Considerations on Change: AST and Elections and CAST 2013

Last year I was elected to the Board of Directors for the Association of Software Testing (AST.)  I was elected to complete a partial term.  Instead of the normal two year term, I would stand again for election in one year.  That is this year.

I have been nominated again for a seat on the Board of Directors.  I am deeply honored.

There has been much progress this year, however, much of it has been in the nature of laying a foundation for future things.  There have been deep discussions on how the Association can grow and develop.  More importantly, there have been deep discussions on what the Association can do for professional testers in general and members of the Association in particular.

The development of the Leadership Special Interest Group, the Leadership SIG, is part of the direction the Association is taking up - the question of reaching out to managers with the message around Context Driven Testing.  Many times, line managers - the actual managers of testers - will see the improvements and may make suggestions on how testing can be better.  The greater challenge is to go up the next level of management, then the next and the next. 

In small companies this is challenging.  In larger companies, with hundreds, not dozens of testers the task seems insurmountable.  That is what we are looking into.  How can we demonstrate and encourage leadership among test professionals while bringing upper management into the fold?  How do we do better work?  How do we help the managers understand where we are going?  How do we get them to join us?

In other areas, we are looking into how we can improve training for software testers.  How do we make things better?  How do we teach the essential skills that are needed?

These are two of the challenges we are working on. 

There are the "normal" things needed to keep a non-profit, professional organization functioning.  Website maintenance, LinkedIn groups and forum monitoring, and... stuff.  Newsletters with information of use to members.  Spreading ideas and sharing them - this is at the heart of why we exist.

These are among the challenges I took on when I accepted a position on the Board last year.  I see this coming term as an opportunity to build on the foundations that have been put down this year. 

If these seem like things you think the AST should do, I would appreciate your vote.

Thanks so much.