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AB Testing

By AB Testing

Alan and Brent talk about Modern Testing (which isn't all that modern, and not really about testing - except when it is). Every other week or so, A&B tell stories and discuss what's happening in the world of software - including a variety of topics like Agile, Lean, Delivery, DevOps, Data Science, Experimentation, Leadership, and more. Intro / Outro music on the AB Testing podcast is The One by Rivet. License: CC BY Intro / Outro music on ABT343 is from https://filmmusic.io “Werq” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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Episode 155: Quality Coaching with Anne-Marie Charrett

AB TestingFeb 22, 2022

00:00
58:44
Episode 196: A Chat with Kat Obring

Episode 196: A Chat with Kat Obring

We had a great time with a wonderful guest. Big thanks to Kat Obring for hanging out with us.

Sign up for Kat's newsletter here - https://katobring.podia.com/

You can find Kat on linkedin here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katjaobring/

And even more about Kat and her business here - https://kato-coaching.com/

Mar 11, 202445:34
Episode 195: AI and Alicorns

Episode 195: AI and Alicorns

We start with a bit of a retro of the last few episodes and once again head off into the weeds of AI.

Feb 12, 202439:13
Episode 194: More Testing and AI with Jason Arbon (part 2)

Episode 194: More Testing and AI with Jason Arbon (part 2)

It's the remainder of the interview with Jason. It gets fun, it gets weird, and it gets cool.

Feb 05, 202435:31
Episode 193: More Testing and AI with Jason Arbon (part 1)

Episode 193: More Testing and AI with Jason Arbon (part 1)

We spent a little extra time with Jason and talked A LOT about AI, testing in AI, and whether or not Alan or Brent will have a quality title some day.

Jan 29, 202434:32
Episode 192: Bryan Finster

Episode 192: Bryan Finster

We are joined by Bryan Finster who talks about his journey with CD, Developer Testing, and he shares all kinds of fantastic information on delivering quality software.


You can read his 5-minute devops blog at blog.bryanfinster.com see his podcast (vcast?) on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@devhopspodcast9535) and see some of his work on CD at minimumcd.org

Jan 15, 202453:07
Episode 191: 2023 Year End Extravaganza

Episode 191: 2023 Year End Extravaganza

It's our annual year end episode where we discuss our predictions from a year ago, reflect on the last year, and think a bit about what may happen in 2024.

Dec 11, 202346:39
Episode 190: We Could Be Heroes

Episode 190: We Could Be Heroes

We talk a bit about our friend chat GPT, and then talk about heroes in the workplace. There's an obvious cross-over to Alan's post on angryweasel.substack.com that's worth checking out.

Nov 19, 202343:24
Episode 189: Brent being Brent

Episode 189: Brent being Brent

We're back and recording on a new platform - except when we aren't. In this episode, we talk about...not AI...and instead talk about the Peter Principle and Brent finally reading the Phoenix Project.

Nov 05, 202338:24
Episode 188: AI Testing with Jason Arbon

Episode 188: AI Testing with Jason Arbon

We talk with Jason Arbon about - you guessed, AI. Unfortunately, this recording only contains two thirds of our discussion, since zencastr decided to do its own thing.

Oct 23, 202332:51
Episode 187: All we talk about is AI

Episode 187: All we talk about is AI

Yeah - we talk about AI, and (eventually) wonder if AI can be a good CEO.

Oct 02, 202338:15
Episode 186: IC or Manager - That is the Question

Episode 186: IC or Manager - That is the Question

In this episode, Brent and Alan answer a mailbag question, and talk about how and when they have changed between manager and IC (individual contributor - aka non-manager) roles.

Sep 04, 202335:20
Episode 185: The ROI of Test Automation

Episode 185: The ROI of Test Automation

So...Perze asked a question that he said was probably a thought experiment, but we tried to answer, but Perze was right and it ended up being a thought experiment after all - but the answer is in there somewhere.

Aug 07, 202339:43
Episode 184: Is Testing a Dying Profession

Episode 184: Is Testing a Dying Profession

We discuss an article by the same name, but also dive extensively into the topic, whether it's true or not (or maybe), and tell some stories along the way.

Jul 24, 202347:23
Episode 183: Premature Escalation

Episode 183: Premature Escalation

We're back after a mini-break. In this episode, we talk about the concept of Premature Escalation, and whether or not teams are crossing the chasm into Modern Testing. And a bunch of tangents along the way.

