tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69260415454949036522024-02-18T21:24:18.446-05:00Quality Intelligence blogIntelligence about the people side of software testing & projects
by Fiona CharlesFiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-3537975420918075952020-11-26T18:02:00.139-05:002020-11-27T11:48:35.584-05:00<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">"How come they're all men?"</span></h1><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"> It's deja vu all over again...<br /></span></h2><div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Last week, the software testing
twittersphere exploded briefly with reactions to an article published on
LinkedIn by Ingo Philipp. Prompted initially by tester Jenna Charlton calling
it out, many women testers were angry at its portrayal of a "warm-hearted",
"humble", and rather stupid girl called Alice, who wanders about becoming a
better software tester by listening to the wise words of testing experts—all of
whom, as quoted in the original article, were men. A few women’s names (including
mine) appeared in a graphic at the end of the article, but none of those women
nor any others had apparently said anything worth quoting in the body.</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The author has since revised the article based
on that very public feedback. As I tweeted at the time, the original was likely
the result of obliviousness on his part rather than deliberate sexism. I hoped
that the justified storm of comments might do some future good. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span>
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I went away and thought about that, and then I got very
angry.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">You see, more than 10 years ago I edited a special
issue of Software Testing and Performance magazine devoted largely to the theme:
“Women of Influence in Software Testing.”</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I
wrote this in the editorial.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">[This special
issue] was conceived at the CAST 2009 conference in Colorado Springs. The July ST&P
was just out, generating a happy conference buzz with its cover caricatures of
ten software testing stars and the accompanying feature article.</span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">ST&P
publisher Andy Muns spent that Monday afternoon in Jerry Weinberg’s tutorial.
At some point the magazine got passed around. Tester Nancy Kelln said, “How
come they’re all men?” As Andy told me later, he turned beet red, and had no
immediate answer.</span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Into the
expectant silence, Jerry said quietly, “Well, now you’ve done a feature on the men
stars in testing, you’ll have to do one on the women. It’s only fair.”</span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">So, here we are—thanks
to Nancy, Jerry and Andy, who reflects, “Even though we didn't have any
conscious bias towards men, those were the strongest relationships with the
magazine run by a male publisher and editor. We wanted to change that."</span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Since mid-October,
when Andy engaged me as guest editor for this issue, I’ve pondered Nancy’s
question: Why were there no women? And I have questions of my own.</span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Why did it take
a woman to ask that question?</span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Why didn’t any
of the featured men suggest women for the list?</span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Did any of those
men notice there were no women among them? (Were they interested in that?)</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Do men think
women in testing aren’t good enough? Not innovative enough?</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I don’t know the
answers. Do you?</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">There are many smart, articulate women doing interesting
and innovative things in software testing. Women lead major testing efforts and
organizations. Women publish testing books, articles and papers; teach public
testing classes; blog and tweet about testing; and facilitate and post on testing
forums. Women initiate, organize and participate in social media and peer
conferences. Women speak and conduct excellent workshops and tutorials at all
the big testing conferences in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia/New
Zealand.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Now in 2020, even more smart articulate women are
doing interesting and innovative things in software testing in even more places.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Yet more than 10 years after that magazine came out—10
years!—a man can publish an article with a humble little girl protagonist being educated
by the wisdom of testing experts, without quoting a single woman.</span><span><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">And I ask again:</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Why did it take
a woman to call that out?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Did any of the
men quoted in the article notice that there were no women among them? (Were
they interested in that?) Do they care?</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Do men think
women in testing aren’t good enough? Not innovative enough?</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Male obliviousness may be a reason, but it
is no longer a legitimate excuse.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">If it ever was.</span></span>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></div>--></span></span></div></div></div></div>Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-74244045509990575612018-09-24T20:52:00.000-04:002018-09-24T20:52:19.450-04:00You Never Finish Designing a Workshop - A Memoir of Friendship (Part 4)<span lang="EN-US">Jerry didn’t die in 2009, </span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">of course</span>. He and the indomitable Dani found the medical team that was right
for him. Jerry had major surgery and radiation therapy,
followed by a long recovery. He lived for another nine richly productive years.</span><br />
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<br />
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmovyhBv5oqQB0a5XPqnh-YoslU8KgJ8LU7cpFfNVvIbz9X0a_SEi6fKCg_G1vdzrk5Uiyv_rKiq2BhK2ALIkJAzZsXU2N2aDZHIDOMhV_tpci-l6yVx-Vo1naJtJECLEL83UaThsE8UTL/s1600/NM+%2526+AZ_10-11-11__0050-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmovyhBv5oqQB0a5XPqnh-YoslU8KgJ8LU7cpFfNVvIbz9X0a_SEi6fKCg_G1vdzrk5Uiyv_rKiq2BhK2ALIkJAzZsXU2N2aDZHIDOMhV_tpci-l6yVx-Vo1naJtJECLEL83UaThsE8UTL/s320/NM+%2526+AZ_10-11-11__0050-2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way to AYE 2010</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkv_dXtuwrYBnQ-MnXpoxdbvMQ4_VbGLn11gse6ufLfVUhpoOG5rDW8aW2T5b8HNquHmMGxAoIjLyu00FykhP7rh7Fqn6QkfzgBzsQ_LvMRObWnGGpck9CnqVsdNUMPqnQ5ZyaTS-sjQNX/s1600/NM+%2526+AZ_10-11-11__0060-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkv_dXtuwrYBnQ-MnXpoxdbvMQ4_VbGLn11gse6ufLfVUhpoOG5rDW8aW2T5b8HNquHmMGxAoIjLyu00FykhP7rh7Fqn6QkfzgBzsQ_LvMRObWnGGpck9CnqVsdNUMPqnQ5ZyaTS-sjQNX/s200/NM+%2526+AZ_10-11-11__0060-2.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2010</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
<span lang="EN-US">In 2010, we again drove to and from Phoenix
for AYE, taking in many sights on the way. But that’s another story. I want to
talk about workshops.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">***** </span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My</span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"> introduction to experiential learning</span> was at PSL, Weinberg & Weinberg's week-long Problem Solving leadership class, in 2001. That class turned out to be more exciting than any of us anticipated, because the 9/11 attacks happened on the Tuesday. I related my recollections and</span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"> my impressions of Jerry</span> that day in my preface to <i>The Gift of Time</i>*. Jerry's co-instructor that week, Naomi Karten, described some of the class events in her wonderful piece on Experiential Learning in that book, including an incident that happened during VerseWorks, the major simulation where the whole class runs a company. In what Naomi describes as the first time anyone had done this, Martine Devos and I decided to split off and form our own company. We intended to do business with the other company rather than competing, but our classmates didn't seem to hear that when we said it and many were outraged. PSL grads will know that doing this put us in jeopardy of being sent to jail. I think Naomi initially thought that should happen, but I could see that Jerry liked it and really wanted to run with it. I vividly remember Jerry standing in front of us in his sheriff's hat, not quite looming</span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span>neither of us is tall and Jerry was an impressive height</span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span>and insisting meaningfully, "I think THIS is what you meant by that. Right? RIGHT?" "Oh yeah... Right!" So we ran with it, to the annoyance of those in the class who felt we'd done them wrong. And we learned a lot. I think everyone in the class learned more than they might have if Jerry had stopped us.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">I loved PSL. It was by far the best experience I'd ever had in a classroom, and I wanted more like it. The AYE conference was the place to do that. I went for the first time the following year, and returned every year through 2010, when I finally decided I'd outgrown all but Jerry's sessions. Anyway, the conference moved to North Carolina in 2011, for excellent reasons, but it was now too far for driving from ABQ to be practical. I would no longer get to store up the Southwestern sun and heat in those precious days leading up to a Canadian winter, nor take the </span><span lang="EN-US">solitary swim I had enjoyed daily at </span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">sunrise </span>year after year in the Embassy Suites' enormous pool.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">I usually spent my AYE afternoons in
Jerry’s sessions, in latter years often “assisting”. Anyone who ever assisted
at one of Jerry’s workshops, or perhaps even shared a session with him, will
know that it mostly meant scribing and making sure participants had enough
markers.
I also got to walk around and observe participants as they worked, relaying
some questions to Jerry or offering help if it seemed to be needed. I learned
to try and minimize interventions to the smallest possible thing that could
jiggle or nudge people who seemed to be blocked. </span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">Sometimes I had a specific role, as in the times I played a unscrupulous
manager pushing and manipulating the session “star” to say yes when he or she wanted to say no. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jerry’s sessions were fantastic learning
opportunities, and not only for the content.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Intermittently, over many years, I got to observe the master of
experiential learning and then ask him questions afterwards. I learned from
other people’s sessions too. There were some wonderful sessions at AYE, and highly skilled presenters: the conference hosts, as well as guests. For as long as AYE had guest presenters, I tried never to miss one of Naomi Karten's or Jean McClendon's </span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">sessions</span>.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">But no-one was ever as good as Jerry on his best
days. I was repeatedly blown away by his empathy and total focus on an individual
or a room, his purposeful and intent listening for the “music behind the words”
and his sensitivity to the nuances of body language. Deceptively simple
exercises, richly amplified by Jerry’s openness to work with whatever emerged
in a session, often conveyed profound learning for participants. He improvised
constantly, and it was fascinating to watch him repeat a session and change how he did it each time, often radically. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At CAST 2008, Jerry’s pre-conference
tutorial sold out and they asked him to repeat it after the conference. It was
a “tester’s clinic”, where the premise was that half the class would pose<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>problems for which the other half would
propose solutions. For the initial iteration, Michael Bolton and I were there
as facilitators, according to the CAST model. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jerry looked around the room, saw that it
was roughly half and half men and women and decided it might be interesting to
divide the class by gender. In the preparation stage, Michael worked with the
men and I worked with the women. Immediately, we began to see major
differences in how the two groups communicated and behaved.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The women sat around a table and, in fairly
short order, introduced themselves, shared some stories that might serve as
problems to present, devised a process for choosing the order to present
problems, chose one problem and prioritized the rest, and agreed that the
proposer of each story would present it to the other group while the remaining
women would act as backup and help to evaluate the proposed solutions. Similarly,
for the other side of the exercise, they agreed to have a small group of
spokeswomen who would ask questions about the other group’s problem, work with
the whole women’s group on a solution, and then propose it to the men’s group.
