What Essential Questions Should Testers Ask?

Is it time to get back to basics? [View this email in your browser]( Issue 351 Monday 22nd November 2021 Hi there, Asking questions is the bread and butter of our testing craft. We ask questions about the things we test and the processes we are part of. And we often ask questions about our own capabilities and approach - hopefully with kindness in mind. So I very much enjoyed all the replies to [this tweet](. How about you, what essential questions should testers ask? Feel free to reply to the tweet or [send me a message](mailto:simon@ministryoftesting.com?subject=Reply%20to%3A%20What%20essential%20questions%20should%20testers%20ask%3F). I'd love to hear from you! - Simon, CommunityBoss This newsletter is kindly supported by TestRail [Is your code tested and ready to release? TestRail provides real-time answers and features to Streamline your Testing.]( Try it out for free today! [What's New With Ministry of Testing?]( Planning your goals for 2022? Lena explores how following your dreams can help you forge the career you want in their [Masterclass: Career Crafting - Date, Prepare, Share](. Tuesday 23rd November at 8pm GMT. And this event is free and open to everyone. ⭐️ 📺 [The Essentials workshop video series is now live]( It covers the basics of a wide range of topics on testing from testing products to reporting our testing and much more! What might you and your colleagues learn today? New article: [Common Misconceptions About Exploratory Testing](. Mirza dispels some misconceptions and encourages new testers to try a more structured approach to exploratory testing. And he'll help you explain the benefits of such an approach. Join the conversation: 👉 What tips would you give testers on how to [ask better questions]( 👉 How do you create a structure that helps you [keep track of your testing]( 👉 What tests might you give someone during an [automation tester interview]( Where are you planning to join HolidayBash? [Let the community know.]( And what might you do during the Community-led Sessions? [Take the 5-minute challenge](. ⏱ New podcast: [TestSphere Roulette Episode 6 - Lewis Prescott and Karo Stoltzenburg](. The wheel threw out some really interesting topics for conversation: uncertainty, disaster control, and alerting. Listen and find out what happened! 🎧 💜 It's a simple list, yet it's full of many helpful places to support your mental health. [Explore a really useful list for your mental wellbeing](. This newsletter is kindly supported by SpecFlow [Enhance your automated tests with SpecFlow]( SpecFlow is a free and open source BDD framework for .NET. SpecFlow helps bridge the gap between technical and non-technical people by collaborating on executable specifications. Using a natural language called Gherkin, you can describe use cases in a non-technical way. Try it out. [Join 2021 Online Events]( - [Masterclass: Career Crafting - Date, Prepare, Share]( with Lena Pejgan Wiberg, Tue 23 Nov 2021, 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM GMT. This event is open to all. - [HolidayBash]( Fri 3 Dec 2021, 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM GMT. Let's celebrate the best of the testing community’s achievements with an interactive, community-led, and most of all fun event. [Read the announcement]( and register. If you're interested in finding out about future meetups, whether online or in person, check out the many [Ministry of Testing Meetups]( or keep an eye on the [Slack]( Events channel. [Register for 99 Minute Workshops]( ⭐️ All 99 Minute Workshops are included in a [Ministry of Testing Pro membership](. ⭐️ - [Automation In Testing: Selecting Codified Oracles In Automation]( with Mark Winteringham and Richard Bradshaw - Tue, 23 Nov 2021, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM GMT - [Exploring Security - Developing Inclusive Threat Models in your Teams]( with Dan Billing - Wed, 24 Nov 2021, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM GMT - [Essentials: An Introduction To Technical Testing]( with Vernon Richards - Thu, 25 Nov 2021, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM GMT - [Automation In Testing: Managing Actions In Automation]( with Richard Bradshaw and Mark Winteringham - Tue, 30 Nov 2021, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM GMT - [Building and Testing a Restful API]( with Josh Grant - Wed, 1st Dec 2021, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM GMT [Discover Useful Business Posts]( Mabl have [hit a major milestone]( in their journey to build the leading SaaS solution for Quality Engineering. What does the future hold for them? Could incorporating the exercise of “shoulder checks” into your agile development cycle increase quality output? [Learn what shoulder checks are]( how to implement them in your team, and what benefits you can expect. Avoid these [8 common mistakes in Python]( with this quick guide and how to avoid them at all costs. We know that automation should not be used to replace humans. [What are the types of challenges]( that are ripe for test automation and the circumstances where the human feel and understanding are still necessary? [Get Closer to the Community]( I enjoyed this rapid-fire list of [50 things you can do to improve as a programmer](. Lots of great advice from Edwin. What of them might help you in your automation in testing journey? How do you teach testing to a non-tech audience? It was time for Melissa to [get back to basics]( with her insight and feedback from trying out a couple of approaches. Nicola shares compelling reasons for how heuristics can help you with your oracles. [Read on to find out how and why that matters](. Risks matter in testing. Mike shares [an excellent technique for your team to explore and identify risks](. And it's an approach that offers a simple calculation to help prioritise those risks. Nice! [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Website]( [YouTube]( [SoundCloud]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2021 Ministry of Testing, All rights reserved. You have opted to join this email list. Our mailing address is: Ministry of Testing 19 New RoadBrighton, East Sussex BN1 1UF United Kingdom [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.