Jul 10, 202335:21
Episode 182: Brian Pulliam and StrengthsFinders

Episode 182: Brian Pulliam and StrengthsFinders

We are joined by Brian Pulliam, and we go waaaay deep into StrenthgsFinders. It was fascinating and fun, and a ton of fun. Brian's website is https://refactorcoaching.com/, and you can find more about StrengthsFinders at https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/strengthsfinder.aspx

Jun 05, 202350:13
Episode 181: The AI Testing Podcast

Episode 181: The AI Testing Podcast

We talk a lot (again) about AI. Just like Agile was a disruptor when we began the podcast AI is a disruptor that you can ignore at your own peril, or embrace and ride the wave. There's some other good stuff here as well.

May 22, 202336:39
Episode 180: Brent is Mary Poppins

Episode 180: Brent is Mary Poppins

Apologies for the delay - anchor failed us for the first time (or maybe the problem was pbkac) - but posting 12 hours late regardless.


We spend a little time talking about our previous guest (chat gpt), whether AI is taking our jobs away, return to office, windows phone, and /finally/ a bit (abstractly) about Alan's new gig.

May 09, 202343:26
Episode 179: An Interview with Chat GPT

Episode 179: An Interview with Chat GPT

We talk almost entirely about AI, with the bulk of the time "interviewing" chat GPT about the modern testing principles. Lots of fun, and lots of fodder for future podcasts.

Apr 24, 202342:16
Episode 178: Testing vs Quality

Episode 178: Testing vs Quality

Beware - there are tangents and rambling. But - if you like listening to us talk about stuff in our lives, and eventually whether the emphasis should be on great testing or great quality, it should be fun.

Apr 10, 202335:36
Episode 177: How Alan quit his job

Episode 177: How Alan quit his job

We start with our (now) regular discussion of AI, and then talk about the deets of Alan leaving his job at Unity (and then more about AI)

Apr 03, 202341:03
Episode 176: AI, Migrations, and more Chat GPT

Episode 176: AI, Migrations, and more Chat GPT

It's a pretty rambly episode, but we talk more about AI and chat gpt (sorry), touch on a mailbag question about migrations, and hit a few dozen other subjects on the way. Hold on tight.

Mar 06, 202351:47
Episode 175: We're Doomed

Episode 175: We're Doomed

Brent puts on his tinfoil hat and talks about how tech and AI are going to doom us all.

Feb 13, 202343:58
Episode 174: Healing the wounds of layoffs

Episode 174: Healing the wounds of layoffs

We talk quite a bit about the layoff situation in text - and then tell some stories about "the old days" at microsoft.

Jan 30, 202342:31
Episode 173: The Mindful Dev w/ Dagna Bieda

Episode 173: The Mindful Dev w/ Dagna Bieda

We are joined by Dagna Bieda from https://www.themindfuldev.com to talk about coaching, burnout, and growth as a software engineer.

Jan 23, 202349:43
Episode 172: Dedicated Testers are a heuristic for slow feedback loops

Episode 172: Dedicated Testers are a heuristic for slow feedback loops

We spend the whole episode talking about the reactions to Alan's post describing why most software teams don't need dedicated testers. Bring the Hate!

Jan 09, 202349:12
Episode 171: 2022 Recap and Look Forward into 2023

Episode 171: 2022 Recap and Look Forward into 2023

It's our last podcast of 2022, so we look back on the year, talk about our 2022 predictions, and look forward into 2023. And we once again, talk quite a bit about chatgpt.

Dec 19, 202250:14
Episode 170: AB Testing meets ChatGPT

Episode 170: AB Testing meets ChatGPT

We try not to talk about https://chat.openai.com/chat the entire episode, but we mostly fail. 

Dec 12, 202240:22
Episode 169: Zencaster Holds a Grudge

Episode 169: Zencaster Holds a Grudge

We mostly talk about prioritization, but as usual, it's impossible for us to stick to a single topic.

Oct 31, 202241:28
Episode 168: Bubbles and Blowhards

Episode 168: Bubbles and Blowhards

We talk a bit about the bubbles we're in and the bubble's we're not in. And then finally, we talk about how people can move into experimentation and Modern Testing.

Oct 17, 202249:07
Episode 167: Oh my god! Get to the point!

Episode 167: Oh my god! Get to the point!

We record an entire podcast without getting to the point - or maybe we just created a lot of points. We talk about podcasting, how we learn, and async work - and about 30 other things.

Oct 03, 202256:13
Episode 166: The Modern Modern Testing Podcast

Episode 166: The Modern Modern Testing Podcast

We chat a bit about filling offices, then a lot about A/B testing, and share a few stories along the way.

Sep 15, 202234:09
Episode 165: It IS Modern, and it IS about Testing

Episode 165: It IS Modern, and it IS about Testing

After a very brief political discussion (apologies), we talk about what we'd do as testers today, and along the way, accidentally reinvent Modern Testing.

Aug 15, 202248:19
Episode 164: Matt LeRay from Speedscale

Episode 164: Matt LeRay from Speedscale

We are joined by Matt from Speedscale. We talk a little about his company, but talk a lot about everything else.