I observed them being mutually respectful, efficient, and collaborative, and
saw no need to intervene.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">While the women were working together and
coming to a consensus, the men’s group on the other side of the room was
noticeably louder, not to say riotous. I could see men jumping up and down
interrupting each other, and apparently competing excitedly. More than once I
saw Michael intervening, looking as if he was trying to introduce order.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Preparation done, Jerry started the whole
group exercise. One woman came forward and began presenting her testing
problem. The entire men’s group started throwing questions at her, jumping in
over each other, even interrupting her answers. Jerry let the chaos happen. One
of the men asked what kind of company the woman presenting the problem worked
for. Some demon</span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span>not Jerry in this case, though I wouldn’t have put it past
him</span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span>prompted her to reply innocently, “A brassiere factory.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Well, that did it. The entire room erupted
with men telling tit jokes. The jokes kept busting out in the role play, and there was a constant buzz of jokes and giggles among the other participants. To my surprise and amusement, my co-facilitator Michael leaned back and whispered one to me. Again, Jerry let near-chaos
reign for a while, and then he called a time out, looked around the room with a
benevolent smile, and asked that classic Jerry question:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">“What happened here?”</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And until we’d all run out of energy for
it, the workshop focused entirely on exploring what had happened and why, right
from the split into two groups through to the riot of gendered jokes. Jerry
quietly guided the discussion, gently and persistently asking probing questions
and letting people’s learning emerge. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When he restarted the original workshop
exercise, the class dynamics had changed. Of course, the men hadn’t completely
lost the urge to compete or become totally collaborative. But the participants showed a heightened awareness of behaviour and
communications: their own and other people’s, and the overall atmosphere had
become more respectful. It seemed that we had all learned a lot in that
session. For me, it was also a meta-learning experience: an object lesson in
creating conditions and seizing opportunities that make it possible for people
to learn. Also in knowing how to let unintended disruption happen, and when to call a halt: while it still has potential for learning and before it descends into mere mayhem.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I was there as facilitator when Jerry
repeated the workshop at the end of the conference. The shell was more or less
the same, but it was a completely different atmosphere and experience. When I
asked him about it afterwards, he talked about the variations in context
between the two sessions. Not only was he working with different individuals
and a different mix of people, but the timing was a factor: post-conference as
opposed to pre-conference. He said you always saw major differences in
personality and motivation between first registrants to a workshop and those
who signed up later.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I had many more occasions to observe Jerry
in action and learn from him. One year on the way to AYE, I asked him what he
was thinking of doing for a session on Testing Lies that I was down to “assist”
in. After hearing the usual, “It’s much too early to think about that!” I said,
well I had some ideas about it. “Great”, he replied, “put them in an email and
I’ll look at it tonight.” I did that.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When I showed up for the session, Jerry was
waiting impatiently for me at the door. “I like your ideas. Put them up on a
flip chart and we’ll structure the workshop around them.” So I did
and we improvised. In the Jeep on the way home, we talked about our mutual
feeling that the workshop had run out of energy near the end: why we thought
that had happened, and what we might have done about it. We usually spent some
of the ride back talking about his sessions and comparing impressions.</span><br />
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I presented my first experiential
workshop, at the EuroSTAR conference in 2008, Jerry was in my head as my virtual
mentor. Having observed him work effectively so often with large groups of
participants, I could approach the 42 people in that room—almost none of
whom spoke English as their first language—with something that felt like
confidence. I remembered techniques, guidelines, and interventions I’d learned watching Jerry
work and from conversations we’d had. I felt I had a pretty good idea about
when to ask questions and when to be quiet. When a trio of workmates disengaged
from the exercise everyone else was engaged with because “we did all this at
work”, I managed to spark their interest with an alternative task and was happy
to let them run with it and not show their results to the rest of the rest of
the class: “Oh no. This is private.” </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That session went
well: surprisingly well for a neophyte presenter. The energy was high and some of the
conversations afterwards went on through lunch. A couple of the participants
have become my friends. Of course, I made mistakes. I tried to learn from them
by debriefing the session afterwards by myself, and later in an email to Jerry.
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jerry’s CAST 2008 workshop came to mind when
I presented my “Inspiring Testing” leadership workshop for the first time at
Let’s Test 2013. For the main exercise which had 2 large groups,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had one group that seamlessly moved into
working together collaboratively, and one—of mixed gender this time—made up
mainly of individuals who kept competing, talking over each
other and jockeying for position. When the time came for them to ask questions
of the other group, they fell all over each other with overlapping interruptions. They
couldn’t wait for answers and shouted out their own solutions. I’d seen Jerry
turn near-chaos into valuable learning opportunities, and I was able to work
happily and I think, productively, with the whole class. In the end,
understanding that they’d have to come up with some sort of organization if
they were ever to move forward at all, the competitive group devised one that
worked for them. It was a wonderful group of people to work with, and I think
we all learned from that experience. And of course, I talked about it with
Jerry afterwards.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I’ve
run that leadership workshop several times since, and it has been drastically different
every time. I’ve had to come up with new exercises on the fly for a much
smaller class, divide a huge class into three and work with two assistants
before bringing them all back for one big final debrief—many variations. I’ve
done similar and different things with other workshops. That’s standard practice for me now: it’s
what experiential workshop presenters do, the way I was taught.</span><br />
<br />
</div>
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div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}</style><span lang="EN-US">Over the years, I often ran ideas for
workshops and exercises past Jerry, or described something new that I’d tried.
He always asked questions that made me think deeply. Sometimes, he tried out
his ideas for new exercises on me, and he asked me to review a draft of the
final volume of his Experiential Learning series. A couple of times, he
demanded more information about an exercise I’d tried, with the line, “Details!
I need more details so I can plagiarize!” When I teased him about that once, he said
he didn’t really need to plagiarize: he could con all the information he needed
out of me in the car and credit it to an unknown source. Jerry was always so
generous with his own ideas and exercises, I was pleased when he wanted to use
mine. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Observing how Jerry worked, working with
him sometimes, talking with him, helped liberate me from any vestiges of anxiety or guilt
about my own native last-minute-ism. </span><span lang="EN-US">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">(Even
for that first EuroSTAR workshop, I had designed an important element the night before.)</span>
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</style></span>I learned to develop and trust my instinct not to
over-plan and to work with the energy in the room, wherever that might take us.
I learned to run with new ideas and take chances with new exercises. Jerry did
this always, and encouraged others to do it too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As I wrote to a mutual friend after hearing of Jerry’s death, if Jerry
believed in you, he believed you could do just about anything. So you believed
it. And then you did it.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Shortly before he died, I emailed Jerry
with a description of a 2-day workshop I’d just taught in Beijing, talking
about how interesting and challenging it had been to do a workshop entirely
through an interpreter, and saying that I would do some things differently next
time. In his last email to me, he replied with a penetrating question about
that experience, and a reminder: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">“You never finish designing a workshop.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<h2>
Friends<span lang="EN-US">—</span>and Family</h2>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Very occasionally you meet someone and you
just connect. You both know you’re going to be friends and that it will be an
important friendship: one that deepens over time until you become family. Some
years after we met at PSL, Jerry told me that he had recognized that connection
with me on first meeting. I had felt it too. It took a while for us to
strengthen the bond, but the thread was there from the beginning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Those friendships just are. They don’t
threaten or diminish other relationships or friendships. If anything, they
complement and may enrich them. I have other friends who are family for me, and
so did Jerry: lots, I assume. I have a partner who has been my best friend for
more than 35 years. Jerry had Dani, his soul-mate for more than 50 years. Jerry
and I liked and admired each other’s partners and took time to get to know them
so they could become friends too.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Once, after lunch in the Weinberg house,
Jerry and I were bantering and capping each other’s remarks as we often did.
Dani stood up suddenly and declared, “This is driving me crazy! You two are
just like Jerry with his younger sister!” Dani left the kitchen and we sat at
the table grinning in recognition at each other. “That’s it!”, Jerry said, “we’re
siblings!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVgVypWzDl1CtberffTbZ1nA07hDbdeqrA5yb9fhzTOE0gf0BQEBqF9hxID-k-o-74N4PMjQ76bE2msJ7gDOLMf0-bVjInTXo3amg5p3ukq51vZfAHw2MROCLmGdMW5yU0-q3bw__xiUN/s1600/Fiona+%2526+Jerry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVgVypWzDl1CtberffTbZ1nA07hDbdeqrA5yb9fhzTOE0gf0BQEBqF9hxID-k-o-74N4PMjQ76bE2msJ7gDOLMf0-bVjInTXo3amg5p3ukq51vZfAHw2MROCLmGdMW5yU0-q3bw__xiUN/s320/Fiona+%2526+Jerry.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">And that’s what it always felt like, though
we were closer than many siblings. I knew other people thought of Jerry as a
great man, and in the back of my mind I did too. But that wasn’t usually in the
foreground. As friends, we were equals. I didn’t defer to him or hesitate to argue with him when we
disagreed, and he never expected that I would. He occasionally inflicted advice
or told me what to do—much as an older brother might. I’m not good at taking
orders or unsolicited advice and I almost always pushed back. Sometimes he
backed off immediately; other times he was a little hurt and got defensive. As
I’m sure I did too.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I asked Jerry for advice, and I used him as
a sounding board for ideas. He knew a lot more than I did and had experience I
could only dream of. I valued his knowledge, expertise and wisdom, and learned
from them. Jerry asked me for feedback on some of his ideas and book drafts. He
said he learned from me, too, and I believe that was true. For a great man, he
was extraordinarily humble and open to learning from others. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We sustained a long and lively conversation
over many years: when we met and over email. We shared a sense of wonder about
the natural world. We enjoyed each other’s curiosity and sent each other things
that fed it, with words and photos. We each wrote as easily and personally as
we talked, and it was as natural to us to talk in writing as it was in person.
