Elizabeth Fiennes

Testing

(Didn't) Nail Polish

When I was invited by the organisers of the Polish TestWarez conference to speak at their event, I had no idea what to expect. I've never visited Poland and had no idea of the testing scene there. However, being someone who loves meeting new people and going new places, I decided to say yes and worry about the detail once I got there. This is the account of my experience.

Elizabeth Fiennes · 4^th Nov 2019 · 4 min read

Testing

On the dangers of sending your testers to conferences

All companies need to be warned about the consequences of sending their testers to conferences.... (especially ones that are inclusive and considerate of their attendees)

Elizabeth Fiennes, Frances Bromley, Hannah Pretswell, Callum Akehurst-Ryan, Herb Williams · 23^rd Oct 2019 · 6 min read

Testing

Testing WebSockets for beginners

What is a WebSocket and how do you test it? Herb Williams and I have been looking into this for a while now. This is what we found out.

Elizabeth Fiennes, Herb Williams · 23^rd Jul 2019 · 4 min read

Testing

Thinking out loud

Thinking of getting into the madness that is public speaking? This is the 2nd part to my lighthearted look at the whole sharing lark. In this post, I'm talking about what can go wrong on the day for a hapless speaker and offering up some suggestions about what you can do to mitigate or address those issues.

Elizabeth Fiennes · 10^th Jul 2019 · 8 min read

Tech

Attending Tech(K)now London 2019

If I said the words "a tech conference for women" - what would you imagine? Would it be the attendees sitting in circles, holding hands and admiring each other's beads? Do you picture 'sisters' singing kumbaya and plotting the downfall of the patriarchy? Would you picture sessions such as "how to code for fluffy-wuffy knitting sites?" Would you wonder if it was full of hardcode coding and hacking sessions to get women further up the knowledge ladder? Some of the Scott Logic tech staff went to a technical conference for women. This is what it was like.

Elizabeth Fiennes, Hannah Pretswell, Sioned Baker, Laveena Ramchandani · 27^th Mar 2019 · 10 min read

Testing

What's quality got to do with IT?

What is quality? Is it "just" testing? If not, then what else? How do you measure it? Should you even try? What does it really mean if you have 1 person or a team looking after the quality? After being told the quality was my new role, I did some research to find out the answers to these questions and more.

Elizabeth Fiennes · 15^th Feb 2019 · 10 min read

Testing

Introduction to contract testing

Have you heard of contract testing and want to know more? Are your company asking you to consider this future-facing way of testing? Are you wondering of its relevance to you as a functional or non-functional tester? Then this article can help you with some of the questions you have on the subject.

Elizabeth Fiennes · 7^th Jan 2019 · 12 min read

Testing

Becoming a trusted adviser as a tester

Testers are called on to give advice as part of their role. How can do we do that in a way that is in the best interest of our team and product without our natural bias getting in the way? Leveraging the concept of the trusted adviser is one solution to this.

Elizabeth Fiennes · 16^th Sep 2018 · 13 min read

People

Finding your groove as they are (NOT) finding their shoes

When my off-spring were younger and needed me more, I struggled to find the time to learn, I struggled to work out what to learn and I struggled with how to break it down to make it manageable. This is the article I wish I had been able to find and read all those years ago for anyone going through that frustration today.

Elizabeth Fiennes · 28^th Aug 2018 · 8 min read

Testing

We need to talk....

During this post, I will offer you, the unfortunate reader, the unsolicited and equally unneeded, benefit of my advice as an "expert" (*cough*) veteran of 1 public speaking engagement. Look out for my top tips, they are sure to be about as much use as the 'open here' arrow on a miniature sachet of tomato sauce.

Elizabeth Fiennes · 6^th Jun 2018 · 5 min read

Testing

The A word. The BAD A word.

A bad beginning... A testing bedtime story that even Crackanory would reject for transmission on the basis it was too crackpot and twisted to be credible. Gather closer my precious readers, sitting comfortably? Good, then I can begin. Abide me carefully because I am going to tell you the secrets of how to have a magic unicorn, hen’s teeth, Harry Potter, automate-the-lot, works every time, end-to-end automated checking solution..... Alas, no chickens, I am not, because there is no such thing. The End. Sleep well all.

Elizabeth Fiennes · 14^th May 2018 · 8 min read

Testing

From the realms of the Katabasis

"Testing is dead". I hear this particular chestnut a lot. From those who earnestly believe it, from those who don't understand the role, from content writers generating clickbait. Are testers really all etemmu now?

Elizabeth Fiennes · 23^rd Apr 2018 · 2 min read

Testing

A hire standard

Thinking of applying to work with us as a tester? This is a post to help you work out if we are a good fit for you. We'll do this by telling you how we work out if you are a good fit for us. Hopefully this will be of interest to anyone trying to evaluate if the benefits we offer are in line with the environment they want.

Elizabeth Fiennes · 16^th Apr 2018 · 6 min read

Scott Logic / Altogether Smarter