jaffamonkey

Somewhere along the line in web development (late 1990’s at a guess), design was firmly decoupled from development. Then as design tools became more complex, design incorporated development of its own. This was right and proper, and in keeping with traditional software development – frontend and backend. But what we ended up with are designers who are poor coders, but expected to do that work by default. While perfection is impossible to achieve, a small amount of coding from a designer, can wreck a lot of a website’s aim, i.e. quality. Running most websites through coding standards checkers highlights the main problems.

1. Sloppy coding (missing Alt tags still irritatingly common).
2. Adopting the latest development options without considering backwards compatibility.

Point 1. is a very common guilt, including myself. It is to do with attitude – on this site, I employ a constant reasonning of “I will do it later”. Fair enough for a blog site, though I chide myself that by employing this attitude I am creating accessibility and usability issues I harp on about in a professional QA capacity. As I also develop, I do have a more sympathetic and pragmatic approach that most QA people. Designers and developers are usually overworked, so my argument is that this kind of clean-up work should at least be prioritized and scheduled. A more sensitive scenario however is that the designer in question is not sufficently skilled enough to really understand what the problems are, and hence will just repeat them.

It is not job of contract staff to point out weaknesses in development – it can simply look “bitchy”. However, testing can be an easy scapegoat for a management and development, so how can you protect your corner? Pushing the case for enforcing standards. The more chaotic the development, the easier it is to sell this case. As a minimum released code to conform to XHTML Transitional, CSS 2.1 and WCAG Level A.  These are versions that I currently consider to be safe for most OS/Browser combinations AND (perhaps more importantly) maintainable.  That is not expecting too much.  But just passing it once is not enough, the checks should be run for every release.  Anyone who resists this is plain lazy, or plain doesn’t understand even the basics of good web development.   Good design is all well and good, but not if it causes problems for large sections of your audience.

After watching a frustrating Question Time, it seems this country’s leaders have learnt no lessons. When Piers Morgan appears to be only person talking sense, that is a big cause of worry! We still primarily look after people who do nothing, whatever the reason. For a long time now workers have felt at the thin end of the edge – self-employed people even more so, thanks to Labour creating an air of mistrust of anyone operating this way.

We should look after the weak and the sick, not the greedy, the stupid and the lazy. I am tired of pumping money into a system that largely wastes money. We are still being ripped off and lied to. Banks received so much support, yet none of that public financial support has filtered down. How much more are we going to take before we start storming the government building and banks? I am starting to feel I would like to be at the front, complete with Wat Tyler-style pitchfork!

I saw your CV on [Jobserve/Jobsite/Monster/Linkedin etc] ….

I am bored, and trying to fill my day by searching cv’s, and contacting people in vague hope I will get a lead, or at the very least polish up my sales talk.

So what is [Enter technology/buzzword/acronym here] ….

I am too lazy to use google, and frankly have no expertise in area I am hiring for.   Hence why I try to pronounce SQL as “Squirrel” and  Agile as “Aggile”.

We have a number of roles we are recruiting for in [enter location/sector relevant to cv in front of agent]

We, along with every other agency, have a number of roles to fill at any one time, but we need some decent cv’s to get a look in.

Oh, I know a few people from people there – who did you work with?  Do you know [enter made-up name here]? No?  Then who did you work with down there?

I am not interested in finding you work, I just lied about the opportunity that was available.  I just want to get some easy access to people in your previous companies, and in doing so annoy your previous employers.

We will need a reference before we can put your forward for this [fantasy] position

As above …

We pay on monthly invoices and you will be paid within 1-2 weeks after that.

We dont have enough float to pay you in decent time frame, even though we are earning commission from you.   We have no hope of paying you on time, unless the company we are resourcing for pays us on time.

We don’t give out our commission rate

We take too much, and also ignorant of the law.

Agile testing does not emphasize rigidly defined testing procedures, but rather focuses on testing iteratively against newly developed code until quality is achieved from an end customer’s perspective. In other words, the emphasis is shifted from “testers as quality police” to something more like “entire project team working toward demonstrable quality.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_testing

I can only speak for UK here, but I am sure my experience is not uncommon.  Largely companies are incapable of applying Agile methodology is anything but a short-term fashion.  And even then apply in wrongly, drowning themselves in agile tools (built by and for “tools”).  Agile software is big business, but largely useless.  That is not what Agile is about, and its interesting that only Selenium seems to be associated with Agile, in terms of test automation.  Agile was about cutting through the red tape, inspiring developers, giving end clients something half resembling what they want, and most importantly allowing all project members to contribute and suggest.  This only works if your Agile team is competent, but in the UK we suffer particularly from the Peter Principle – many managers exist who shouldn’t be there.  With Agile the Product Owner is usually a distant figure (commonly having other roles to perform), and development is largely left to its own devices.  A more pragmatic approach (given the woolliness of UK management) is to adopt SCRUM more fully.