We really did talk about everything. Once, Jerry suggested that it would be
interesting to try and see if there were any topics we unconsciously avoided.
Or consciously, I said. We didn’t come up with any. Sometimes the conversation
was deep and we would explore a topic, like thinking, over several days of
emails. Other times it was trivial and playful. It was almost always playful.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We were friends, and we were family.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As I was driving home from Toronto the
other day along the hideously busy Highway 401, my partner said, “I wish you
could look at the amazing clouds over here.” I took that in, and then in my
head I heard a gruff voice saying:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">“No—don’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> look.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">You keep your
eyes on the road!”</span></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-US">Epilogue</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One day on that first road trip when I was
oohing and aahing over the scenery, Jerry said, “Stick with me, kid—I’ll show
you wonders!” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I did. And he did. He always had. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I miss Jerry dreadfully. I see silly signs I want to send him, think of things I know he'd love to hear and things I'd like to ask. Six weeks after his death I still sometimes have trouble believing that he is no more. </span><span lang="EN-US">He was always so <i>there</i>.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">But I know that
after someone I love dies, with loss there is also a sense in which they are
always with me. With Jerry, of course, along with the memories, I have his
books and emails, as well as the many, many things I learned from him and will
go on learning. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I read somewhere that after Virginia Satir
died, Jerry said that he still had a relationship with Virginia; just that it
was different now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s different now, Jerry.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikvqNQym4OfFWAqyKiHQLdl1A7NClHL-IN8iwWxLch6F-5kbJ_iMt9h39A1oXEDeONJCOjQfPBtVkSA3AjKdWU53uy1GIsnFWBKaWaqo_sVntgfb7LtHXz_Z2ERZXTME_dS-5u2SyIbQgO/s1600/sceptical.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikvqNQym4OfFWAqyKiHQLdl1A7NClHL-IN8iwWxLch6F-5kbJ_iMt9h39A1oXEDeONJCOjQfPBtVkSA3AjKdWU53uy1GIsnFWBKaWaqo_sVntgfb7LtHXz_Z2ERZXTME_dS-5u2SyIbQgO/s320/sceptical.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">***** </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US">*<i>The Gift of Time </i>is a book I edited in honour of Jerry's 75th birthday in 2008. It has essays by many of Jerry's friends and colleagues describing their own work and the influence Jerry had on that work. You can order it <a href="http://www.dorsethouse.com/books/gift.html" target="_blank">directly from the publisher, Dorset House</a></span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">, or you can get it from Amazon. All royalties from sales of the book go to two of Jerry's favourite charities.</span></span></div>
</div>
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</style> Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-39515712288955758572018-09-20T09:54:00.001-04:002018-09-20T09:54:15.272-04:00On the Road Again - A Memoir of Friendship (Part 3)
<br />
<h2>
<span lang="EN-US"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3CuATOOqEdC3OFw2NMG6Gy6m_M9UgXy0i995Afo6mYkpvWcv-PssI7e9-medDgdM7oWBfYFy_BFYVrzFGDggrflE-u-C5si0hQKWu9zSFLAZiKq7yJaEHfRgBuKZv_fMQxvrxqselVmg5/s1600/Fiona+for+Blogger-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3CuATOOqEdC3OFw2NMG6Gy6m_M9UgXy0i995Afo6mYkpvWcv-PssI7e9-medDgdM7oWBfYFy_BFYVrzFGDggrflE-u-C5si0hQKWu9zSFLAZiKq7yJaEHfRgBuKZv_fMQxvrxqselVmg5/s320/Fiona+for+Blogger-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</span></h2>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-US"></span><span lang="EN-US">2008</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">2008 brought more wonders on the road: the
glory of White Sands, and the black lava rock on the other side of the
mountain. We toured Carlsbad Caverns, and sat in silent awe at dusk as
thousands of bats poured out from the cave mouth and spiraled into the
darkening sky. (It was late in the season, so there were only thousands of
bats, rather than the millions you can see earlier.) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2ha4aNJYItAV6RznlP8EoCiqrQokZVJvwLzwzPLaMrkauw9-U_9z68RmgNeTgwn4hEOvkkrm3SRh9dinfOwyTizqJenLpTXDgNjNUBdxpIsiOugeaxB6w9rby1pOGDfAz5Xa0KgR3ymU/s1600/NM+%2526+AZ_08-2-267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2ha4aNJYItAV6RznlP8EoCiqrQokZVJvwLzwzPLaMrkauw9-U_9z68RmgNeTgwn4hEOvkkrm3SRh9dinfOwyTizqJenLpTXDgNjNUBdxpIsiOugeaxB6w9rby1pOGDfAz5Xa0KgR3ymU/s320/NM+%2526+AZ_08-2-267.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside one of the caverns</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIJbpA4zuyyCZCpH0WFt26cB-acdZzR8VEMj42omWaB3aNHtq17bRREyWS4RKMl1nFBvEP9SmFOnSYKaUuvxPeINEm7v-KKXHB7BEpZ2GrVWAsbmiZnyp-w6BlOEEE9RjwnT1lBMWEANg/s1600/NM+%2526+AZ_08-4-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1404" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIJbpA4zuyyCZCpH0WFt26cB-acdZzR8VEMj42omWaB3aNHtq17bRREyWS4RKMl1nFBvEP9SmFOnSYKaUuvxPeINEm7v-KKXHB7BEpZ2GrVWAsbmiZnyp-w6BlOEEE9RjwnT1lBMWEANg/s320/NM+%2526+AZ_08-4-001.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerry wearing his patriotic shirt for Election Day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> AYE coincided that year with the US election. A crowd of us watched the results in the hotel lobby, excited and almost disbelieving at the historic first election of a Black president.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> I remember the 2008 trip for the places we
went, but also because we never stopped talking. Emails before and after the
trip remind me that the “everything” we talked about included our childhoods,
trust, and safety. I had to be in Europe to teach a tutorial immediately after
AYE, so I couldn’t do the trip back to ABQ. We talked about Jerry finding another
travel companion, but in the end he drove:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">From JW Nov 13:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alone, but with you as a virtual companion.
