I AM SATISFICED

Hi Reader,

2006 has been a great year for me and I am sure it has been great for you, too. This post, is a milestone post for me, not because I am posting this on Jan 1, 2007 but because "I AM SATISFICED".

What do I mean by "SATISFICED"?

I mean, I have been hired by James Bach as an Indian Representative of Satisfice Inc. Read this in James Bach's Blog! . This is the biggest thing that has happened to me as a tester next to getting a chance to become a disciple of James Bach and Michael Bolton.

There has been a lot of hard work that has gone through to reach this position of being recognized by James Bach and to become the representative of Satisfice in India. Perhaps, the "first Indian" feeling, is much more great.

The history, so far - ( condensed for a good enough reading experience )

It was Jan 11th 2006, I first sent an e-mail to James Bach saying "James, I have 2 years of experience as a software tester and I am a good tester". I never knew that it was a good way, to make James reply to my e-mail, since I received a reply the same day but with a lot of questions that was tough to answer. Some of the questions that is now obvious to me from James were...

- Are you good at testing? How do you know?
- What is your approach to learning about testing?
- What is the most useful book you have read that taught you something about testing?

On a reply, to the above questions that did not convince him, he put me through an exercise -

If you want to show me what you can do, I have a URL I can give you that contains something worth testing. It is here:http://webapps.ncua.gov/CapDep/OnePercent.asp

I checked the e-mail 9:30 PM IST and tested that application for 8 hours from then. I involved myself to such an extent that I forgot I had to sleep and I sent my test report at 5:30 AM IST.

That was the birth of a new, serious,passionate student for James and a nuclear energy injected into me through his interaction. It also was the birth of sleepless nights :)

Some people might consider that I was lucky to have reached this milestone (being "SATISFICED"), but at least me and or James know, I have worked hard amidst odds. Financially, I had some very tough times when I lost my job in Feb 2006. I had no money to afford an internet connection that was essential for me to keep in touch with James and learn more than what I could individually. After getting to know Jerry Weinberg, I became too curious to know what is happening inside SHAPE forum, where great minds keep discussing something that is of my interest, it costed me 2800 rupees. The money I had in my Citibank account was less than the number of digits of the account number, however credit card came handy. I am not putting a show of a poverty struck person but it was a tough time that I passed through and yet, nothing could stop me from learning, practicing and work on exercises that James gave me to work. The exercise from James Bach was the only thing I got for free during those days.

When I did a good enough job with those exercises, I was happy and when I did not, James was happy, as he had more lessons to teach. We have been happy all this while :)

Introducing Michael Bolton, was another gift I got from James for working on more testing exercises. I could not have expected a better gift!

It was May 2006 that I got a job and started to earn again but I was offered less than what I earned previously, yet I took it up since I had to repay the credit card bills and other debts. I could not resist myself even for a short while to get a broadband internet connection at home and I bought a lot of things and ended up utilizing my salary for making myself more equipped for a good enough online learning experience.

Meanwhile, I coached a couple of testers in India and also as my blog was becoming popular within Indian testers, I could see an increase in the testers who contacted me with a lot of questions. I practiced a lot coaching other testers, experimenting and thinking. I offered free consulting and I interacted with different people too. I was happy that I did testing at the organization I was working for.

Many Indian testers, who were not wooed by certifications and were concentrating on their skill as a tester kept encouraging me and added a responsibility. I offered to share my learning with them, It happened through my blog, personal meet, peer conference that I organized, e-mail discussions....

I still owe them a lot and I wish to see a future where there are more context-driven testers, Rapid Software Testers, doing a good enough job in India.

I am fast forwarding the history to December 8th 2006. I met Michael Bolton, at an international testing conference in Hyderabad, India. The sessions were lined up in such a way that I was next to Michael Bolton. [ I wish to be next to Michael,always, but he is in the same race I am running; I am catching up with you Michael :) ]

I conjecture, by the words of my manager at the organization I was working for that I was doing a good enough job. On the day I quit that organization to become a part of a Satisfice, following is the e-mail, my supervisor sent as a note of appreciation to the entire test team there -

All the best, Pradeep.

There are learnings for all of us from the way Pradeep has conducted himself in this tenure in the team. The confidence he has shown and willingness to help others and constantly exploring for new ideas are some of the higlights.

Fortunately I was also part of the team which Pradeep was associated. One more thing I would wish to share with you all is that, he was handling the testing for XXX ( customer name masked by me) and I feel proud to say that, there isn't any bug which customer found apart from what we or Pradeep found here. On behalf of the team and on a personal note I wish him all the best in all his future endeavours.

It put tears into my eyes to read such an e-mail from a supervisor. I used exploratory testing and all the learning that I have had through exercises that James and Michael gifted me, so far. [ I welcome such gifts from you, too and would love if you pay me :) ]

A lot of Indian testers, have mentioned that I or my blog, have inspired them too and it makes me responsible than happy. India, is my base and I am here for you all. I was delighted when Rajesh Kumar joined me as a full time student after looking at my work and the many interactions we had.

I have never been to US or any other country so far but the first time I would want to travel abroad, to meet,learn and work with people like James Bach, Jerry Weinberg, Cem Kaner, Jon Bach, Jonathon Kohl, Mike Kelly, Bret Pettichord, Johanna Rothman, Elisabeth Hendrickson, Hung Ngyuen, Scot Barber, Simon Fields..... ( I have a list of 200 people that I'd like to meet and the first few names I remembered now, are listed above. You could be one among the 200 and yet not be in the list of names mentioned here, so please offer an appointment if I contact you when I come to your place)

_ history ends, there might be a better history, next year! _

I am preparing myself, for the challenges in 2007. Wish to be my client - contact me at Pradeep@Satisfice.com or pradeep.srajan@gmail.com or +91-98451-76817