AB Testing – Episode 109: The MT Guide to Promotions
Some discussion (and rants) on career maps (aka career ladders, levels, etc.) – and our experiences in how to make these fail spectacularly (and sometimes work).
Oct 15, 2019•52 min
AB Testing
Alan and Brent talk about Modern Testing (which isn't all that modern, and not really about testing - except when it is). Every other week or so, A&B tell stories and discuss what's happening in the world of software - including a variety of topics like Agile, Lean, Delivery, DevOps, Data Science, Experimentation, Leadership, and more.
Intro / Outro music on the AB Testing podcast is The One by Rivet. License: CC BY
Intro / Outro music on ABT343 is from https://filmmusic.io
“Werq” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Episodes
AB Testing – Episode 108: Lack of Testers vs. Lack of Testing
it’s a mailbag show, where we talk about whether or not bugs in Windows 10 are due to a lack of a test team, and how you can apply MT principles if you’re a consultant asked to write automation. Once again, the audio isn’t awesome, but quality debugging continues.
Oct 01, 2019•55 min
AB Testing – Episode 107: A Plethora of Principles
Good news: We have a new episode!Bad News: I am doomed to never having another podcast without audio issues. My mic cable must have been lying across the speakerphone in the conference room, as it was picking up a massive amount of static. I was able to remove the static (you’ll thank me), but removing […]
Sep 16, 2019•48 min
AB Testing – Episode 106: Weapons of Math Destruction
Steve Rowe is back (for the third time!) on AB Testing to take part in a discussion on ethics in data science. Hope you enjoy.
Aug 12, 2019•50 min
AB Testing – Episode 105: A World of Modern Testing
Heads up – our technical producer (me) messed up levels and microphone choice and we ended up with a little bit of bleed between microphones that ends up not meeting our normally high quality standards. The next one will be better. For content, we talk a lot about what we’re seeing in the industry that […]
Jul 31, 2019•47 min
AB Testing – Episode 104: Leading Quality (with Ron Cummings-John)
We are joined by the author of Leading Quality, Ron Cummings-John to talk about his upcoming book. More info at https://leadingqualitybook.com
Jul 01, 2019•45 min
AB Testing – Episode 103: The Croissants are Selenium (with Jason Huggins)
We are joined by the inventor of Selenium, Jason Huggins. Listen in for stories about the early days of Selenium, Jason’s thoughts on our UI rants, and much much more. Be sure to check out Jason’s latest venture – Tapster
Jun 03, 2019•57 min
AB Testing – Episode 102: Modern Testing takes on UI Automation
Alan recently took some heat on Twitter for disliking Selenium – or more accurately, how it was being used. This episode is a discussion and expansion of why Alan and Brent both have strong feelings about the industry infatuation with UI testing.
May 20, 2019•49 min
AB Testing – Episode 101: AB…not testing?
We realize during the intro, that this is the first time we’ve recorded an AB Testing podcast when neither Alan nor Brent are in a dedicated testing / QA role. What does that mean for Modern Testing? Turns out – not that much. Listen as we discuss.
May 06, 2019•44 min
AB Testing – Episode 100: The AB Testing Fanfest
Thanks to everyone who helped get us to this milestone episode. For episode 100, we share cast-time with all three of our listeners – who may or may not have been paid for their kind words.
Apr 15, 2019•55 min
AB Testing – Episode 99: Post-Modern Alan
This episode brought to you by Practitest – https://www.practitest.com. We spend some time preparing for episode 100, and talk just a bit more about what Alan may do next at Unity.
Apr 01, 2019•40 min
AB Testing – Episode 98: Stuff about Alan and a Mailbag Question
We talk very abstractly about Alan’s new role, and dive into a mailbag question on the role of leadership in a quality culture. This episode is brought to you by Practitest – check them out at https://www.practitest.com
Mar 12, 2019•48 min
AB Testing – Episode 97: Questions About Developers and Tests
An all mailbag show where we talk about skills needed by testers today, how to get developers to write tests, and hiring. Register for Brent’s AST webinar on Thursday – https://www.associationforsoftwaretesting.org/2019/01/23/webinar-building-a-data-centric-modern-quality-culture-with-brent-jensen/
Feb 18, 2019•51 min
AB Testing – Episode 96: Principle #8???
Happy New Year everyone – amongst catching up, we spend most of the time discussing and debating a potential eighth Modern Testing Principle.