For example, we played the P game, first with X, but that didn't last long, so
we switched to W. I woke at 3.30 and left at 4am, drove it easily in one day on
the Interstate.</i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The previous year we had spent much of one
afternoon in the Jeep playing the P-game: a sort of I Spy using only words that began with P—because we
both identified as Meyers Briggs P’s (of course). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-US">2009</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In 2009, Jerry was seriously ill. At the Experiential Session
Design class in June, he was already in a lot of pain and having to take large
doses of painkillers. It got much worse. By Sept 9, Jerry knew that whatever
was causing his symptoms was critical, but he was determined to go to AYE as
usual. He emailed me:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Hopefully, you can do most of the driving
to/from PHX. My goal is to be in proper shape for the trip/conference/trip.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">By mid-October, Jerry knew that he had a
rare and deadly cancer of the thymus gland. He had considerable pain all over
his body, and was feeling weak and exhausted from both the cancer and the
painkillers he was forced to take. He needed surgery to save his life, but the
surgeons he consulted differed over whether it would be “worth it” to operate. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After Jerry writing that “things change
daily” I suggested a reality check on our AYE travel plans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I could have predicted his response.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Jerry</b>: Don't worry about it. You'll either go with me
to AYE, stay at home to keep me company in my sick bed, or be an honored guest
at my cremation and scattering.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Fiona</b>: You really know how to show a girl a good
time! :-)</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I arrived in ABQ November 1, and between
trips to places like the Albuquerque Bio Park we began architecting our route
to PHX. (Jerry was no more into unnecessary planning than I am, so<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“architecting” is the right word here.) Jerry
was determined that we were going to make it an enjoyable trip that would take us
to places we hadn’t been before.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jerry had a medical appointment the morning
of Wednesday November 4<sup>th</sup> where he was to hear the treatment plan
devised by his cancer team. Dani drove her van to the appointment and I drove
the Jeep so Jerry and I could set out immediately afterwards. I read in the
waiting room while Dani and Jerry met with the medical people and then said
their farewells. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We got into the Jeep and I asked, “So,
what’s the plan?” “I’ll tell you after lunch.” Lunch was in a casino on the
highway out of town. Jerry loved lunching in casinos, places he called “The
Natives’ Revenge”. The buffet food was good, plentiful, cheap, and plain—all of
which he approved—and he could eat as much ice cream as he wanted. I was happy
enough with the food, but I hated scuttling past the gambling machines,
overwhelmed in the semi-darkness by hideous flashing electronic lights and
beeps and silent, pathetic people glued to the screens.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After lunch, just as I was about to turn
onto the highway, Jerry announced, "The news is that I have 3 months to
live." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Probably, I swore. I don’t remember. I do
remember stopping and turning back into the parking lot. “What are you doing?”,
Jerry grumbled. I replied, “Well you may not need time to absorb that, but I
do!” On the road later, he allowed that, well 3 months was the worst case; 3
years the best. He said the only treatment they had offered him was palliative,
end-of-life care that would make the inevitable death easier for him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Dani had sent out an email
saying much the same things, less dramatically, but being very clear that they
would seek a second opinion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That first day on the road was longer than
we’d intended. I wrote to my partner:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">To
JS:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We underestimated the time—or overestimated
how far we could go in the time—and then came to a tiny village where the
(little) highway was closed and there was a long detour. Thankfully, we'd
already had the most difficult mountain driving for the day, because all of
this was in the dark. Getting out to pee in the woods on a lonely highway with
only our high beams to light us had its challenges—and I was very worried about
Jerry tottering off in the dark! Twice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjolYJpqUrNUDzxjRvxMWKM_hq3l-GI-9UKp7_Cr_qbFof3oU2CeKdDKkFeSf5d7ZkJJk-vUER0iTwmZAPWi9d8tbbLrLSC6I7MxwuqiEx7U1oSvIVECXQZA9A3plHfVwpfOtIsRnnXYm/s1600/NM+%2526+AZ2_09Nov-053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjolYJpqUrNUDzxjRvxMWKM_hq3l-GI-9UKp7_Cr_qbFof3oU2CeKdDKkFeSf5d7ZkJJk-vUER0iTwmZAPWi9d8tbbLrLSC6I7MxwuqiEx7U1oSvIVECXQZA9A3plHfVwpfOtIsRnnXYm/s320/NM+%2526+AZ2_09Nov-053.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the mountains, day 1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We finally fetched up after 8:00 pm in a
hamlet where there was a motel of sorts and a bar & grill that seemed to be
open, though we didn't know for how long. It was very rustic, with 3 somewhat
dilapidated lodge-type buildings that seemed to be 2-storey. There was a very
steep set of stairs down to the motel office, which Jerry had to navigate
because it was his credit card and he needed to sign. (He's actually walking
better than at CAST in July, though who knows for how long.) The
motel lady was about 100, smoking like a chimney, and incredibly dithery. Just
for the hell of it, I asked about wifi, knowing she wouldn't have it. She
didn't know what it was. After Jerry came down & filled in the forms and
gave her his card, she pottered about processing it, checking back twice for
the amount. Jerry and I kept looking at each other and grinning and suppressing
the urge to tell her to hurry up because we were starving and worried the restaurant
would close. She spent ages explaining how to find our rooms and we didn't
understand a word of it. But we didn't stop to check, just went straight across
the road to eat. We had to walk through the smoky bar to get to the grill part,
which was a separate space but with no walls. Food was good, though—we each had
a T-bone steak—and the people friendly and nice, as often in rural America.
(Well, they probably vote Republican and hunt elk and other harmless creatures,
but they're nice to Jerry and me.)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">*****</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There was nowhere to have breakfast or even
coffee the next morning, so Jerry passed me car food as I drove: beef jerky,
water, cheese strings, and caramels.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">*****</span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></b>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">To
JS:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Finally, about 11:00 am, we found a mining
town big enough to have a supermarket with a deli counter and I got a sandwich
and coke. The mine devastation to the mountains was incredible. They have
basically shaved off the surfaces. It was eerily beautiful because all the colours
were exposed and some of the peaks looked like Mayan terrace ruins, but it was
very Mordor-like in essence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">To
Dani: </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We have had (what is for me) a wonderful
day and a half driving through gorgeous mountain scenery. As we planned, I am
doing all the—sometimes quite challenging—driving, and enjoying it thoroughly.
Jerry seems to be enjoying it too, but it does tire him to go through difficult
terrain, even as a passenger. He tries to stay awake to keep me company and
mostly succeeds but sometimes he snoozes for a few minutes [He was occasionally
dropping off even in the middle of a sentence]. Today was especially tiring for
him, because it was a whole day and much of it was on very twisty roads with
steep grades and a sheer drop that was often on his side of the car. He oohed
and ahhed over the scenery, saying things like "Look at that!
No, don't <i>you </i>look—you keep your eyes on the road!" I'd vaguely point at
something fabulous and he'd say, "Keep your hands on the wheel!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewZAf13E1a9haGxSniAWSCbBjxdpfRSLRWfNz5p8cfhA1AloLiYEYRle0RKSaKCEd_1-37SDNuixaibF7ocVh_Ky5BHXxrL9weOZB3MrcqrqlUocPXT_adCekS1DdMqRmeI2xbnhla88m/s1600/NM+%2526+AZ2_09Nov-064-edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewZAf13E1a9haGxSniAWSCbBjxdpfRSLRWfNz5p8cfhA1AloLiYEYRle0RKSaKCEd_1-37SDNuixaibF7ocVh_Ky5BHXxrL9weOZB3MrcqrqlUocPXT_adCekS1DdMqRmeI2xbnhla88m/s320/NM+%2526+AZ2_09Nov-064-edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Something fabulous</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">To
JS:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He's being very practical and grown-up
about it all, but I don't know whether that can or will last forever. When he's
not doing that he's making horrible jokes, and he likes me to make horrible
jokes too. A thing that comes easily to me, of course. Yesterday he cut his
hand on some barbed wire when we both got out to pee in the forest in the dark.
When I asked him about it today, he said he wouldn't know yet if he had
tetanus—but that would be a fine cure for cancer!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The mountain roads were fabulous, though I
often drove half over the centre of the road because of the curves and
frightening drops. The speed limit frequently dropped to 35, 25, 15, and even
10 mph going around curves on what the road signs described as "mountain
grades". We went up over 9,000 feet and in 2 or 3 places there was ice on
the road where it had snowed and not melted because that part of the road was
shadowed by a rocky cliff on one side. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">*****</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I had stopped once, having spotted
something approaching the road edge from the woods. We watched in silent wonder
and delight as two beautiful creatures, first a mother and then a baby, crossed
in front of the Jeep. We didn’t know what they were. We thought they looked
almost like lemurs, with long curly tails and long snouts. Jerry searched Southwest
fauna when we got back to ABQ, and found that they were coatimundi. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Later, the road ran through golden meadows.
We didn’t see any of the elk or bighorn sheep the signs warned about (I always
interpret those signs as promises, but they aren’t really.), but I did see a
little herd of pronghorn antelopes. That night we stayed in a “modern motel”,
which Jerry wanted after the previous night’s rustic experience. There was even
a continental breakfast on offer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">*****</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Later
– to JS and Dani</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I forgot to tell you a couple of Jerryisms.
He might be tired, but he is still Jerry. At a lookout place we were admiring a
sensational view and I said I hadn't brought my telephoto because I hadn't
expected we'd go anywhere interesting. (After all, only a week ago he was
talking about taking the interstate directly to Phoenix.) He said,
"Idiot!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">From
Dani: </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Yep. He'd
have had to be near death to be willing to take the interstate
directly! (though maybe on the way home....)</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Later as I was concentrating on a tricky
bit of road, Jerry said "talk to me, so I know you're awake". So I
asked him if he was planning to do anything differently for his 3 AYE sessions,
all of which he has done before—and I've assisted with. Jerry said, "It's
much too soon to think about that!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">From
Dani: </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Yep
again. Both of us are seriously allergic to dealing with anything
too soon!</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">*****</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On the last leg to Phoenix, we stopped at
Fort Apache, now a Native reservation. It wasn’t at all what I expected, but we
both enjoyed exploring the Apache museum, and were especially moved by the
movie, in which an elder told the Apache creation story—the circle from birth
to death. We both left with tears in our eyes. We didn’t talk about that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">*****</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nov
7 – to JS:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We got to Phoenix, and OF COURSE Jerry's
wheelchair [pre-ordered by Dani] had not arrived. He was very upset—tired anyway
from the journey—and convinced he couldn't walk to his room, which is quite
close to the lobby and on the same level. He could, and did, but meanwhile I
got to organize the hotel into sorting out the problem. One of the guys also
came out to the Jeep with me and collected all Jerry's luggage and delivered it
to him—of which there is lots, including books to sell, props for his sessions,
his oxygen machine, a big box of doughnuts he got cheap this morning while I
sought breakfast, etc. etc.—plus all the usual luggage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He insisted on having dinner with me in the
ghastly hotel restaurant, and was much more cheerful once he realized we'd get
him a wheelchair somehow—if I had to go out and buy one!!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nov
7 - To Dani </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Good news is that the hotel came through
magnificently, and got Jerry a wheelchair for at least the weekend from another
hotel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile Jerry's taken care of. He wheeled
himself to dinner and has been happily opening doors like a veteran.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One down.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">Now for the conference.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Later
Nov 7 - To Dani</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The guy from Preferred Home Care just
delivered Jerry's wheelchair to my door. So now he has one for each foot!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nov
9 – to a mutual friend</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">She
had written: </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">How
is he doing? And how are people reacting? I assume he's being open about his
condition, but even just seeing him in a wheelchair would be upsetting.</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Consolas; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Consolas;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He would always be open, I think. So far,
people are just talking to him normally and helping him with the wheelchair if
he wants. He's been in great form today. His voice is a little quieter, but
seeing him at the opening dinner—and ignoring the wheelchair and the fact that
he didn't circulate—you’d never know there was any difference.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We went this morning to a Quaker Meeting.
