How to win [Developer] friends and influence [Business] people - Jez Nicholson

Talk Description

Developers live in a world of black and white, right and wrong, works or doesn’t work. Deep in their hearts they know that testing is “the right thing to do” and something that “should be done” but they can’t quite tell you why. They’ve got 101 things to do before tomorrow, so to a Developer “should be” is the same as “might be”. It is a second thought, something to do after the real work is done. Insist that it “must be done” and it is like nagging your partner to get the boiler fixed.

Business people have heard that testing is “the right thing to do” and something that “should be done” but they have never actually seen or done any themselves so can’t quite tell you why. They want 101 things done before tomorrow, so…you see where this is going.

Testing, Quality Assurance, whatever we are going to call it, needs to talk the language that these two different groups understand. They need to get into their psyche and see what presses their buttons. If approached from the right angle then it will be a big sale. Otherwise testing will always be an also-ran.

Jez Nicholson spent his youth taking things to pieces to see how they worked. By the time he got to working age he was able to put them back together again and even make new things. He has worked as a Developer-Manager for over 20 years for a variety of industries from oil exploration, online game community management, to environmental risk assessment. He builds small, highly effective development teams and has to span the gap between senior management and developers.

What you’ll learn

By the end of this talk, you'll be able to: