In this fireside chat session with Robert, we will talk about the following topics:

Technology trends arrive, and are evidenced by, patterns of demand.

When technologies are productized, their market can be described in different phase. Geoffrey Moore, in his book Crossing the Chasm, breaks the market into five segments based on acceptance and adaptation of new technologies.

• Innovators (value innovation, take technical and business risks)
• Early Adopters
• Early Majority
• Late Majority
• Laggards (value conservation, take very few technical and business risks)

Successful technological innovation makes the jump between innovators to the early majority markets.

In software testing we are impacted by three parallel but asynchronous market pattern tracks:

• Technologies to develop products
• Technologies to test products
• Use of products under development

At any time, these three tracks are in different technology adaptation phases.

Testers need to be a step ahead and a step behind in each segment.

Testers need to develop skills to identify risks associated with adaptation of new technologies for development testing and product use.

Some testers evolve their skills in a two-fold manner in each track.

• Master technology used by early adopters
• Master technology used by the early majority

Rob will share insights into how evolving technologies impact the technical testing skills required to get their jobs done well and make a big difference.