Quality Blether

S03 EP05 - Clare Sudbery - Trunk dialing only, no branching out

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 16:27:24 GMT

Clare Sudbery is CI/CD coach, technical leadership coach, author (both technical and fiction), musician and a champion of Trunk Based Development. She is also a wonderful person to chat with.

The Nature of Software Development: Keep It Simple, Make It Valuable, Build It Piece by Piece by Ron Jefferies

Manchester Tech Festival

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

This is intended to be a safe space where subjects can be explored in a curious and open-minded way, always remaining friends, no matter how controversial it may get.

The Scottish Testing Group was set up to connect those people working in the field of software testing across Scotland. As software affects all of us anyone is welcome to join and contribute to the conversation. Networking, mutual support, education, and curiosity are the purpose of STG.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S03 EP04 - Thoughts on EuroSTAR2025 with Soren Andersen

Sun, 22 Jun 2025 16:46:00 GMT

Soren's LinkedIn

EuroSTAR Conference Link

Book Recommendation

1984 by George Orwell

Perfect Software And Other Illusions About Testing by Gerald Weinberg

People Mentioned

Michael Bolton

Paul Gerrard

James Lynsay

Mark Harman

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

This is intended to be a safe space where subjects can be explored in a curious and open-minded way, always remaining friends, no matter how controversial it may get.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S03 EP03 - Andrew Brown - Technical Debt and Simulations

Sat, 17 May 2025 18:50:41 GMT

Andy's Book

Taming Your Dragon by Dr Andrew Richard Brown

Andrew's Website & YouTube channel

https://behaviouralsoftwareclub.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYRn0sModVcd1Y6SkbHMtKw

Book Recommendations

Business Dynamics : Systems Thinking And Modeling For The Complex World

Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows

Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts by Annie Duke

Quit by Annie Duke

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

This is intended to be a safe space where subjects can be explored in a curious and open-minded way, always remaining friends, no matter how controversial it may get.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S03 EP02 Ady Stokes - Accessibility

Thu, 01 May 2025 18:47:00 GMT

Ady's website & profiles

https://www.thebigtesttheory.com/

https://www.ministryoftesting.com/p/AdyStokes

https://www.linkedin.com/in/a11yadystokes/

A11y Resources

https://webaim.org/

https://www.deque.com/

Books

Agile Testing - Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

Humans vs Computers - Gojko Adzic

Agile Accessibility Handbook - Dylan Barrell

Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

This is intended to be a safe space where subjects can be explored in a curious and open-minded way, always remaining friends, no matter how controversial it may get.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S03 EP01 - Anna McMillan: Predictions for 2025

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 20:41:30 GMT

Anna McMillan is an Award Winning Test Manager, the Head of the Quality Engineering Practice for 2i and generally renowned as a force of nature.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

This is intended to be a safe space where subjects can be explored in a curious and open-minded way, always remaining friends, no matter how controversial it may get.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S02 EP09 - EuroSTAR Conference Special

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:30:13 GMT

In June 2024 I attended the EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference in Stockholm. It's the biggest and longest-running software testing conference in Europe. attracting renowned speakers and delegates from around the world, as well as enthusiastic first-timers and learners. I grabbed the opportunity to have conversations with as many of these amazing, inspirational people as possible. This episode is a collection of snippets from some of these conversations in order to give a flavour of the wonderful experience that is EuroSTAR.

Thank you to my interviewees

Also thanks to the EuroSTAR Crew, volunteers, and all the other speakers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

This is intended to be a safe space where subjects can be explored in a curious and open-minded way, always remaining friends, no matter how controversial it may get.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S02 EP08 - Anne-Marie Charrett Queen of Quality Coaching

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:34:25 GMT

Anne-Marie Charrett is a very experienced tester, a sort-after presenter on the conference circuit, a trainer, a EuroSTAR Testing Excellence Award Winner, and quite possibly the Queen of Quality Coaching. In this wide-ranging conversation, we cover many topics within Quality and testing, motorcycles, and even the definition of Quality itself.