SCRUM is child of Agile, and very focussed on the development/test cycle.   As the role of project manager is becoming role that people shy away from, all manner of project structure can arise  – sometimes bizarre.   Developers can be very independent – if they don’t have, or are not given direction, they will find one.  Then if the ineffective managers take um-bridge to this usurping of authority they react in peculiar way.  They make the direction decisions.  Agile attracts the lazy managers who are simply looking to the top.  Eradicate these useless individuals by taking charge of a project with an effective PROJECT MANAGER.  Every project needs a “buck-stops-here” lead.  Product Owners are effective for requirements, but to leave them in the daily development pit is madness.   Project Manager, Development Team, Development/Test Manager and Tester(s).  OK, I am rewriting the rules a little – but as I have been stuck in Agile world for some time, I feel my opinion is wholly valid.  Agile has become a smokescreen, a tool people use not to develop good software, by develop their own selfish paths (regardless of damage).  Age should not be a team barrier, but anyone refusing to evolve with technology and methodology should be given marching orders.  And, contrary to our bizarre hiring/firing culture, incompetence has no place on an Agile project, and can be very damaging to overall effort.

I wrote the below back in December last year, but I smell something even worse.  In the IT contracting world, government and banking contracts are the major groups by far. Despite everything, despite all the recriminations and records of blame, the government and banking still have all the money.  A major game has been played on us, and still is.  Now the true extent of how broke the country really is has surfaced post a joke of an election, the smarmy PR has been replaced by grim reality – they are safe for another 4/5 years.  less expenses but no less reward for the piss-poor job the two major parties have done over the last 35 years.  Politics needs to change, but all I see is MP’s working out where the next cash-cow is (hello, Brussels!).  As for banking – a ludicrously self-important industry full of the more vacuous self-serving wankers, as much as the legal profession.  Game players with an eye of the end goal – more money – by hook or by crook.  While deluded shallow commentators expressed confidence on Labour over Conservative, I think what does it matter who governs?  It has been plain to me for a long time that it is the bloated civil service that runs things so cack-handedly, with politicians simply puppets of them and PR machines.  Forget about the current “generation for the future”, the self-obsessed amoral Nathan Barleys – the only way to oust the government entirely, expose the rotten civil service core, then treat it like a pus-filled gangrenous wound.  Yes, all the parties are scared of joining Europe – because we are a fucking laughable embarrassment compared to most.  We are the dustbin of Europe – we ran out of brains to drain, we now have a stupidity homing beacon.

2009/12/20 – I read Private Eye sometimes, which gives a good alternative view to news, as it bothers to dig deeper.  Did you know, for instance, that Price Waterhouse Coppers recommended two bank for administration/loans, when it was unnecessary.  They received £20 million – and x billion from taxpayer to bail out said banks.  Something is rotten to the core in financial industry, and I have feeling the banks are tip of iceberg.  Vultures like PWC – independent company – who doesn’t give a flying-fuck about tax-dollars – they make £20 million – cost taxpayers x billion.   It is vile.  The biggest single weaknesses in the capitalism model today is that it is possible to make money from seeming the disaster.  I think one positive that has come out of this finely orchestrated disaster is that politicians are weak and ineffectual.  When pushing through laws and policy, they can rely of the civil service – but in finance all they can do to make meaningless rhetoric.

I have successfully managed to spread to fantasy contracts, when agents ask me what I have already applied for.  This is an unnecessary question.  Not all agencies are underhand, but I played this game before, to highlight this practice.  My favourite was the Test Manager @ Findus, that I mentioned to a rather nosey agent from Computer Futures a few years ago.

I got 2 agents from same agency (in the space of 24 hours) asking for my cv for this “great contract opportunity at well know food vendor” – hmmmmm ……. I dont know why I picked Findus – guess was craving some of their fish fingers at the time, hehe!  The bizarrely the following day two different agencies calling about same role (mentioning Findus by name this time).

With the exception of some gems such as GCS, Technet, and a few others, I am finding contracting through agencies largely unsatisfactory with unreliability at the all important payments side.  I have no problem with paying commission to good agencies, if I am treated well, and will also recommend those agencies.  My agency blacklist is just extended onto a second page, and at some point I will provide list.  Life is too short and too complicated in the UK to put up with it, so if any contractors are interested, I will provide with my list of agencies to keep clear of.