Atheist that I am, I was curious [about the silence] and had asked Jerry months
ago if he would take me to one on this trip. He still wanted to do it, so he
found the local Meeting House on the web and off we went. It was very
interesting, with a preliminary discussion among a few people about
immigration, which is of course a huge issue in Arizona with people coming over
the border and dying in the desert. It's good to see the Friends still have a
social conscience. I liked the hour of contemplation—the shared silence in
safety. I think it was important for both of us in different ways. At the end,
visitors were invited to introduce themselves, which we each did, and we said a
little about our reaction to the Meeting. But when we got in the car, Jerry
said, "So, report!" </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So in some ways nothing has changed. But
then he retreated to his hotel room for the rest of the day, only emerging
about half an hour before the opening dinner, where in previous years he has
hung out all day in the lobby greeting arrivals.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So far at least Jerry says he isn't
disturbed by impending death, that he has been in pain all his life and that
will end when he dies. And he feels his capacities are diminishing. He can't
write, and can no longer even read much. To me, at least, he is being very
practical about it. We talk about it as an interesting phenomenon, and
sometimes make horrible jokes about it: "Well, if you drive us off this
cliff, that would be a cure for cancer." "Dearly though I love you,
Jerry, I gotta tell you I don't plan to die with you."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nov
10 – To Dani</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jerry has been in great form today, even
appearing at breakfast (!). That's the first time in 8 years I've seen him
there—though I think he was there only to talk, not to eat. I suspect he didn't
want to miss anything.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">His "Say No" session today was
slower than I've seen it, and we did less role play, but people still liked it
and obviously learned from it. My principal job—apart from the single role play
I did trying to get a would-be no-sayer to say yes—was to remind Jerry
(frequently) to talk into the microphone Steve [Smith] had very sensibly
arranged for him. Of course, he detached it from its stand and held it in his
hand. So people didn't hear him so well when he talked with his hands, or waved
the mike around his ear! [At some point in one of his sessions, he tossed the mike aside.] In the break he was happily selling books from his
wheelchair. This evening, he did his usual thing of going out to dinner with a
few people he hadn't met before, and there’s a signup sheet for a Tues group of
newbies to dine with him also.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A good conference so far.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfIelvGrPanpoezRB4KbSLvh3MqJnQ8sDf7LHVgAuSjsIVl8Rvp9g9SEzqRnyGlj3Jd0lgcunaWd_8Fv8zcxZLVf148Cy7gVYneIXccQNNffcIdmS-nT2IjxnSAZzDCbaUUZEHw7S0Rem/s1600/AYE_09Nov10-090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfIelvGrPanpoezRB4KbSLvh3MqJnQ8sDf7LHVgAuSjsIVl8Rvp9g9SEzqRnyGlj3Jd0lgcunaWd_8Fv8zcxZLVf148Cy7gVYneIXccQNNffcIdmS-nT2IjxnSAZzDCbaUUZEHw7S0Rem/s200/AYE_09Nov10-090.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actually using the microphone</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1gj_eFpQZfoBDMEmkjqV8EK3BN6dLu5O8EqBfl7YLipnsXF-Wt3NvOf90CO_ihRNh9gNI2A-YJ1v_u5IslPrHIh_QHZU7kIAFEijkJZ1vi15-g0WvlqfQAZQYuPw21sZj57BBud_GIoGY/s1600/AYE_09Nov10-132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1gj_eFpQZfoBDMEmkjqV8EK3BN6dLu5O8EqBfl7YLipnsXF-Wt3NvOf90CO_ihRNh9gNI2A-YJ1v_u5IslPrHIh_QHZU7kIAFEijkJZ1vi15-g0WvlqfQAZQYuPw21sZj57BBud_GIoGY/s200/AYE_09Nov10-132.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Talking with his hands or conducting Beethoven?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Consolas; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Consolas;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nov
11 – to Dani</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jerry was in absolutely top form today,
leading his organizational mapping session and keeping a substantial group of
people enthralled for nearly an hour after the session was supposed to
end. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Dani
wrote: </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Aha! We've
discovered a new cure for cancer! And I think he really enjoys wheeling around!</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yep, that's obvious. When we did the
wheelchair swap and briefly had 2 chairs in the same space, he challenged me to
a duel, or maybe a race, It was tempting, of course.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Dani
wrote: </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">I
can't believe you refused.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">[Neither can I, now.]</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Afterwards, a friend of mine who is an AYE
newbie said he wanted to discuss a problem with Jerry, but was uncomfortable
asking for 10 or 15 minutes of his time and energy when Jerry is so sick. I
said, "Ask him. If he can't do it, he'll tell you so, or maybe ask you to
wait till tomorrow." Later I saw Jerry and my friend off in a corner
talking for at least half an hour. My friend was glowing when I saw him
later—and he hugged me and said I was terrific! I dunno what I did, but I sure
know what Jerry did. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nov
11- from Dani</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">I
don't know if he told you about an email we got from a woman in Seattle whose
mother had this kind of cancer - 3 years ago - and is doing very well (with
frequent monitoring). Laura sounds wonderful and so eager
to help. She came across us on the CaringBridge website and just
decided to write. She also told us about an email list for thymic
cancer, and I've joined. I think it will be helpful.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nov
11 – to JS</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jerry was terrific today. After lunch he had his session this afternoon on
organizational mapping. He was in absolutely top form. He loves doing this
stuff and he does it superbly, keeping a substantial group of people enthralled
for an hour after the session was supposed to end. After that we had the book
signing BOF. I got him to sign my copy of his self-published novel The Mistress
of Molecules. I'd bargained him down from $15 to $10, with a promise of
reimbursement if I post a review on Amazon. So he teased that I would only get
2/3 of the words (but was distressed, because his hands are shaky and it affects
his handwriting). He wrote something and signed it Jerry Weinberg. He said,
"See, it would have been Jerry Marvin Weinberg if you'd paid full
price." I read what he'd written and nearly burst into tears there &
then.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HlBfTj_DjruKzl2VqxDLCPtpGSI47JXk4WbLR5MaEuQ4UxYuZQezcPR3DsOvrP8joqzo5OUHf45WASFdt6f5YD5rLVHBT6eDKBTzgTzaiH_8y7gVRLp8jGKFnz5k62UkS1dJD1bJ7TcU/s1600/AYE_09Nov11-052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HlBfTj_DjruKzl2VqxDLCPtpGSI47JXk4WbLR5MaEuQ4UxYuZQezcPR3DsOvrP8joqzo5OUHf45WASFdt6f5YD5rLVHBT6eDKBTzgTzaiH_8y7gVRLp8jGKFnz5k62UkS1dJD1bJ7TcU/s320/AYE_09Nov11-052.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signing a book</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">*****</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The next day, Jerry had his final session,
Transforming Rules into Guides. I didn’t email about it, but I remember that it
went well, and the “star” was pleased.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">*****</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdL31XNCaJHafoJdIxf2euSO5-MxKwhTEwYreR7d4Hpxxl7-VyjZxx-LGliKrbpwJ0ttlHp7KJhxYdM_IpcFjFC5jDqTXSlLrHlW5TAoVg1FYzIpXETmgiJvkHGd6HXD7zg1PczZlNI_A/s1600/AYE_09Nov11-003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdL31XNCaJHafoJdIxf2euSO5-MxKwhTEwYreR7d4Hpxxl7-VyjZxx-LGliKrbpwJ0ttlHp7KJhxYdM_IpcFjFC5jDqTXSlLrHlW5TAoVg1FYzIpXETmgiJvkHGd6HXD7zg1PczZlNI_A/s200/AYE_09Nov11-003.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flip chart from Transforming Rules</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMohw65L55FgdMuifMqGp0EJOU6iOH4uUbf2pvPNgkWc8BVADwZIguLPXVCKMb0BBqMZhIWQltdxiPjXyYejqd2-XDe1VnMnyGLWAwf1y8_29wkj2_wJH9U824836FQoyQCO5eHoaywOn/s1600/AYE_09Nov11-028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1474" data-original-width="1600" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMohw65L55FgdMuifMqGp0EJOU6iOH4uUbf2pvPNgkWc8BVADwZIguLPXVCKMb0BBqMZhIWQltdxiPjXyYejqd2-XDe1VnMnyGLWAwf1y8_29wkj2_wJH9U824836FQoyQCO5eHoaywOn/s200/AYE_09Nov11-028.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working with the "star" to transform a rule</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">12-Nov
- To JS</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jerry has decided he wants to leave
tomorrow morning and drive more-or-less straight home. The conference has
totally energized him and changed his attitude. He seems much more determined
to live, and has agreed to schedule a PSL class for May, partly to motivate
himself to stay alive. (Although people can get their money back if he dies
before the class, and they want a refund.) He set up a website here <a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/geraldmweinberg"><span style="color: #0000e9;">http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/geraldmweinberg</span></a>
where he can journal his progress and people can leave messages of support, and
of course has had an enormous response.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2fwnN_TNUbHwwWLvfrqWmJgs_4ccADfwPEM_B74yWEtR3XMMxmO65FFYOjkT0bR0ThnUxd9oUCphOiAMdgkrRiJJnIQ7vM33rKBWFCtMs6M65hCX7TU8yrybyiDK7OgCBtGxEo1jD-B1/s1600/AYE_09Nov10-076-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2fwnN_TNUbHwwWLvfrqWmJgs_4ccADfwPEM_B74yWEtR3XMMxmO65FFYOjkT0bR0ThnUxd9oUCphOiAMdgkrRiJJnIQ7vM33rKBWFCtMs6M65hCX7TU8yrybyiDK7OgCBtGxEo1jD-B1/s320/AYE_09Nov10-076-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In conversation with an old friend</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">12-Nov
– to JS</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Once we finally got going we had a lovely
drive. Jerry dropped off to sleep briefly a few times, but was much livelier
than on the way out. We talked and laughed constantly the way we have on
previous trips. We stopped for lunch in Holbrook (I think! It might have been
Winslow.) at a Hopi-run diner and Jerry said if I hadn't had chicken-fried
steak I should try it. My god—the fat content! By the time I'd eaten the steak
all covered in gravy—and it was good—and the mashed potatoes, also under gravy,
I'd gained about 10 lbs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We stopped briefly in the Painted Desert
National Park, at the other end from where I went before, and the colours were
much more spectacular. But we were quite late, and you must be in your car and
heading for the exit without stopping by 5:00 pm. At 5 minutes to 5:00, I was
pretty laid back about it and wanted to stop briefly and look, but Jerry got
quite antsy that we would get locked in the park—just as you would! He said he
was flattered that I found him just like you, and also said if we had got
locked in he'd have made me sleep on a cactus. He seemed to think that having
90 pounds on me gave him an advantage, even in his weakened condition.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyway, it was gorgeous, and I didn't get
to see hardly any of it or take any photos, so I have to go back there. I told
Jerry he has to stay alive so we can go there on our next trip.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We're staying tonight in Gallup. Jerry
insisted on me driving right through to the other end before admitting we weren't
going to find a good motel there, and we had to backtrack to the western
suburbs. He's so funny about it. He never wants to believe we won't find
exactly what we're looking for, if we just go on a little further. Sometimes
that means we drive right out of town and end up not finding anything at all
till the next town. I quite suddenly had an energy crash and didn't trust
myself to drive even the few miles back on a slow city road, so Jerry drove it.
