John McArdle, Director ATS at Sogeti, presented on Professionalism in Testing at two SoftTest events in Dublin on May 27th and 28th.
Professionalism in Testing - Abstract of presentation
John is Director of the Applications Software Group within Sogeti Ireland and was formerly Consulting Director of Insight Test Services, a provider of Strategic Consulting, Training and Managed Test Services to software organisations.
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John has been involved in the software products and services industry for the past twenty years across a range of sectors including travel, banking, telecommunications and utilities.
During that period he has worked on many large scale software development, testing and IT change management programmes for both in-house and external clients.
He has significant experience of implementing software quality management systems and tools, vendor evaluation and selection and outsourcing. |
Summary:
Often the test professional finds him or her self working in or with organisations they perceive to be less professional than themselves. For many this scenario can be frustrating because they may not have the experience to have a positive influence and raise professional standards. Perhaps it's just a single individual or group that poses the perceived challenge. This talk looks at how we recognise and classify the situation and what strategies and actions us as individuals or as a test team can take to raise the total performance standard of professional behaviours and results.
The Premise
There are a number of propositions that the presenter would like to put to the profession:
- Our understanding of the professionalism of those around us is sometimes more a matter of perception than fact and often a mix
- Professional behaviours of individuals, teams and organisations are often caused by the business environment and situation they operate in
- Professional development is primarily the responsibility of the individual or group; it can be accelerated by the professionalism and support of the organisations they work in or with
- Each Test Professional can influence group professional performance.