SAD LITTLE MONKEYS…

Wherein one weeps over the inferiority complexes of one’s peers….

I’ve been reading, I’ve been writing, and I’ve been working. And a great deal of what I’ve been reading lately disturbs me. We have some really great minds in this field; how much time are they going to waste word-smithing our “mission”? And what makes anyone think the latest definitions are good or distinguish the testing field from any other group on a given project? Here’s a prime example, from a discussion on the forums at the Software Testing Club; no offense is directed at anyone involved in that particular conversation – I chose it because it’s pretty much indicative of a variety of conversations going on about the same topic:

"To provide correct and timely visibility into the product and process, in order to help the organization and its stakeholders make tactical and strategic decisions; and to do this as close as possible to the defined constraints of schedule, functionality and costs."

OK, so what’s wrong with this? Nothing, I suppose. It could also be the mission statement of virtually anyone on a project team, including finance.
EVERYONE on a project team helps provide visibility into the product and process. EVERYONE provides information to help a given organization and/or its stakeholders make decisions.

So what makes QA/QC different?

We provide those insights based on our testing experiences.

I do not see anything in the provided definition that mentions this distinction. Perhaps it would be of more benefit to the field to step up and be proud of what you do and stop trying to find fancy ways to avoid mentioning the word “test”.

C’mon! Are you a tester? Isn’t it the GREATEST JOB ON EARTH? So why are we acting like a bunch of sad, little monkeys struggling for recognition? I think it’s time to walk upright without our knuckles dragging on the ground; we should have evolved that far by now. You’re an expert professional. You should be looking everyone straight in the eye.

Why do some people feel such an overwhelming need to make our field sound more important? It’s a sign of insecurity. We’re already important. But if we, as professionals, don’t believe that and have to convince ourselves, it’s that much harder to convince anyone else. It’s easier to “sell” what you believe in yourself. It’s easier to “sell” WHEN you believe in yourself.

How can you have a mission statement that doesn’t mention the word “test”? I’d expect that kind of poofy nonsense from a PM who wasn’t very good at his job, not a tester. And why are we STILL, as a field, so honking sensitive and insecure about what we do that we continue – AFTER 25 YEARS – to struggle to define ourselves in a way we think will get us some respect?

Maybe we need to respect ourselves first. Do developers agonize over this kind of stuff? DBAs? PMs?

Not so much.

I realize the thrust of these conversations is to bring awareness that our primary job (testing) provides information to decision-makers and stakeholders. That’s not Big News. Not to me, not to the rest of the field, and not to IT in general. I think it’s important to not lose sight of the fact that our primary job is “testing”. Without that, we’d just be chatting idly about the weather or playing cards with those decision-makers and stakeholders.

Where’s the pride in what we do and the contributions we make? The word “test” is beautimous. There’s no need to be ashamed of it and no need to avoid it. There is no one else on the project team with our mission and no one else on the project team that can fulfill it with the same passion, dedication, and level of expertise…

Attitude is everything. To get respect, you have to give it. To get respect, you have to have some for yourselves. And to get respect you have to earn it. Dorking about with mission statements written to impress CEOs with political bullshit is not the way to do that. They’re inundated with that kind of fertilizer every day. And I, personally, resent it when one of my own peers serves it to me on a platter and expects me to swallow it. I can’t even choke it down when it’s accompanied by an adult beverage and a straw.

So I’m making a plea to the word-smiths amongst us; we have no mission if it doesn’t involve “testing”. For those still struggling with recognition and who would benefit from a cohesive mission statement, let’s start with that basic truth and move on from there.