I thought it was fatigue, but soon realized I was starving. We finally found a
cheap but clean Day's Inn with wifi and a Hispanic family restaurant next door.
Very basic, but the burger and salad were good and Jerry liked his pork chop.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">All these towns are laid out along the
railroad, and some, like the one we had lunch in, are quite picturesque in a
totally non-touristy way. Gallup has lots of pawn shops and Indian jewelry
places, so we're going to window-shop tomorrow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I told Jerry he felt to me much more
light-hearted. He wouldn't admit he had been down before—or even
"disturbed"—but he obviously was. [Who wouldn’t be?] He just kept
saying that even if he lived the full 3 years, it would be with ever-decreasing
capacity. Now he's not saying that. And who knows? Maybe it is terminal. But
maybe it isn't—or at least, maybe it's not going to be all that awful all that
quickly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I'll be back in Corrales tomorrow. Only 140
miles or so from here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Nov
13 – to JS</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We had a short, but somewhat arduous drive
today, as it rained really heavily and visibility was bad. Judith [my B&B
host] says there's a winter storm warning and we may get snow by Sunday. We
stopped at one shop in Gallup—but one was more than enough. They had a HUGE
selection of pawn and new stuff: everything from saddles, to watchbands, to
jewelry, to incredible beaded stuff that wasn't for sale... The rug room was
enormous and had a massive selection. Jerry and the saleswoman taught me some
stuff about Navajo rugs: different traditional patterns and colours, and fine
vs. coarser weave. It was amazing. We got into quite a long talk with her, and
it turns out she writes. In the end, I sold her a book. I had the 3 copies [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">of Gift of Time</i>] Wendy brought me to
replace the ones I gave away for reviews. [Jerry LOVED it that I’d sold a book.
Selling books was among his very most favourite things.]</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">*****</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">Jerry was exhausted after the conference
and the trip, as I also seemed to be, and we spent a couple of days watching
college football on television and talking. Jerry tried to teach me about
football, which he described as a “mental” game, but my interest was mild at
best and I got quite a lot of work done on my laptop during games, editing
pieces I’d solicited for the Women Testers edition of STC Magazine. </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">November 18, after Jerry’s medical
appointment in the morning, I drove him up into the Sandia Mountains. We stopped
to look at the grassy caldera and breathe in the peace I’ve always experienced
there. I don’t remember much else about that day except that it was a beautiful
day. We hit a patch of ice on the road at one point and Jerry started to tell
me how to negotiate it and then stopped himself: “I forgot: you’re Canadian.
You know how to drive on this stuff.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">I
flew home the next day.</span>
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</style>Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-3444569898616768502018-09-10T14:25:00.000-04:002018-09-10T14:25:21.712-04:00Ridin' Along, Singin' a Song - A Memoir of Friendship (Part 2)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwk7ETGsbSAwdmUa9RQYy6A94FnIBuhYRGKTLzsj7YrI9UvOuf7O0MllwE7wxwaVFEBiYgahxM6aztuYB9D6FRhxh-zOrfz-HAviE-MORmI38b2Lt_EL1ckG40QFHt0gKcRI1cRAWAsVm/s1600/Jeep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwk7ETGsbSAwdmUa9RQYy6A94FnIBuhYRGKTLzsj7YrI9UvOuf7O0MllwE7wxwaVFEBiYgahxM6aztuYB9D6FRhxh-zOrfz-HAviE-MORmI38b2Lt_EL1ckG40QFHt0gKcRI1cRAWAsVm/s320/Jeep.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somewhere in Monument Valley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jerry and I took our first road trip together
in November of 2007. He’d been forced by emergency surgery to miss the previous
year’s AYE conference, and I went to visit him for a few days in March 2007
while he was still recovering. Though he’d been writing fiction, it was harder
for him than non-fiction, and Jerry was taking a break from it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SsYW6EqZYr7mdb8Nx6HsutsXVCSFu7UQq_Qx3u2zddN6vhwjiOJKX2RGrbTq4n1ebfdJ2ZmFdPs4myXBWUKPtWz3MRUDrHun54udvqkU_dDR9AZqnfT0vPc579jgFW_vU67QeMYgR302/s1600/Writing+buddies_-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SsYW6EqZYr7mdb8Nx6HsutsXVCSFu7UQq_Qx3u2zddN6vhwjiOJKX2RGrbTq4n1ebfdJ2ZmFdPs4myXBWUKPtWz3MRUDrHun54udvqkU_dDR9AZqnfT0vPc579jgFW_vU67QeMYgR302/s320/Writing+buddies_-1-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing with Caro</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We spent the week as writing buddies. Jerry
was writing “Perfect Software” and I was working on a long piece about
end-to-end system integration testing. We’d write each morning in our
respective solitudes, have lunch together at the Weinberg house, then read,
review and discuss each other’s work in the afternoon. In late afternoon we’d
go to wonderful places, like the Bosque Wildlife Reserve, or the Rattlesnake
Museum. And we played with the dogs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEika23a4lvvh6evYyoqNtV37G29qWbAqjdDlfUoMPjyhP9OOEkIJYxH2Ykee8IVXm3K8ZuWlwxrbxi3739DYid5Sczfaf4C_Mtn8lC7NWY4EhIqjUaab6KdjDKWKgeVDnHwggDQpwIReI6X/s1600/Writing+buddies_-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1090" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEika23a4lvvh6evYyoqNtV37G29qWbAqjdDlfUoMPjyhP9OOEkIJYxH2Ykee8IVXm3K8ZuWlwxrbxi3739DYid5Sczfaf4C_Mtn8lC7NWY4EhIqjUaab6KdjDKWKgeVDnHwggDQpwIReI6X/s320/Writing+buddies_-4.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking up water birds at the Bosque</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">By then we knew each other pretty well.
We’d met at PSL in 2001 and at AYE conferences from 2003, and I’d been in the
SHAPE Forum and his Consulting Skills workshop. Jerry had mentored me through
the whitewater rapids of my work on several troubled projects, and we had an
extensive email correspondence covering a vast range of topics. He’d reviewed
article drafts for me, and I’d reviewed drafts of his first novel and some of his other fiction.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At the end of the visit, I made Jerry an
offer. I knew he had always driven to Phoenix for AYE and would be determined
to drive as usual that November. After what he’d been through, I was worried
about him doing that drive alone, and I suspected Dani would also be concerned.
