Often the test the professional finds him or her self working in or with organisations they perceive to be less professional than themselves. For many this scenario can be frustrating because they may not have the experience to have a positive influence and raise professional standards. Perhaps it's just a single individual or group that poses the perceived challenge. This talk looks at how we recognise and classify the situation and what strategies and actions us as individuals or as a test team can take to raise the total performance standard of professional behaviours and results.

The Premise

There are a number of propositions that the presenter would like to put to the profession:

• Our understanding of the professionalism of those around us is sometimes more a matter of perception than fact and often a mix.
• Professional behaviours of individuals, teams and organisations are often caused by the business environment and situation they operate in.
• Professional development is primarily the responsibility of the individual or group; it can be accelerated by the professionalism and support of the organisations they work in or with.
• Each Test Professional can influence group professional performance.

Anne-Marie Charrett is a professional software tester and runs her own company Testing Times. An electronic engineer by trade, software testing chose her, when in 1990 she started conformance testing against European standards. She was hooked and has been testing since then. Anne-Marie really enjoys working with innovative and creative people, which has led her to specialise working for startup and incubators.

This presentation offers a glimpse into software testing in the world of startups. It looks at the constraints and benefits facing software testers in this unique environment. It examines what it takes to be a software tester in a startup.

It will also be a bit of a myth buster session, looking at some of the myths around testing in startups. It closes by asking are we as a software testing industry doing enough to help startups improve their software.