Important links

  • https://www.speedscale.com
  • Speedscale on twitter - https://twitter.com/Speedscaleai
  • Matt on twitter - https://twitter.com/matthewleray
Aug 01, 202249:31
Episode 163: Layoffs

Episode 163: Layoffs

Interspersed with a ridiculous number of tangents, we talk about layoffs.

Jul 18, 202252:35
Episode 162: Hanging out with Kirk Marple

Episode 162: Hanging out with Kirk Marple

We are joined by Kirk Marple, CEO of Unstruk. We talk about data mostly, but also baseball (which is also data) - and share a few microsoft stories.

Jul 05, 202201:06:09
Episode 161: msft stuff, and the state of modern testing

Episode 161: msft stuff, and the state of modern testing

We talk about a lot of stuff - including posting salary ranges for jobs, SDETs making devs cry, and the pesky Principle 7

Jun 20, 202253:35
Episode 160: The Modern Testing Podcast: featuring Bert Jernsen

Episode 160: The Modern Testing Podcast: featuring Bert Jernsen

We talk about...a lot of things. From testing podcasts to A/B (with the slash) testing to the idea of Internal Developer Relations. It's a lot, so apologies in advance.

Jun 06, 202251:12
Episode 159: Darko Fabijan from Semaphore

Episode 159: Darko Fabijan from Semaphore

We have Darko from Semaphore - that's the good news. The bad news is that we lost the last 5-ish minutes of the podcast due to me not planning ahead. We will work with Darko to crash an episode of his podcast in the near future and complete the conversation.

May 02, 202241:00
Episode 158: Finding the Sweet Spot with Goal Setting

Episode 158: Finding the Sweet Spot with Goal Setting

We talk about setting goals...or commitments...or /PLANS/ for our team members.

Apr 11, 202253:33
Episode 157: Kanban - and then it gets boring...

Episode 157: Kanban - and then it gets boring...

We play the kanban game - but stop, because playing the kanban game (kanbanboardgame.com) on a podcast is super boring. So then we just gave up and started talking and wound up being even more boring. Enjoy!

Mar 27, 202245:26
Episode 156: Customers and Quality

Episode 156: Customers and Quality

We talk a lot about Modern Testing Principle number 5 - the one that says only customers can evaluate quality, and why - despite controversy, we believe it is true. We also discuss whether or not Deming would be a fan of the principles.

Mar 14, 202244:02
Episode 155: Quality Coaching with Anne-Marie Charrett

Episode 155: Quality Coaching with Anne-Marie Charrett

We are honored to have Anne-Marie Charrett join us this week to talk about quality coaching. 

Anne-Marie currently works at CultureAmp where she puts quality coaching into practice. You can find her on twitter (@charrett), and on her website. Her ongoing book on quality coaching is available here, with fresh installments monthly.

Feb 22, 202258:44
Episode 154: The Complete Software Tester w/ Kristin Jackvony

Episode 154: The Complete Software Tester w/ Kristin Jackvony

Kristin Jackvony - author of The Complete Software Tester - (https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Software-Tester-Strategies-High-Quality-ebook/dp/B09NGVVCJ9) joins us for a wonderful discussion on testing, testers, and the value of a music education. 

Feb 07, 202256:01
Episode 153: Quality Coaching with Henry Golding
Jan 24, 202201:03:09
Episode 152: AAB Testing with Al Shalloway

Episode 152: AAB Testing with Al Shalloway

We are joined by Al Shalloway. We talk about Agile mostly, but we finally get to talk about SAFE. You can contact Al at al.shalloway at successengineering dot works

Jan 10, 202258:34
Episode 151: Past, Future, and Covid

Episode 151: Past, Future, and Covid

It's our last episode of 2021, so we take some time to reflect on the last year, look forward into the next year.

Dec 13, 202151:31
Episode 150: Ramble On

Episode 150: Ramble On

It's our 150th episide. With absolutely zero celebration or anything else special, we ramble our way through discussions on Customer-Centric Monitoring, Alan's 3 biggest accomplishments in 2021, and our favorite video games.

Nov 15, 202147:02
Episode 149: Perks and Tips

Episode 149: Perks and Tips

We talk a little about work place perks (for reasons unknown), and then talk more about the new fun challenges with Alan's new org.

Oct 25, 202146:25
Episode 148: Us, Them, and the (new?) MT Principles

Episode 148: Us, Them, and the (new?) MT Principles

Eventually, we talk about how we could gear the Modern Testing Principles more towards development teams.

Oct 11, 202145:49
Episode 147: Coaching...and stuff

Episode 147: Coaching...and stuff

We attempt to talk about coaching and quality coaching...and we do - mostly.

Sep 13, 202151:35