We’d had an easy companionship over the course of my visit and we’d never
stopped talking. I thought Jerry and I could enjoy a road trip together, so I
offered to drive with him to the next AYE. Knowing Jerry, I put it on a
business basis: suggesting that I’d do the drive in exchange for payment of my
expenses on the way. “Humph”, said Jerry. “We’ll see”. I flew home; we emailed
as usual, and continued reviewing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Next thing I knew, it was a done deal. Not
only were we doing the drive together, but Jerry suggested that we should make
a little vacation of it. Instead of driving the 400 miles in a day, we’d
explore some of the glories of the Southwest, taking 4 days to get to Phoenix
and 4 days back by a different route. He started planning a tour.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I hadn’t driven a car with a manual shift
in years, so I took a couple of lessons to brush up. We exchanged emails about
what music we’d listen to in the car and I pulled together a batch of CDs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We never listened to a single one. What do
you think happens when you put two people-who-never-shut-up in a car together for
days on end? We talked endlessly. About everything. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We shared a love of road trips and of
driving, of dogs, of Baroque music and Mozart, of natural wonders and of native
ruins. We both liked back roads and country diners and trading posts. We had a
similar (okay, sometimes awful) sense of humour. Our driving styles were compatible—fast,
but not outrageously so. It was the first major outing for Jerry's new Jeep (and I got chocolate on the passenger seat). At first, Jerry wanted to do most of the driving, but he
gradually relinquished control and l drove more and more.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sometimes we played word games or sang
silly songs neither of us really knew the words to:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oh,
we ain't got a barrel of money<br />
Maybe we're ragged and funny</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
But we’re ridin’ along, singin’ a song </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Side
by side</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiMq7akPu78LPZ0XFTDcHFCIkaJQCVX5Ws9CpRVRTbfKqt0jalSJbfmdK6AzlmAM_YTbXtrHFMToIBXA8e0JuTvna1QwHfH4cIBvOqMW8bdiL-HgVOFpUjx5xNj2q2YZJfopDScM0trlz/s1600/Mogollon+Rim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiMq7akPu78LPZ0XFTDcHFCIkaJQCVX5Ws9CpRVRTbfKqt0jalSJbfmdK6AzlmAM_YTbXtrHFMToIBXA8e0JuTvna1QwHfH4cIBvOqMW8bdiL-HgVOFpUjx5xNj2q2YZJfopDScM0trlz/s320/Mogollon+Rim.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Off-road on the Mogollon Rim</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"> Every day we went to fabulous places. I
took too many photographs. Sometimes we took a short hike. One splendid day we
went off-road for miles along the Mogollon Rim.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Jerry’s son Keats went to AYE that year,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>and on the way back we met him and his family to explore the
native ruins at Walnut Canyon and then got together again at the Grand Canyon
South Rim. Last stop was Chaco Canyon.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">Evenings were for quiet time. We’d have an
early dinner, then retire to our respective motel rooms for some much-needed solitude,
emails and other introverted computer stuff.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">Did I mention that we had a lot of fun?</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">It was a pattern we were to repeat, with variations, for 3 more road trips to AYE. (But I never again bothered to bring CDs.) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwh9AVzV4E5gRuFfZVLzIYUlMc5U-YvQiRGJKbRIpJWNM_xm9N0OheBShDWNTO3KbQG6rGM1olGMH1QYFPtejq0tSeWGkCThA4hH2pFm4VlvtsAxSkh-90wXMJid70C7AfKwYXH77PGTC/s1600/Grand+Canyon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwh9AVzV4E5gRuFfZVLzIYUlMc5U-YvQiRGJKbRIpJWNM_xm9N0OheBShDWNTO3KbQG6rGM1olGMH1QYFPtejq0tSeWGkCThA4hH2pFm4VlvtsAxSkh-90wXMJid70C7AfKwYXH77PGTC/s320/Grand+Canyon.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerry climbed steadily straight up that stair. I had to take a breather.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDEQn_WnGQlQiin_fS2sN04iNIo0j5RzbywgiUq71edHQgo1sYjXLf5lEV5WNGYWlcCMR_EoUUH9stpqJmLPdd2i_ghCven6Gy4-vbLt96O_nfw14ttVtNPrMoKtyroAFcxOTDYsKEdyp/s1600/Chaco+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDEQn_WnGQlQiin_fS2sN04iNIo0j5RzbywgiUq71edHQgo1sYjXLf5lEV5WNGYWlcCMR_EoUUH9stpqJmLPdd2i_ghCven6Gy4-vbLt96O_nfw14ttVtNPrMoKtyroAFcxOTDYsKEdyp/s320/Chaco+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reading tourist info aloud at Chaco Canyon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>To be continued.</i> </span>
<br />
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-->Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-18901170512775405242018-08-30T14:08:00.003-04:002018-08-30T14:08:46.889-04:00Problem-solving in the Wilderness - A Memoir of Friendship (Part 1)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">"In
these times of wonderful revolution, and incalculable & sudden changes in
the fate of empires and the fortunes of individuals, the only good things of
which we can feel absolutely secure are the possession of our minds, & of
the esteem & affection of our friends."</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-Maria Edgeworth to Etienne Dumont, 12 August
1815.</span></i><br />
<br />
</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tent Rocks, New Mexico</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In June 2009 I flew to Albuquerque for
Jerry Weinberg and Esther Derby’s class in experiential session design. I
landed a couple of days early, partly because I’d flown from England and needed
to deal with jet lag, and partly to spend a little pre-arranged time with
Jerry.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On the morning of June 20<sup>th</sup> we had
planned to drive to Tent Rocks, a national monument with bizarre and wonderful
rock formations. But it was raining, and threatening more rain. Jerry said the
canyons could be dangerous and he wanted to see if it cleared before we went. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The sun shone bright after lunch, so we drove
to Tent Rocks and set out on a loop hike into the canyon. A <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>light rain started again almost immediately. We
walked for a while, but there were some very narrow passages with high sides—okay
to walk through usually, but they’d be traps in a flash flood. And there were
several tiny canyons running down the mountains, and feeding into our canyon on
either side. We met a lot of people coming in the opposite direction and one of
them said there was a storm coming over the ridge. Jerry said the biggest
danger is rain above you, which can suddenly turn to flash floods several feet
deep rushing down the canyons, and it wouldn't do for us to be in a place where
we couldn't climb to higher ground quickly. He couldn’t do anything like that
quickly, so we stopped and went back. Of course the rain stopped too, once we
were almost back at the start. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMcelhRnwZse7LnRIJ_Sf3d3RC0y1EcYQpBze8mDgjMEA19v8Ps7G_xM6WVZO-xHmQ1eb8KlknoqMnRzVnWWzoroGdOEXIgjgLujTXg9aKJQismPnaHadrn-h0TXdZc38Xo4Ojk1cHgSs/s1600/Prob-solving_-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMcelhRnwZse7LnRIJ_Sf3d3RC0y1EcYQpBze8mDgjMEA19v8Ps7G_xM6WVZO-xHmQ1eb8KlknoqMnRzVnWWzoroGdOEXIgjgLujTXg9aKJQismPnaHadrn-h0TXdZc38Xo4Ojk1cHgSs/s320/Prob-solving_-2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerry leading the way in the canyon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US">Feeling a little cheated and still in the
mood for an excursion, we didn’t want to drive back tamely the way we’d come. The
good gravel road we’d entered the park on continued past the hiking trails, so
Jerry thought we could drive on through and come home that way. We met a
ranger who said he thought the road would be ok. He told me the Navajo name for
the place and got me to say it a couple of times.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vXBfQ_OQXrpVoe398OqtGj2Jgktr74rl__eILTVKbfvWtaq3E6JD5RSsOaNy2odfSVzhAkN0B2VlFMbB8wzZwrwYMBtsPFq6xq3v3S5rq3tz9TNv4c5IibNxOpyRXVTRkY8qHiGaEcgA/s1600/Prob-solving_-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vXBfQ_OQXrpVoe398OqtGj2Jgktr74rl__eILTVKbfvWtaq3E6JD5RSsOaNy2odfSVzhAkN0B2VlFMbB8wzZwrwYMBtsPFq6xq3v3S5rq3tz9TNv4c5IibNxOpyRXVTRkY8qHiGaEcgA/s320/Prob-solving_-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The really good road!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At first the road was indeed excellent gravel,
but it soon turned to rocks and dirt and Jerry put the Jeep into 4-wheel drive.
It became an adventure drive like a couple we’d done together before: happily jolting
along on a "primitive" road without a map. Jerry adored difficult
drives and the scenery was glorious. There were good bits of road, and then
bad. Some of it was extremely challenging, with deep cracks and potholes and large
rocks. A fallen tree partly blocked the way at one point. For a while, we drove
alongside a sharp drop off a steep cliff. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After some time, the road became less
definite. It was harder and harder to tell if the faint track we were following
was road at all, or if we'd missed the way when it branched. We knew that
homeward bound had to be downhill out of the mountains, but we kept climbing
steadily. As Jerry drove carefully on through the forest of thinly spaced
trees, I watched out the windows for any tracks that looked as if they might possibly
be roads. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Eventually
we had to acknowledge that we’d reached a point where there really was no road
in any direction. We hadn't met a soul or seen a car since talking to the
ranger, and apart from very occasional horse poo and a single soft drink can,
there’d been no signs of civilization whatever. With only two or three hours to
sunset, we were getting a bit concerned.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We stopped to consider our state and our options.
We were out of cell phone range. We didn’t have a compass. We weren’t in any
present danger, but driving a rough track near cliffs after dark would be risky
and foolish. Whatever we did, we might not make it out of the woods before
dark. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We devised a contingency plan. There was
plenty of bottled water in the back of the Jeep and a somewhat grubby cotton
quilt. We had a few hard candies. If we were forced to sleep in the vehicle, we
could keep warm and hydrated. In that eventuality, Jerry would try before dark to place the
bright red Jeep somewhere where it could be seen from below if
anyone came looking for us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Obviously,
spending the night in the wilderness had nothing to recommend it but possible
necessity. Jerry was most anxious that Dani wouldn’t know where we were. An
incorrigible urbanite, I was anxious at being lost in the woods and I was also
worried about Jerry, aware that he was in pain and not feeling his best. We
needed to make a decision and get moving.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jerry never liked backtracking. On any of
our road trips I could never convince him we should go back to the diner or
motel we’d just passed. However hungry we were, however late in the day, he always
wanted to press on in the certain (though rarely realized) hope that we’d
happen on another, better one just down the road. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This time going back seemed the only prudent
thing to do. So we agreed to turn around—not easy in that space—and try to retrace
our tracks. Jerry had to drive. He was tired and unwell but he was an experienced,
skilled off-road driver. I’d driven the Jeep on challenging mountain roads, but
I’d never driven off road nor in 4-wheel drive—and I had the better eyesight. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At first we stopped frequently for me to
squat down and scan the dry ground closely for something resembling our tire
tracks. I continued peering intently out the open window as they became clearer.