Jan 15, 2019•45 min
AB Testing – Episode 95: The 2018 Reflection / Prediction Show
Happy Holidays to each and everyone of our three listeners. We review and reflect on 2018, and talk about some things we think may happen in 2019. Listen all the way to the end for a cliffhanger from Brent. Thanks again for listening – in 2019, we will hit episode 100, our 5 year podacting […]
Dec 25, 2018•50 min
AB Testing – Episode 94: Modern Testing meets Context-Driven Testing
It’s the penultimate show of 2018, with a lot of (hopefully interesting) preamble on this one, but we spend a chunk of time reviewing the Context-Driven Testing Principles and how they relate to the Modern Testing Principles.
Dec 03, 2018•44 min
AB Testing – Episode 93: The Quality Culture Transition Guide
We eventually talk about a model Alan built to help a team discover where they need to grow in order to build a quality culture or move towards modern testing (they’re kind of the same thing). Some rants and ramblings also included.
Nov 12, 2018•53 min
AB Testing – Episode 92: Customers, Bugs, and Triangles
We almost (but not quite) blast through the banter at the beginning, but eventually get a chance to talk a bit more about interpreting Principle #5, and dive into a James Bach talk on the Test Automation Pyramid.
Oct 22, 2018•43 min
AB Testing – Episode 91: Stories and Models and Things
We answer a mailbag question, begin to dive into what attributes make up a quality culture, and talk about other stuff. And we have a new intro.
Oct 08, 2018•53 min
AB Testing – Episode 90: A Lot About Nothing
It’s almost an all tangent episode, but we do (eventually) get a chance to discuss how ML and AI are changing testing and quality, and we pay our respects to the great Jerry Weinberg.
Sep 24, 2018•46 min
AB Testing – Episode 89: Modern Testing Mailbag
All mailbag episode as we answer questions about combined engineering teams, life after Modern Testing, and early project “data” samples
Sep 10, 2018•47 min
AB Testing – Episode 88: Testing Isn’t Dead (Testers, OTOH…)
It’s the last of our deep-dive series on Modern Testing Principles. This time, we discuss the (sometimes controversial) principle number 7: We expand testing abilities and knowhow across the team; understanding that this may reduce (or eliminate) the need for a dedicated testing specialist. Not too many tangents this time. Next time, we’ll get caught up […]
Aug 20, 2018•47 min
AB Testing – Episode 87: The One About Data
On to the next principle in our deep dive series. Principle Number 6 says: We use data extensively to deeply understand customer usage and then close the gaps between product hypotheses and business impact. Note that episode 82 makes a nice listening companion.
Aug 06, 2018•55 min
AB Testing – Episode 86: Not the Customer’s Champion
We’re back to discuss another of the modern testing principles. We believe that the customer is the only one capable to judge and evaluate the quality of our product Discussions include a brief discussion of the Kin phone from Microsoft. Finally – if you missed it, the Modern Testing AMA recording is here.
Jul 24, 2018•44 min
AB Testing – Episode 85: The Community Principle
Our dive into the Modern Testing Principles continues with a dive into principle number four: We care deeply about the quality culture of our team, and we coach, lead, and nurture the team towards a more mature quality culture.  
Jul 09, 2018•53 min
AB Testing – Episode 84: Stories about Changes and Nets
On to Principle number 3 (full list at moderntesting.org). We are a force for continuous improvement, helping the team adapt and optimize in order to succeed, rather than providing a safety net to catch failures. As promised in the show, there will be an AMA on Modern Testing hosted by Ministry of Test on July […]
Jun 25, 2018•57 min
AB Testing – Episode 83: Accelerating the Team
We’re back to the MT Principle Deep-Dives (which may just be medium dives). Principle #2 says: We accelerate the team, and use models like Lean Thinking and the Theory of Constraints to help identify, prioritize and mitigate bottlenecks from the system. We talk about that – but of course, there are a few tangents we […]
Jun 05, 2018•48 min
AB Testing – Episode 82: Brent Talks to Alan About Data
We are already taking an interlude from principle deep-dives to reflect a bit on the episode 81 feedback, and for Brent and Alan to have short (but in depth) discussion on how to get started creating actionable metrics. We’ll be back to Modern Testing principles in episode 83.
May 22, 2018•45 min
AB Testing – Episode 81: Business Rulz!
It’s time to deep dive into the Modern Testing Principles with #1 – Our priority is improving the business. We also dive into some experiences and observations from Alan’s recent trip to STAR East.
May 07, 2018•51 min
AB Testing – Episode 80: The Mailbag returns: Modern Testing questions
It’s a mostly mailbag show, and we talk about the role of a modern testers as a role that transitions an organization to following the modern testing principles.
Apr 23, 2018•50 min