Life of a Software Testing Professional!!!

I am a Software Tester and unlike many other testers, it was my own decision to start my career as a tester. By saying this, I want to clarify that: 1. I was not a programmer, who had to start a career in testing due to poor programming skills OR conflicts with a project leader/manager! 2. I was not a sub-standard student, who was too much afraid to step into programming. So the dream of a Software Engineer’s job lead him to start a career as a tester instead (which is WRONGLY considered as a job with less responsibility and a job that doesn’t require much skills/intelligence/competency). 3. I was not a Call Center/BPO employee, who, after spending a couple of years in BPO wanted a better and attractive job. And testing was the easiest (!) way to enter the alluring IT world. 4. I was not a fresher trainee, whose Manager could not find a better role to assign him and as a result the poor chap was thrown at the testing team. [NOTE: You pick 100 Indian testers randomly and I am not sure if I would be surprised if 70%-80% out of them fall into either of the above 4 categories!] I was none of the above categories and still I started a career as a Software Tester. It was not that I was left without a choice. I had other career options too; but still I chose software testing as my career because I had always wanted to be a tester. I have seen many strange faces, after they come to know that I had chosen to take up testing as a career in spite of my bright (!) academic career. I wish they could only realize the amount of satisfaction and pleasure that I find from testing! I have always taken pride in calling myself as a Passionate Software Tester (SelfCertified). I don’t know, how far I do justice to the "tester" inside me, while making such claim! But recently, I have started to realize that testing has started affecting my personal life too! Which, I suppose, is NOT a good thing in other’s opinion. At times, I tend to perform actions, which might have been considered “great work” in a testing environment but it hurts people in my personal/day-to-day life! I will try to list out a couple of such incidents where I think my “personal being” was taken over by the “tester” inside me! 1. Recently, I had a chance to visit my family after a long time. One day, I was talking with my mom and she commented: “Since you have started a career in testing, you have become more complaining in nature. These days, you find more faults in my cooking too. You were NOT so complaining in your childhood days”. I was shocked at this discovery! I had never wanted to hurt her feelings by pointing out the possible shortcomings (like extra pinch of salt, excess use of oil etc) in her dishes. But the “stupid tester” inside me had done the damage already. However, I was glad that my mom could link this to my testing job and gave me a chance to ponder over it. Thanks mom! For pointing out yet another “possible” mistake in me! 2. It was Kolkata, and I was standing in a queue outside a bank ATM. It was a typical hot and humid Kolkata summer day. So the people standing outside in the long queue were getting impatient with the passing of every second. Thanks to the bank authority, who are least bothered to install another ATM machine, although it is located at a busy area and where it is hard to make a transaction, without having to stand in a really long queue. Anyway, after a long 30-35 minutes wait and after 10-12 people, finally it was my turn to use the ATM. I entered the ATM booth with a million dollar winning smile on face. I was searching for the right card in my purse, when I came across an expired ATM card (of the same bank)! Suddenly, a wicked smile flashed over my face. The “tester” inside me was prepared with yet another mischief (it could have been a brilliant test idea and was worth a pat on the shoulder from the test manager, in my opinion). I inserted the expired card into the machine. And shockingly enough (!) it asked me for my PIN. I entered my old PIN (which I was using for the expired card) and bang! The ATM machine’s display screen flashed with a blue screen without any text/instruction! And it started beeping continuously (as it does if someone forgets his card inside the machine). I tried with “Cancel” button. It ejected the card but kept on beeping. After that, it never came back to normal state to accept a new card. All further attempts to insert a valid card were in vain. By this time the crowd waiting outside in the queue were getting restless and a couple of them started enquiring the matter. The tester inside me was jubilant at the success of breaking down the ATM machine. But the feeling of disgust seen in the fellow users (waiting behind me) of the ATM, made me aware of the seriousness of the matter. And before it was too late, I had to leave the ATM in a hurry! There are more such stories where I behaved in a way that might have been considered as excellent work, had I have done them in my work place. But they were causes of embarrassments for others, as they never expected such actions from me! But anyway, I enjoy being so and I think I will keep doing such things (“weird” in the eyes of others AND “good testing” work in my eyes) in future. What do you think? I am wondering if anyone of you also might have experienced such things. When the “tester” inside you had overpowered your "personal being”! When you could not resist yourself from doing things that are considered weird and un-natural! I would certainly like to hear your stories. Do share your experience(s) by leaving behind your comment. Happy Testing… For my followers: Its been really long since I have made a blog post..would try keeping my blog posted..Do leave your thoughts!!

One of my many collections

Thought provoking......

