In this talk, I will share an experience story where Erik Brickarp and I set up regular Skype sessions for discussing and analyzing testing problems and challenges, tried coaching each other, etc, and how this helped fuel our professional development.
*Set up a session with someone you’ve chatted with (at a conference, meetup, online event, etc)
* a goal helps to keep you focused; it doesn’t have to be very specific but both need to understand it
*regular sessions – get boosted every week, specific focus on you and your development (and the peers)
* brainstorming and inspiration that can be useful with someone outside your company (+ they will learn your context over time)
* practice listening
* practice being more coach-like – coaching is a useful skill and a one on one session is a great place where to practice
* feedback – both offering and receiving feedback is something that we practised during the sessions
* retrospectives are necessary to keep focus and keep the sessions valuable
Top Takeaways:
How to stay connected to other professionals in a deep and meaningful way that benefits everyone involved
How to create a process for professional development that evolves and can be tailored over time
Helena Jeret-Mäe is a software tester, quality coach and consultant (Qualitability) who loves to help people figure out how to solve (quality and people) problems, develop skills to the fullest, enjoy the process and produce great work. She has been tackling software quality issues for over 10 years in various fields, organized testing events, spoken at conferences, mentored new testers, etc.