Anne-Marie's Website

https://www.annemariecharrett.com/

Book Recommendations

Agile Testing Condensed: A Brief Introduction by Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

Agile Testing by Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

More Agile Testing: Learning Journeys for the Whole Team by Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

Testing Computer Software. by C.Kaner.J.Falk.H.O.Nguyen

Lessons Learned in Software Testing: A Context-Driven Approach by Bret Pettichord, Cem Kaner, James Bach

Explore It!: Reduce Risk and Increase Confidence with Exploratory Testing by Elisabeth Hendrickson

Leading Quality: How Great Leaders Deliver High Quality Software and Accelerate Growth by Ronald Cummings - John, Owais Peer

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

This is intended to be a safe space where subjects can be explored in a curious and open-minded way, always remaining friends, no matter how controversial it may get.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S02 EP07 - Delivering the Impossible with Mark Stringer

Wed, 08 May 2024 13:34:14 GMT

Mark Stringer is applying his Agile principles to writing his new book "Delivering the Impossible". It encompasses Philosophy, Psychology, Improvisational Comedy, and 20 years experience of THOSE problem projects that many of us have endured. It contains much that is of interest and use to anyone involved in projects of any sort, especially to those of us in Quality & Testing.

Mark's Book

Delivering the Impossible

Mark's Edinburgh Fringe Show

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/delivering-the-impossible

Mark's Book Recommendations

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone

Mark's LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markstringer/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

This series of conversations is intended to be a safe space where subjects can be explored in a curious and open-minded way, always remaining friends, no matter how controversial it may get. This will be an amicable and convivial learning experience for all parties, especially the listener.

The Scottish Testing Group was set up to connect those people working in the field of software and systems testing across Scotland. However, as software affects all of us globally anyone is welcome to join and contribute to the conversation. Networking, mutual support, education, and feeding our curiosity are the primary purpose of STG.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S02 EP06 Post Office Horizon Scandal with James Christie

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 15:31:19 GMT

The Post Office Horizon Scandal has recently hit the headlines in a big way, but this is something that has been rumbling on since 1999. James Christies with his background in accountancy, Internal & External Audit, and Testing is in a particularly good position to understand it. As a result James' blog, which he has been writing for over a decade, has become a go-to source of insight into the scandal. In this episode James and I discuss the scandal, some of the more interesting details of it, and its implications for the broader IT & Testing industry.

The Great Post Office Scandal by Nick Wallis

James Christie's Blog

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S02 EP05 - Dragons Out! with Kari Kakkonen

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 19:19:10 GMT

Kari Kakkonen is not only very influential in the field of Testing, but he is also very passionate about spreading the word about its importance and the fact that it can also be fun. In this episode Kari talks about how & why he wrote his children's book Dragons Out, all the other support material he has for teaching software testing, his involvement in TMMi, & iSTQB, the other books he has written, and the future of testing. It also includes a guest appearance by Paul Gerrard reading his poem about Kari's book.

Link to register for Kari's Webinar - Insights from children about testing

Kari's Blogs - https://karikakkonen.blogspot.com/

Kari's Book recommendation

Perfect Software: And Other Illusions About Testing by Gerald Wienberg

The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

Kari's LinkedIn contact - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karikakkonen/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S02 EP04 - Jackie McDougall

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 19:46:51 GMT

The IT Industry pundits in the media for the last couple of decades have been talking about the rise and fall and rise again of Testing Centres of Excellence, but they never really went away. If you know what you are doing you can successfully implement and manage a good Test Centre of Excellence, and Jackie McDougal has done it, several times.

Jackie's Webinar - STG - How to make a Testing Centre of Excellence as good as Top Gun

Jackie's Book recommendation - Lessons Learned in Software Testing: A Context-Driven Approach

Jackie's LinkedIn contact - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiemcdougall/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S02 EP03 - Job Seekers Special with Matt Drinkwater

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 11:22:26 GMT

The news is full of the big IT companies making redundancies, so we thought it would be a good idea to dedicate this episode to Job Hunting.

My guest is Matt Drinkwater who has been recruiting Quality & Testing professionals for over 17 years. He also set up one of the early face-to-face networking events, Birmingham Testers Meetup and now runs the excellent QE Babble on LinkedIn. Join us for hints, tips, and advice on all things Job Hunting.

Matt on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdrinkwater/

QE Babble

https://www.linkedin.com/company/qebabble/

QE Babble on MeetUp

Matt's Advice

* Setup job alerts on Monster, CV Library, CW Jobs, and Reed

* Register your CV on those platforms

* Sign up to Wellfound

* Sign up to job alerts on this platform (LinkedIn)

* Connect with other QE recruiters (there are quite a few of us!)

