Test Guide : Songs

A Medley Of Tools

micahel — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:30:00 GMT

[To the tunes of various winter holiday carols]

Here I go a-wandering among ideas so bright
Here I go a-wandering to keep from clamping tight
Down on i-dea the first
Which I often find is worst
So hoo-ray for that nifty tool The Rule Of Three
Yes hooray for that nifty Rule Of Three

Take heed ye merry editor, let nothing you dismay
You are a fav'rite tool of mine; I use you ev'ry day
M. Bolton has said lots on this so nothing more I'll say
I do so love this multi-function tool
Yes I do!
I do so love this multi-function tool

Write my tests using scripting
Fa la la la la la la la la
With Ruby my test are dripping
Fa la la la la la la la la
I've done some Haskell and some Python
Fa la la la la la la la la
I don't use C#; it makes me yawn
Fa la la la la la la la la

Away in his office a tester he works
Using regexes he thought'd be a perk
Now he is lost in stars and escapes
Finding his way out a miracle will take

Take one drink, take two drinks, take another now
Drink more water, drink more hot tea, drink milk from a cow
Drink some more, fly out the door, to the restroom I do run
As I go ideas they flow and answers they do come

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

Rhymeless References

micahel — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:30:00 GMT

If you want to learn more about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, personality types, neuro-linguistic programming, and representational systems, I suggest you start with the following. (Full disclosure: I have no affiliation with any of these websites, companies, and authors.)

Personality Types

TypeFocus Careers has a free personality survey.
AdvisorTeam has several free and not-free personality surveys.
I find What Type Am I?, by Renee Baron, an accessible introduction to and explanation of the Myers-Briggs personality types. It includes a personality survey.
Please Understand Me II, by David Keirsey, describes the personality Temperaments Keirsey built on top of the Myers-Briggs personality types. It includes a personality survey.
Teaching Around the 4Mat System, by Bernice McCarthy, explains one way to integrate personality types into education.

Representational Systems

Discover Your Preferred Representational System has a free representational system survey.
Influencing With Integrity, by Genie Z. Laborde, briefly covers representational systems.

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

Finally! The Finish!

micahel — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:30:00 GMT

So that is MBTI, and that is NLP.
Which still leaves the puzzling, mysterious A&P.
I know some about "A" and much less about "P";
Your doctor knows much more, that I guarantee!

"A" is for "anatomy", where you learn to see
How to tell your elbow from your hand and knee.
"P" describes your insides, your "physiology"
How it works and functions, why you smell and see.

If this introduction leaves you wanting more;
If these words, you feel, have opened a big door;
I urge you these topics to go and explore.
Only don't go too fast - your brain it might get sore!

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

Trio Of Tastes

micahel — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Visual people learn with their eyes.
They peek and they look and their world clarifies.
"I see what you're saying!" they exclaim with a cry;
Use picture words back else you'll be in disguise.

Auditory people learn with their ears;
Tho some choose to read rather than hear.
"Sounds good to me" lets you into their mind peer;
Use hearing words back and your meaning is clear.

Kinesthetics are the third group you'll find;
They touch and they feel life into their minds.
"You hit a sore spot" says one of this kind;
Use sensing words back else they will feel blind.

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

New Lingo Please!

micahel — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:30:00 GMT

NLP is a science (tho some say it's not)
Which claims to explain how people come to a thought.
Neuro Linguistic Programming can help you avoid being caught
In the communication perils with which life is fraught.

This science holds that people think, say, and learn
In characteristic ways, and that you can in turn
Identify their style and go on to discern
Words to use with them that won't make them burn.

Listen to people's words as they speak.
Watch their responses when you open your beak.
Do they talk about hearing? Or taking a peek?
Or maybe of feeling. Then your words you tweak.

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

Timely Play

micahel — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:30:00 GMT

"J" is for "Judging", though not the critical kind.
It simply describes the way we unwind.
Or don't, for we often put our play far behind
Our work which we want to be completed on time.

