Anne-Marie Charrett

Organisation – Testing Times

Role/Designation – Software Test Consultant

Location – Sydney, Australia 

An electronic engineer by trade, software testing chose Anne-Marie Charrett, when in 1990 she started conformance testing against European standards. She was hooked and has been testing since then. She works as an Exploratory Tester, Trainer/coach and Inhouse  test consultant. 

She offers free online coaching to testers on Skype (id charretts) and blogs at Maverick Tester (http://mavericktester.com)

In her spare time, Anne-Marie runs the twitter @dailytestingtip where she encourages testers from around the world to contribute software testing tips. 

1. How long have you been associated with software testing?

I’ve been testing stuff all my life, but I guess my career started as a software tester when I left University and started working on testing protocols. That makes it about twenty years.

2. How did you become a software tester?

Like most people I fell into the role. I studied engineering at University, but found the experience of programming to be isolating. I enjoy working at a system level delving into the technical depths when I need to.

3. By any means, do you regret being associated with software testing?

Never! I really enjoy software testing. I’m proud to be a software tester and feel I provide a valuable contribution to teams and testers.

Sometimes I try and think of what else could I do as a job, and really I can’t think of anywhere else I would much rather be.

4. Do you think software testing is less respected than other departments in IT industry?

I suppose so, but to be honest I don’t really think of it in those terms. I’m more concerned about the respect offered to me as a software tester and the work I perform.  That at least I can do something about.

5. What will you suggest to people who want to join IT industry as software testers?

I’d encourage them to try it out to see if they like it. After all that’s what testing is all about isn’t it?  I would suggest working for companies familiar with Context Driven Testing and Exploratory Testing. If the company they go to work for doesn’t understand these terms, I would advise caution. They may find themselves working as glorified clerks.

If they wanted some formal training, I would encourage them to try the BBST foundation course that the Association for Software Testing holds. For informal coaching, they could skype me on charretts.

6. Where do you see Software Testing in next five years?

I really do believe change is in the air. Companies are becoming more open to Exploratory Testing and CDT. I believe that there is a growth of testers who are demanding more from their testing experience. To me that offers hope for a better future.

7. What qualities will you look for in a candidate when you want to recruit someone for software testing job?

I would like them to be open to new ideas, able to think critically and able to defend what they believe in. Being social and interacting with others helps to an extent, but sometimes that’s not always necessary.

8. Your weekend routine?

Running my own company sometimes throws the concept of a weekend out the window! I like to hang around the house with my kids and husband doing things like gardening. I enjoy running, so I try and get one run in on the weekend.

9. Movie you would like to watch again?

I’m not a big movie fan, more of a book reader.

10. “I am a social networking site geek” Or “I hate facebook/orkut/twitter”?

Umm, I have two twitter accounts (charrett and dailytestingtip), I coach on Skype, I post at the softwaretestingclub. What do you think?

Social networking is essential to learn more and keep in touch with whats going on. I have a talk coming up soon about that.

https://i0.wp.com/www.testingcircus.com/wp-content/uploads/AnneMarieCharret_Testing-Circus.png?fit=100%2C88&ssl=1https://i0.wp.com/www.testingcircus.com/wp-content/uploads/AnneMarieCharret_Testing-Circus.png?resize=100%2C88&ssl=1Ajoy Kumar SinghaInterview with TestersInterview with TestersAnne-Marie Charrett Organisation – Testing Times Role/Designation – Software Test Consultant Location – Sydney, Australia  An electronic engineer by trade, software testing chose Anne-Marie Charrett, when in 1990 she started conformance testing against European standards. She was hooked and has been testing since then. She works as an Exploratory Tester, Trainer/coach and Inhouse...