Mistaken Opportunities

Sometimes I miss a meeting. This is rarer than it used to be. Each time I miss a meeting I identify the reason I missed it and then find or invent or develop a process or method or technique to ensure I don't miss a meeting for that reason again. I also use that reason as a launch point for searching out other reasons I might miss a meeting and search out ways to preempt them as well.

Sometimes I miss a bug. This is rarer than it used to be. Each time I miss a bug I identify the reason I missed it and then find or invent or develop a process or method or technique to ensure I don't miss a bug for that reason again. I also use that reason as a launch point for searching out other reasons I might miss a bug and search out ways to preempt them as well.

Sometimes another person misses a meeting with me. Once or twice I don't mind - life happens. Especially if I can tell that the person takes action to ensure that it doesn't happen again. If someone misses a meeting for the same reason over and over, or if they continually miss lots of meetings but have a new reason each time, I take that to mean that they aren't learning. I offer my assistance in helping them overcome this obstacle. If they don't take me up on my offer, or if they continue to not learn, then I'm liable to write them off as being flaky and unreliable, and my willingness to meet with them will likely drop.

Sometimes a tester - or a developer - on my team misses a bug. Once or twice I don't mind - software happens. Especially if I can tell that the person takes action to ensure that it doesn't happen again. If someone misses the same kind of bug over and over, or if they continually miss lots of bugs but have a new reason each time, I take that to mean that they aren't learning. I offer my assistance in helping them overcome this obstacle. If they don't take me up on my offer, or if they continue to not learn, then I'm liable to write them off as being poor bug finders, and my willingness to work with them/test their code will likely drop.

Sometimes I decide not to attend a meeting. I compare the value I will receive from attending the meeting against that I will receive by using that time for something else. I judge the risk of missing something important by not attending the meeting. I consider the likelihood of learning something interesting by attending the meeting versus doing something else. Sometimes I decide to go but don't learn anything. Other times I opt to skip it and end up missing something big. It can be difficult to tell ahead of time.

Sometimes I decide not to run a test. I compare the value I will receive from running the test against that I will receive by using that time for something else. I judge the risk of missing something important by not running the test. I consider the likelihood of learning something interesting by running the test versus doing something else. Sometimes I decide to run it but don't learn anything. Other times I opt to skip it and end up missing something big. It can be difficult to tell ahead of time.

"Mistakes" (I call them Learning Opportunities) I don't mind. If I'm/you're not making mistakes then I'm/you're not trying new things and I'm/you're not learning. It's not learning from mistakes I take issue with. <g/>

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great coding skills required.