per year in the U.S., with the rest of my training conducted in private companies. For you folks in India, the Philippines, China, etc., I typically don't conduct courses there. I do, however, have e-Learning options for your consideration. If you are in Europe, contact me if you are interested in an in-house course. With the currency exchange rate, it's like getting my training at a huge discount!

Finally, I hope you join our community of testers. You can take part in forums, watch free streaming video presentations, and interact with other testers around the world.

If you would like to keep up with what we are doing and learn more about testing, sign up for our free newsletter, The Software Quality Advisor.

I hope you enjoy exploring around on the site. If you don't see what you are looking for, please contact me. I have lots of stuff!

Best regards,

Randy

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Rice Consulting Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 6127
Moore, OK  73153
405-691-8075