Training
Workroom Productions offers a range of focused training, covering practical areas of high value that are not typically addressed in certification-based exams. Each course involves plenty of discussion and directly relevant practical exercises; participants are challenged to be both agile and rigourous, and to find ways of directly applying the skills and insights presented. Courses are taught exclusively by James Lyndsay (although other trainers use my exercises, with permission). On-site courses will be adapted to your needs - and the "Getting a Grip" course can be customised to your system.
Prices: Two-day workshops are £3000, one-day workshops are £1700, half-day classes are £1000.
Email me for more details - jdl[at]workroom-productions.com or call me now on Skype
Next public classes
How to Diagnose Bugs. EuroStar conference. 11 November 2008, The Hague, Netherlands
Getting a Grip on Exploratory Testing
An enjoyably interactive hands-on tutorial introducing delegates to a wide variety of approaches to exploratory testing – active play, systematic exploration, modelling for success and failure, questioning, attacks and exploitations. Discussions cover ways of getting the best out of time spent exploring, good and bad choices for exploration, and approaches to managing exploration and diagnosis. Some exercises are computer-based (using Workroom Productions’ custom-built “Black Box” machines in Flash), and delegates are encouraged to download exercises before the tutorial, and bring their laptops to use or share. Use this link for examples of publicly-available black box test machines. Most suitable for people with hands-on experience of testing.
Available formats: 1-day, 2-day. Max 12 participants.
Note: Elisabeth Hendrickson and I joined our 2-day ET courses together in 2006 for a rather good joint course under the "Test Obsessed" banner. We taught this together in Mountain View, and in London. If you'd like this variant, get in touch with either (or both) of us.
Managing Exploratory Testing
This course is designed to follow on from Getting a Grip on Exploratory Testing. Using real-world examples, group exercises and discussion, this course helps decision makers to make effective use of exploratory techniques. Includes sections on integration and strategy, team issues, and management of exploratory tasks using a session-based approach. Most suitable for people who have attended "Getting a Grip", or who have worked on an exploratory testing project.
Available formats: 1-day. Max 12 participants.
An Introduction to Exploratory Testing
Designed to prepare the ground for "Getting a Grip on Exploratory Testing", this introductory lecture is suitable for anyone involved in testing or coding. Participants will gain an over view of the uses and techniques of Exploratory Testing, and an understanding of the concepts that underpin the later courses. Laptops not required.
Available formats: 90-minute, half-day lecture.
Exploratory Testing Seminar
A one-day introduction to Exploratory Testing. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the strategy and techniques of ET through lectures, exercises, demonstrations and discussions. Suitable for anyone with an interest in Exploratory Testing. Laptops not required, but participants with machines available can follow the demonstrations and continue to explore after the end of the day.
Format: 1-day lecture.
Better Data, Better Testing
Information lies at the heart of IT - this course allows you to take control of your test data and allow it to help, rather than hinder, your testing. Exercises cover data-related test techniques, test data organisation and manipulation. Download the course abstract as a .pdf
Available formats: 90-120 minute workshop, half-day, 1-day course. Max 12 people.
How to diagnose bugs
Good testers need to be able to go beyond simply logging a problem. To give value to their stakeholders and integrate with their development teams, testers need to be able to investigate the problems that they find. Diagnostic skills will help a tester to isolate genuine problems from a rash of symptoms, to work out what lies behind field reports, and to communicate her bugs effectively by describing plausible models.
In this hands-on workshop, we will use a succession of practical exercises based on real problems including truncation, bottlenecks, boundaries and emergent behaviours. Participants will select test conditions to isolate and emphasise a bug, analyse data to reveal connections and populations, and work with logs and events to arrive at sequences that reveal potential cause and effect. At the end of the workshop, participants will have an improved understanding of the techniques and principles of diagnosis that can be applied to issues found in their own systems. Please note: available laptops will help participants get the most out of this session.
Available formats: 90-minute, half-day workshop. Typically for conferences and disparate groups; in-house courses should consider "Experimentation and Diagnosis" below.
Experimentation and Diagnosis
Good test design shares many of the same characteristics as good experimental design. This one-day workshop draws on the principles of scientific experimentation and applies them to software testing. In class, we design and execute a variety of test suites to explore and illustrate typical methods.
This course incorporates material from "How to Diagnose Bugs"
Please note: participants will get the most out of this session if they have access to a laptop.
Available formats: one-day workshop.
Older courses
These courses have not been delivered for a couple of years, and no public classes are expected. Please get in touch if you would like to know more or to bring these on-site in your organisation.
The Test Strategist's Toolkit
A strategy helps you decide what to plan, and how to plan it. Testing is hampered by reactiveness and rapidly-obsolete plans - but responds well to a strategic approach. This course looks at the strengths and advantages of a clear test strategy, the role of the test strategist, and the strategic value of testing. Topics covered include standards and templates, cost and value of various test techniques, pitfalls and strengths of typical strategic drivers, communication, information, and dealing with change. Workshops are discussion led, tutorials are exercise-based and can be tailored to your organisation's existing approach. Course can be effectively paired-up with 'Test Managers: Chameleons of the Project World' and 'Putting Theory into Practice: Test Manager' (below).
Available formats: Workshop: 90-120 minutes. Tutorial: half-day, 1-day.
Putting Theory into Practice: Test Manager
QBIT course: James plays Devil's advocate to Geoff Quentin. Enjoyable and informative. PTP:TM - more details.
Available formats: 2-day course.
Making the most of what you've got (From a Sow's Ear to a Silk Purse)
The test team has a greater influence on the success of testing than any single process, tool or technique. Yet, under-resourced and over-stretched, it can be a source of weakness. This paper outlines some effective techniques to help get the best out of your team, without increasing your budget or finding fewer bugs, and covers:
- Finding time by using a Time Bank
- Motivation and morale
- Really cheap tools
- Communication within and around the team
- How to encourage learning, improvement, and knowledge transfer
- Automated metrics and reporting
- Reducing your tests without reducing your coverage
Available formats: 120-minute, half-day workshop.
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