* https://www.ministryoftesting.com/jobs (another brilliant job board and tonnes of good stuff for Testers)

Other ideas to stand out;

* Focus on applying for jobs that your skills are most suited to. In a crowded market, your response/acceptance rate will go down significantly if you apply across a broad range of jobs

* Often people update their CV when they finish their last job but rarely look back at the rest of it, or even update their professional summary. Each time you're looking for work, re-read the whole document and update it to reflect your key strengths

* Define what you are best at within your role and be specific. Put this detail front and centre on your CV. Shout about it on LinkedIn in posts, comments and articles. Change your page to reflect your key strengths, not just job title and responsibilities

* Follow up every job application with a direct and personal message to the Head of QA for the company

* Consider all old contacts and colleagues, find out where they are now, and enquire about jobs at those companies

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S02 EP01 - Andrew Brown

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 11:20:53 GMT

Andrew Brown has a First in Physics & Maths, a PhD in Semiconductors, and an MBA, but he's better known for presenting on Psychology in the IT industry, especially in Testing, Technical Debt, and Systems Modelling of projects. We had problems with Andrew's internet connection, so the audio drops out a couple of times. Thank you for bearing with us.

Andrew's Website & YouTube channel

https://behaviouralsoftwareclub.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYRn0sModVcd1Y6SkbHMtKw

Videos

Inattentional Blindness

Monkey Business Illusion

Books

Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine by R. Nesse & George Williams

Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry by Randolph M. Nesse

Emotional: The New Thinking About Feelings by Leonard Mlodinow

Death March by Edward Yourdon

Nobody Ever Gets Credit for Fixing Problems that Never Happened by N. Repenning and J. Sterman

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S01 EP05 - Nicola Martin

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 11:16:44 GMT

I chat with Nicola Martin. Nicola is the Head of Quality Engineering at the AI company Adarga and the Chair of the BCS Special Interest group in software testing. She's involved in BCS Women, on the BCS Council and BCS Pride. She's also been the UK delegate to the UN Commission for The Status of Women.

Nicola has been nominated in the UK Tech 50, she was longlisted for Influential Women in Tech in 2019 and shortlisted this year. She's also a Women in Tech Excellence Award finalist this year. And she's involved in the Women in Tech network. she's also very active as an advocate for Diversity and Inclusion.

We discuss AI, Diversity & Inclusion, and skills for a tester. We also discussed the challenges she faced as a black, single mother working in the Tech industry and what advice she has for anyone facing similar challenges.

Books Mentioned

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S02 EP02 - Emna Ayadi

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 19:01:20 GMT

Emna Ayadi is a Testing Consultant, trainer, and Quality Coach. She is also one of the most in-demand conference speakers in the Testing world. I talk to her about Quality Coaching, her love of games and her passion for helping people improve.

Emna's Blog

https://emnaayadi.wordpress.com/blog/

Books

The World of Visual Facilitation: Unlock Your Power to Connect People & Ideas by Jeroen Blijsie, Tim Hamons , Rachel S. Smith

Agile Testing Condensed: A Brief Introduction by Janet Gregory, Lisa Crispin

The Coach's Casebook: Mastering the twelve traits that trap us by Geoff Watts (Author), Kim Morgan

Would Heu-risk it?: Tools, traps and weapons for Software Testing by Lena Nyström

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

This series of conversations is intended to be a safe space where subjects can be explored in a curious and open-minded way, always remaining friends.

The Scottish Testing Group was set up to connect those people working in the field of software and systems testing across Scotland. Anyone is welcome to join and contribute to the conversation. Networking, mutual support, education, and feeding our curiosity are the primary purpose of STG.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S01 EP04 - David Crowe

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 13:34:33 GMT

I chat with David Crowe, an up-and-coming voice in the arena of Agility, about Mushrooms, Philosophy, History, Diversity & Inclusion, Pirates, Agility, Quality Value, and much, much more.

Books Mentioned

Video Links

Be More Mushroom

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

We talk to key figures in the software quality industry including QA Directors, Award-winning testers, Authors, renowned Quality Gurus, researchers into new technologies, Agilists, futurists, thinkers, do-ers, old hands, and rising new stars.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S01 EP03 - Paul Gerrard

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 11:00:26 GMT

I chat with Paul Gerrard, the author, long-term software engineering influencer and general Testing thought-leader, about Engineering, Professionalism, Bluetooth Toothbrushes, Chartered Engineer status for Testers, community, how testers use mental modeling, systems thinking, and many more things.

Paul's Book Recommendations

The Tester's Pocket Book by Paul Gerrard
The Art of Software Testing by Glenford Meyers (I suggest you search online for cheap secondhand copies)
Software Testing Techniques by Boris Beizer
Systems Thinking, Systems Practice by Peter Checkland

Paul's Links

https://gerrardconsulting.com/

Paul's Youtube Channel

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

In each episode we will talk to a key figure in the software quality industry about themselves and their thoughts on the whole field. Those guests will include QA Directors, Award-winning testers, Authors, renowned Quality Gurus, researchers into new technologies, Agilists, futurists, thinkers, do-ers, old hands, and rising new stars.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S01 EP02 - Janet Gregory

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:27:22 GMT

In this episode Sowmya Ramesh, from the Scottish Testing Group, talks to Janet Gregory about her life in software, her books, Agile Testing, and her latest book QPAM - Quality Process Assessment Model.