Ever loved anyone so much that she would walk the beach thinking about you all along.....the journey

Trip to Himalaya...View from a poets perspective

Years of dreams kept these greens fresh in me. An unhinging end of the world, among the deep dark forests, with an ancient temple in the middle, whose walls I can’t say were like chiseled stone. Rather the walls were the mud, baked by the time. A pure dream, that often woke me amidst the night, with a soft, breezy cool face, lost in the mesmerizing moment. It clouded my brain against anything that would pass me through the day. Casting a reverie. The boundaries of reality somewhere melted away, left to live with the flakes of this life on the edge of the world, without any physical presence.

It was morning when we had reached this unknown corner of the Himalayas, lost among the steeps of the hills. We had to park the car above the hill, and sway down on a narrow pathway. With a several foot deep trench on one side, and an overwhelming hill on the other, nature was more silent than I had ever experienced. We reached the high hills, walking among the trees. The powerful silence, the intensity of purity, was it only me experiencing it?

I held my friend’s hand, pressing gently, and said “ I know this place buddy. I have been visiting it… I have been coming here since.. I don’t know when. … You remember, I have been telling you of the temple I have been dreaming of?”
Raghu was dumbstruck as he saw me, and it would not be till we came back to Kolkata, that she would tell me, that there was something in me, through all the three days we were there it was beautiful. More beautiful than we could ever express. With glassy, watery eyes seeing something too subtle. And my friends would repeat that every time we would talk about the place. Stealing frequent glances at me.
And it was then, that I started reminiscing, of what I knew of the place. And the newness it had adopted, as the world turn outside, from the inner, comfortable world. A new world, that included a new me….

Sun dawned at 4. And soon it was a full moon night, with rising din of the forest filling the atmosphere. AT 7:30, it was a deep awake night, so intense that it could have been past midnight. Bathed in the sliver light, I was standing in the middle of the forest; in the premises of that old temple… a sense of endless wait engulfed me. The surmounting pine trees brought an uncanny feel of being related to them since what seemed an eternity. And the clouds of my dreams condensed to materialize tangibly. Mixing with the melted reality. Was I living a dream? Or dreaming a reality? Was I reliving the past life? A life that my flesh could never relate to…

There was me, full of aspirations and sprite for life.. and there was my silent ‘self’ of a past life, with a soul more vocal than my words in this life can ever be… I existed in the calmness of a life, balanced, and stuck between the love for the din of DJ parties and silence of my ‘self’. The pushes of my contemporary life, and the pulls of my past life met where I existed completing me…pulling me apart...which road should I take? The one bustling with humanity, or the quiet, lonely lane that will lead me to my cradle? Or am I destined to live a double life, to somehow find a balance between my twin selves?

Book Review:Insrutable Americans

The Inscrutable Americans is a comical take on Americans and their way of life. It is also a take on immigrants( in the story-an Indian) whose way of living , thought process and priorities change when they are faced with the "incomprehensible" American idea of life. The novel is satirical where the american logic vs. Indian logic is tested. It is a story of the protagonist ,Gopal, who lands in America from a small town , Madhya Pradesh, India to spend one year in the American University dreaming to make big. He is linguistically challenged, but excels in numbers -an attribute which makes his professors go gaga over him.His discovery of the American way helps him in growing up and tackling situations with maturity.His friend Randy helps him through thick and thin. He is pursued to play a constant tug of war between his maternal teachings of maintaining the pure Indian values versus the urge to sacrifice his virginity. The tale is a celebration of both Indian and American life without any prejudices. Gopal shows his shrewdness in judging situations which baffles one and all and succeeds in earning affection and respect to the end of exasperation.The storyline is simple and hilarious. It is thoughtful and astute. The author has simply shown a matured understanding of the two cultures with great finesse.Overall a very good read.

Chetan Bhagat's Speech at Symbiosis

Following is the speech by Chetan Bhagat given at the orientation programme for the new batch of MBA students at Symbiosis, Pune.
Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates – there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.
Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.
I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?
Imagine the spark to be a lamp’s flame. The first aspect is nurturing – to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.
To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn’t any external measure – a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.
Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn’t the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won’t be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.
Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that. I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.
There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.
You must have read some quotes – Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.
One last thing about nurturing the spark – don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said – don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.
I’ve told you three things – reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.
Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it’s life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember – if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that’s where you want to be.
Disappointment’ s cousin is Frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life – friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.
Unfairness – this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get literary praise. It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill your spark.
Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is Isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.
There you go. I’ve told you the four thunderstorms – disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.
I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying – I come from the land of a billion sparks.
Thank You.
Chetan Bhagat
SImple and to the point and just hitting where it should. I like his approach and way of working. He is no doubt an intelligent and a practical man.

Aha Kolkata!!!!!!!!!!!!!