Every January is a chance to reflect on opportunities for improvement, as encouraged by the tradition of New Year's resolutions. I can't help wondering whether weight loss is the most widespread of the plans for change, with tighter waistbands supplying a reminder of recent holiday indulgences. I certainly find myself craving a more active lifestyle as part of my recovery. Though I know I will stick with the exercise and diet routine for a while, too soon I will taper off again into more sedentary pursuits.

"Every year, despite a long record of less-than-stellar behavior, we vow with all sincerity to do better and adopt habits that will make us healthier." –Christine Gorman, “Health: Resolutions”

Our business lives include similar cycles of laxity and rigor, atrophy and renewal. I had been struggling with flagging enthusiasm about my testing career until I saw the passion and excitement of testers at STAREAST 2011. Connecting with others who were—and still are—excited about testing rekindled my own devotion to my craft and provided the impetus to make the corrections I had previously only toyed with in my mind.

Getting Up to Speed

In our relatively young profession, we have an opportunity to make an impact. Contributing to the conversation requires some context, so it behooves us to get our bearings. I find that reading blogs of software quality champions is a quick and easy starting point to becoming a part of the community. Often, more seasoned practitioners reference publications such as testing magazines and books that can be a common foundation for discussion if only we devote the time. As an avid reader and lover of the printed word, I tended toward books at first, especially when I considered them background research for the current discussions I could see developing among the software folks I follow on Twitter, but I also find that there are several testing magazines available online for my edification. These publications can be a source for names of testers who are actively contributing to the body of knowledge and who would invite conversation about current events in our field.

Get Better Friends

As I was thinking about self-motivation this month, I read an article on Time's website that mentions the unexpected idea of finding better friends—specifically, "Surround yourself with friends who can also be role models." As the sole tester at my location, I don't have easy access, having to reach out farther than the break room for such testing friendships. I hope to make new tester friends this year and to reconnect with those I have known to open up new opportunities for alternate viewpoints that will enhance my comprehension and ability to communicate my own ideas.

Reaching Out

I will not claim to have understood all of the information I was trying to thresh, so I found some of these authors online and began to ask my questions through email and comments on their blogs. The testing community is full of inquisitive people who recognize that the way to improve yourself is to admit ignorance and to work toward filling in those gaps. An excellent way to discover some areas for improvement is connecting with other testers online through social networks. Although I have had good experiences using Twitter, I have heard enough negative comments about the LinkedIn forums to have not concentrated on those. For me, online conversations are not as fulfilling as in-person heart-to-hearts with quality engineers. Video conferencing is a nice compromise, but I recommend finding a way to attend a conference or a local meet-up to build mentoring relationships.

Performing

For eight months, I have focused on professional development. I found that learning more about my work helped with my stress management since expanding my skill set gave me confidence on the job. To me, a strong indicator of understanding is being able to communicate what you have learned, so I write blog posts and articles as a way of clarifying issues in my own mind. You may want to begin your own forays into the public arena by reviewing the testing books you've read, writing articles on aspects of testing that you're passionate about, or asking questions about things that elude you. By putting yourself out there, exposing your lack of understanding and struggles, you can help others to persevere in their pursuit of excellence. You don't have to be perfect; you just have to keep trying. Some of the best teachers I've had are people who had to troubleshoot their way through, who know the pitfalls I am likely to encounter, and who have tried many ways to work around obstacles. You could be one of them!

Although I certainly appreciate opportunities to reflect on what I have read or heard, which the asynchronous nature of online communication supports, I am coming around to the idea that proposing conference sessions and public speaking may be the next step for me. To that end, I have submitted proposals to a couple of conferences. Although I have not yet had one accepted, the practice is good for me. I hope that I will have a chance to try this level of performing, but until then I am experimenting with new techniques, approaches, and aspects of testing that can only improve my chances. I don't feel comfortable speaking from what I have read but would rather prove out concepts through my own experiences that may someday be useful to others.

Trying New Things

In this new year, I have seen that my desire for change reflects many common New Year's resolutions:

• Learning and professional development
• Stress management
• Organization, planning, and tracking
• Volunteering and helping others
• Travel

I see that the remaining area I haven't covered is tracking my progress. Although I have heard a lot about how others organize their thoughts and plans for future learning, I find that limiting my work-in-progress is not necessarily the most effective method. I don't need to master skills sequentially, especially when I don't know enough about them to select the most relevant to my current or future work. Instead, I like to sample different topics to see how well they fit me and my needs. I want to hold myself accountable, so this year I will be working through a set of Tester Merit Badges. Feel free to follow along at home and let me know how it's working out for you. Stay tuned for more details to come!

Sources:

• “Health: Resolutions” by Christine Gorman
• “How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions: Advice from the Experts” by Maia Szalavitz