"P" stands for "Perceiving"; however I call it "Play"!
For us Ps care for naught but having fun all the day.
"Structure"'s a word we'd rather not say!
We don't mind it, you know, yet we keep it at bay.

Decisions! Decisions! We Js want them made now!
While delaying decisions is us Ps' solemn vow.
By working together we turn furrowed brows
Into great outcomes that make us yell "Wow!"

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

Feeling Logical

micahel — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:30:00 GMT

"T" is for "Thinking", so called because we
Decide with our brains, not our feelings.
We use our logic to decide and to see
Exactly how we want our world to be.

"F", on the other hand, logic deplores
At least when it means pushing people down to the floor.
While "Feeler"s do use logic, it leaves them quite sore
For emotions and values are what form their core.

Ts, it would behoove us to come down from our tower
And come to know those feelings from which we so cower.
Fs, use your logic, and you'll find the power
To talk with us Ts without getting sour.

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

Concretely Abstract

micahel — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:30:00 GMT

"N" means "iNtuitive", and people like us
Think in abstractions, big pictures we suss.
Ideas and theories are where our minds thrust;
Ask us for details and our minds go bust.

"S" is the other side, and this I have too;
We "Senser"s sense everything; we live in a zoo
Of details and feelings and smellings and hues.
If we can't experience it we don't believe it's true!

We Ns would like Ss this one thing to learn:
Stop with the details - they are not our concern!
We Ss ask Ns to remember in turn
To give us those details for which we so yearn!

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

Intro, Extra, Energy

micahel — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:30:00 GMT

"I" stands for "Introvert". We need time alone;
Invite us to parties and we respond with a groan.
All of that talking! Soon our energy is spent
And back home we flee to recharge in our tent.

"E" is our counterpart, "Extravert"s they
Count everyone as best friend and love to say "Hey!"
Talking and talking is how they recharge,
At home and at work and in the garage.

Us Is need some time to decide what to say;
Es often feel that we take all day.
Es, on the other hand, talk in order to think;
Under all that noise we Is flounder and sink.

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

The Gang Of Four

micahel — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:30:00 GMT

They developed four axes, with two letters each;
One on the left side, quite out of reach
To those on the right side, far across the breach
Of personality conflicts which cause many to screech.

The first set describe how you get energy;
Whether you like people, or they cause you to flee.
The second set explain how the world you see,
From high on a mountain, or low like a bee.

The third set discuss how you decide what to do:
Is it logic you use, or do emotions hold true?
The fourth set's your lifestyle: is work or play you?
And now on to details, four pas de deux.

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

Myers And Briggs And Their Guinea Pig

micahel — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Some years ago a lady named Briggs,
Her daughter Myers, and their guinea pig
Into personalities started to dig
And found explanations they believed were quite big.

They wrote up their findings and collapsed them into
A Type Indicator instrument meant to let you
Determine your type preference and those of your crew
To help you understand them, whatever they do.

Misses Myers and Briggs came up with four ways
To look at all people and how they behave,
Their view of the world, and what things they crave.
So that when you work with them, your mind won't be crazed.

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

Types And Styles And Body Parts, Oh My

micahel — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:30:00 GMT

MBTI describes how I interact with the world.
NLP explains why I write and do not make murals.
A & P claims to know why I am a boy not a girl.
And... What's that? I've set your brain a-whirl?

How to decipher this alphabet soup?
How to apply it to you and your group?
How to do this yet not make your brain troop
Home to its sofa, completely pooped?

I will explain this alphabet soup,
And how to apply it to all in your group.
When I finish your brain may spin in a loop!
Or it may be dancing and singing "Shoop Shoop".

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

One Fish, Two Fish, Sensing Fish, Intuitive Fish

micahel — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:30:00 GMT

The more I learn about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), the more I understand about how my brain works and why I do the things I do. The more I apply MBTI and NLP to other people, the more effective my interactions with those other people become. Of all the understanding-people systems I have investigated, MBTI and NLP have proven most helpful.