Janet's Books

Agile Testing Condensed: A Brief Introduction by Janet Gregory & Lisa Crispin
More Agile Testing: Learning Journeys for the Whole Team by Janet Gregory & Lisa Crispin
Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams by Janet Gregory & Lisa Crispin
Assessing Agile Quality Practices with QPAM: Enabling Teams to Improve by Janet Gregory & Selena Delesie

Janet's Links

Janet consulting company: Dragonfire

Agile Testing Fellowship

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S01 E01 - Simon Prior

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 19:12:51 GMT

In this episode I talk to Simon Prior, the Head of QA for the airline easyJet. We discuss many topics including quality engineering, neurodiversity, leadership, universities and books, but not football.

Simon's Book Recommendations

Leading Quality: How Great Leaders Deliver High Quality Software and Accelerate Growth by Ronald Cummings - John & Owais Peer
Explore It!: Reduce Risk and Increase Confidence with Exploratory Testing by Elisabeth Hendrickson
Team Guide to Software Testability: Better software through greater testability by Ash Winter & Rob Meaney

Testing Peers Podcast

https://testingpeers.com/

Simon's presentation at the BCS SIGiST Conference 2023

Growing A Culture of Quality (And Making Testing Fun)

This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Quality Blether - Trailer

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 12:44:57 GMT

The Scottish Testing Group are proud and pleased to present a brand new podcast.

The Scottish Testing Group was set up to connect those people working in the field of software and systems testing across Scotland. However, as software affects all of us globally anyone is welcome to join and contribute to the conversation. Networking, mutual support, education and feeding our curiosity are the primary purpose of STG.

The music is The Beat of Nature by Lesfm, Olexy. Available on Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quality Blether

S03 EP05 - Clare Sudbery - Trunk dialing only, no branching out

The Nature of Software Development: Keep It Simple, Make It Valuable, Build It Piece by Piece by Ron Jefferies

S03 EP04 - Thoughts on EuroSTAR2025 with Soren Andersen

Book Recommendation

People Mentioned

S03 EP03 - Andrew Brown - Technical Debt and Simulations

Andy's Book

Andrew's Website & YouTube channel

Book Recommendations

S03 EP02 Ady Stokes - Accessibility

Ady's website & profiles

A11y Resources

Books

S03 EP01 - Anna McMillan: Predictions for 2025

Anna's LinkedIn

Anna's Article

Anna's Book Recommendations

S02 EP09 - EuroSTAR Conference Special

S02 EP08 - Anne-Marie Charrett Queen of Quality Coaching

Anne-Marie's Website

Book Recommendations

S02 EP07 - Delivering the Impossible with Mark Stringer

Mark's Book

Mark's Edinburgh Fringe Show

Mark's Book Recommendations

Mark's LinkedIn

S02 EP06 Post Office Horizon Scandal with James Christie

The Great Post Office Scandal by Nick Wallis

S02 EP05 - Dragons Out! with Kari Kakkonen

Link to register for Kari's Webinar - Insights from children about testing

Kari's Blogs - https://karikakkonen.blogspot.com/

Kari's Book recommendation

Perfect Software: And Other Illusions About Testing by Gerald Wienberg

The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

Kari's LinkedIn contact - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karikakkonen/

S02 EP04 - Jackie McDougall

Jackie's Webinar - STG - How to make a Testing Centre of Excellence as good as Top Gun

Jackie's Book recommendation - Lessons Learned in Software Testing: A Context-Driven Approach

Jackie's LinkedIn contact - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiemcdougall/

S02 EP03 - Job Seekers Special with Matt Drinkwater

Matt on LinkedIn

QE Babble

Matt's Advice

S02 EP01 - Andrew Brown

Andrew's Website & YouTube channel

Videos

Books

S01 EP05 - Nicola Martin

Books Mentioned

S02 EP02 - Emna Ayadi

Emna's Blog

Books

S01 EP04 - David Crowe

Books Mentioned

Video Links

S01 EP03 - Paul Gerrard

Paul's Book Recommendations

Paul's Links

S01 EP02 - Janet Gregory

Janet's Books

Janet's Links

S01 E01 - Simon Prior

Simon's Book Recommendations

Testing Peers Podcast

Simon's presentation at the BCS SIGiST Conference 2023

Welcome to Quality Blether - Trailer