(MBTI and NLP say InTj and Auditory Digital, respectively, describes how I see my world.)

I grew up on Dr. Seuss. My parents have The Cat In The Hat Comes Back memorized. I tape recorded Hop On Pop for my brother when he was young, and my entire family recently recorded stacks of Dr. Seuss books for his new son. Dr. Seuss is in my blood.

Small wonder, then, that when I recently sat down to write a presentation on personality types and representational systems I ended up with a set of Dr. Seuss-inspired verses rather than a set of bulleted slides. So now I have a book, which I'll serialize over my next bunch of posts. Give it a read and let me know whether I still need to write a presentation!

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

The Braidy Tester Went To PSL And All I Got Was This Lousy Song

micahel — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:30:00 GMT

[To the tune of The Beatles' Octopus' Garden]

I wish that I could be
A tester who sees
Bugs before they happen
Yes I do
I'd point them out
With joy my dev would shout
Because over that one
He wouldn't stew

My PM would say
"Away you must not stray
Because we need you here
Yes we do"
To his office I would hie
And then I would reply
That I felt his request it
Wouldn't do

Then my boss he would arrive
And say that he would drive
Me anywhere I chose to
Have him go
I'd send him down the street
To purchase lots of sweets
And then I'd send him back out
For some pho

I would teach my tester friends
How to reach this same end
Soon there'd be a cadre
Of us all
We would point and point and point
At every bug in the joint
There'd be no hiding from us
We'd have a ball

We would point out bugs all day
For us it would be play
We would send our boss out
For mac and cheese
(For mac and cheese)
Everyone would look and stare
It might be too much for them to bear
For us testers to be
Celebrities
(Celebrities)

I wish that I could be
A tester who sees
Bugs before they happen
Yes I do
I would show you how it's done
We would have such lots of fun
Pointing out all the bugs
In this zoo

We might finally get an office
With a view

Broken programs would become
So very few

The shareholders would all go
"Woo hoo!"

Statues of us famous artists
Would hew

We would have golden toilet paper
In our loo

(Not familiar with PSL? See my trip report!]

*** Want a fun job on a great team? I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.

I Want A BVT Blocking Bug For The Holidays

micahel — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:30:00 GMT

[To John Rox's "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas", which has long been my favorite holiday song, and not only because it is accompanied by solo bassoon!]

I want a BVT blocking bug for the holidays*
A BVT blocking bug I'm asking for
Don't want no UI bug, no meas-l-y P4
I want a bug that crashes my app like it's never been crashed before

I want a BVT blocking bug for the holidays
One that brings my computer down in flames
I've already seen thirty, yet they are all much too tame
I am looking for one that will make me holler and exclaim

I can see me now in my dev's doorway proclaiming what I found
And the joy which fills my eyes will be met with tears and saddened cries
As he sees that his code has run aground

I want a BVT blocking bug for the holidays
If it only took a few steps that'd be grand
I'll trumpet it around, in the halls I will bound
It may take a while before I settle down
Do you think I'm too far out of hand

My dev and PM hope I'll stay away
For I've been showing up in their doors every single day

Why are there so many tri-vi-al bugs?
When I find a bad one I will give my dev a hug!

I can see me now chatting with my PM, grinning ear to ear
For this feature which she spec'd, it is completely wrecked
And I'm the one who found out where!

I want a BVT blocking bug for the holidays
Finding one will make my day complete
I am hunting high, and I am hunting low
I am hunting one which makes my PC glow
Please oh please yes please give me this treat!

* Feel free to replace "the holidays" with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Solstice, or whatever your favorite holiday may be!

*** If a BVT blocker was on your holiday wishlist too, I need a tester! Interested? Let's talk: Michael dot J dot Hunter at microsoft dot com. Great testing and coding skills required.