It was a considerable relief when we finally knew we were on the right track
back to the park. Once, we came to a road going in the other direction that
Jerry said his instincts told him would take us down the mountain and out. We
did discuss taking it, but agreed it was better to go for a sure thing at that
point. Arriving at the park gates just before dusk, we saw 5 mule deer silhouetted
against the sky and several jackrabbits on the hill. On the road, the sunset
and the light on the mountains were gorgeous and when we were back in town and
looking for a restaurant I spotted a coyote. </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">Dinner was BBQ, of course.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Back in my B&B that evening, I
reflected gratefully that despite all that mutual anxiety we hadn’t wasted
energy on tetchiness, but had unhesitatingly moved into total problem-solving
mode, discussing our options calmly and making decisions together with humour
and mutual respect and trust. I wasn’t about to recommend getting lost in the
wilds of New Mexico to anyone, but I couldn't think of many people I'd have trusted
or felt as safe with in similar circumstances.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jerry called that afternoon “our experiential
problem-solving exercise”—a prelude to the week’s class in experiential session
design. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The day had ended well, but I decided that
I wouldn’t go off-road again with Jerry unless I could confidently take over
and drive us away if he became ill. So I demanded that he teach me. Jerry
harrumphed and said “perhaps”, but on our next road trip he directed me into a
relatively easy off-road stretch and talked me through the rudiments. Later, we
took a rough back way into Chaco Canyon and I got more practice. I completely
got the allure. In 4-wheel drive on tough terrain, the Jeep felt like
nothing I’d ever driven and I loved it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">After
Jerry’s death, I read a blog post suggesting that he had somehow lacked the capacity
for friendship. Gobsmacked, I thought, “Well, that was your experience. It was
certainly not mine, and I’m sure it wasn’t the experience of many others.” Au
contraire, Jerry had an extraordinary capacity for friendship. I know of many
people who loved him and rightly called him friend, and there are many more I
don't know. That love wasn't one-sided. He had an unusually large number of real
friends: deep friendships of the heart and mind. Many of us began with Jerry’s
books, workshops or mentorship. Each unique friendship grew in its own way and
through its own interactions.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">To be continued. </span></span></span></i>
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<br />
-->Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-15840472330137791312015-08-09T16:12:00.000-04:002015-08-09T16:12:20.946-04:00How to Evaluate a Workshop<div class="MsoNormal">
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--></style><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><i>[Reformatted and revised slightly from my original post on the EuroSTAR blog.]</i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Why I prefer the workshop format</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In the
course of a typical year I speak and present about a dozen times at conferences,
meet-ups and client sites. My preferred mode of presentation for most topics is
a highly interactive workshop; I enjoy the interactions with my students and I
always learn from them. Of course, workshops aren’t the only way to learn. For
some topics they may not be the best way, but for many, a workshop can provide
a deeper and more memorable learning experience than a lecture-style class like
the ones we all endured at school.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There are
always people who sign up for a workshop without understanding what to expect. Most
participants dive in happily and enjoy the experience of working with, and
learning from, their peers. But some feel cheated because they thought they
were coming to acquire knowledge from an expert and there was no presentation
to listen to. Where possible, I try to steer these attendees to alternative
sessions that are a better fit for the way they prefer to learn.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In the
subjects I teach there are no indisputable answers, no solutions that will
apply to all contexts. That’s why I design workshops with opportunities for participants
to explore the important areas of a subject and discover ways to arrive at
answers that they can use in their own contexts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So if you
come to one of my workshops, what should you expect? How should you evaluate the
workshop when it’s over?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">What to expect at one of my workshops</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I see a
workshop as a collaborative effort. My role as the “presenter” is not to deliver
material to passive learners, but rather to structure and facilitate experiences
where everyone in the room has the opportunity to share knowledge and ideas and
to learn new things. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">You and the
other students are active participants in the learning process with me.
Interaction is central to the workshop model, as is the expectation that
everyone has something valuable to contribute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While we won’t quite be peers in the workshop operation—since I will be
there as the person who designs and leads the session—some of the participants may
well be my peers<span style="color: red;"> </span>in knowledge or experience.
They come to learn about the workshop topic, but they don’t expect all the learning
to come from me as the leader. Instead, they expect to join with me in exploration,
discovering new things (as well as reinforcing some old ones) that come out of
the interactions I have designed and will guide.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Evaluate a workshop using criteria that fit the format</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Teaching
well takes skill and practice. The skills required to design and facilitate a
good workshop are significantly different from those needed to prepare and
deliver a good lecture. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Like most
presenters, I work hard to grow and refine my teaching skills. I rely on participants’
comments to help me learn about what has and hasn’t worked in a session, and
how I might improve for the next time. But I find that the standard conference
evaluation forms rarely elicit useful workshop feedback, perhaps because they
were designed for lecture-style sessions. I need participants to apply different
criteria for evaluating workshops. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The primary
consideration is whether you found the workshop useful. If yes, asking some of
the more particular questions in the list that follows may help you articulate why it worked
for you and how it might work even better. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">If no, the
same questions may help you articulate why not.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Either way,
a comment or two will help me (and other workshop leaders) continue to grow and
offer good sessions in the future.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Questions that can help you evaluate a workshop</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">
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<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Learning</span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did I learn something useful, wonderful
and/or important?<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did the workshop challenge me and others
to think? </span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did I discover new ideas and
understanding?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did it help me to see things I already
knew in a new light?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did it provide opportunities to interact
and learn from others?</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Comfort and safety</span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did I feel safe in the workshop (even if
it took me outside my usual comfort zone)?</span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Was it okay to opt out of exercises and
observe if I wanted to?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Were group sizes varied so that I had at
least some opportunities to work with my preferences?</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 108.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Design and structure </span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Was the workshop engaging? </span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Were there interesting and useful
exercises?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Were groups sized appropriately for each
exercise’s purpose?<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></li>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Was the workshop well-structured? Were
there:</span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Exercises building on learning from
previous ones?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Opportunities to reflect on and
consolidate what I learned?<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Pace</span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did the workshop move along at a
reasonable pace?</span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did it keep us energised or allow boring
lags?</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Leadership</span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Was the workshop leader warm and
welcoming? Did she:</span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Listen to participants and acknowledge contributions?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Provide opportunities for everyone to
contribute (and not allow loud voices to dominate)?<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></li>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did she lead the workshop capably? </span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did she exhibit firm but unobtrusive
guidance?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Was she flexible and able to work with
emerging ideas and participants’ energy?<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></li>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Did the leader guide discussions and
debriefs so as to facilitate learning? Did she:</span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Ask good questions?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Speak knowledgeably about the workshop subject?<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span><br />
<h2>
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And finally...</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Was there anything else that struck you about the workshop?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">
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Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-15162129124018791182015-04-10T12:56:00.002-04:002015-04-10T12:56:40.974-04:00Women and Conference Keynotes
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">How do we get more women to speak at
conferences? Or, a more basic question, how do we get more women to make
satisfying careers in tech that they want to stay in and grow with?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I think the two questions are linked. I don’t
have simple answers. I don’t think there are any simple answers, but I do
believe there are positive steps we can take. Anne-Marie Charrett and I have
embarked on one with Speak Easy. Another important one is to highlight role
models for tech-minded girls and women who are actually in tech. One place to
do this is at conferences with keynotes by successful women with interesting
ideas. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We don’t see enough women giving keynotes at
software testing conferences. What’s “enough”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, one would be good for a start! At least one at each conference, in
fact.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I hear a couple of contra-arguments here. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">One is that most conferences are businesses.
Organizers want keynote speakers they believe will be a “draw”, speakers who’ll
bring in the punters. And that’s fair enough.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But I look at it this way. Maybe you’re missing
out on female punters who’d like to see more people like them. From what I hear
and see, there’s a market of women testers out there that you’re not really
tapping into. And you’re not attracting nearly enough women to submit track
session proposals. Far more men than women are submitting conference proposals,
more than seems warranted by the numbers of men and women in testing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Are you scaring the women off? Or could it be simply
that they don’t see enough other women speaking? They don’t see a culture where
women are regularly on the keynote podium. Could it be that in a very important
way, they don’t really feel part of the culture? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I don’t know. But I wouldn’t be surprised if
this lack of visible role models were at least part of the answer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Another argument I hear, primarily from younger
women, is, “I don’t want to be chosen because I’m a woman. I want to be chosen
for my experience and my ideas.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">You bet your booties, honey. So do I! So do we
all. But (at the risk of sounding patronizing) I find young women’s
post-feminist optimism shockingly naïve. Because before you can be chosen for
your ideas, you have to have been considered. And men – and not only men,
sometimes it’s women too – forget to consider women and their ideas more often
than you’d think. Scouting for keynote speakers, they may forget you even
exist. Still. In 2015.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I don't believe there's a vast male conspiracy
in testing or test conferences, all joining together to keep good women down!
In many ways, that would be easier to fight. I do think there's a general
tendency to be oblivious: not to notice that there aren't (m)any women in the
room or on the list, when actually, there should be. Because there are women of
significant merit that they forgot to think about.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If it takes a quota to remind conference
committees to expand their field of vision, then so be it. We all need
reminders. We all have unconscious biases.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I think we are at a stage in human evolution
where thoughtful people have to make conscious choices in order to overcome
unconscious biases. It's natural for people to gravitate to the other people
they feel most comfortable with, which very often means the people who are most
like them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A quota – say one woman keynote per conference
– isn’t necessarily tokenism.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Let's say a bunch of people got together to do
a job and suddenly realized that there weren't any men in the group. "Oh
no", they said. "This looks terrible! People will accuse us of sexism
if we don't have a man. Let's ask Paul. He won't make any waves (and we can get
him to make the tea)."</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But say the same group of people said instead,
"Oh dear, this is starting to feel as if we've only looked at women
candidates for our group. There's a whole pool of people we forgot to consider,
and we know we would do a better job if we were more diverse. Paul would do a
great job. He does excellent work, and is well respected in the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know we will all work well together."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The first scenario is clearly tokenism, but is
the second? Or is it simply a refocusing on the wider talent pool made possible
by a conscious (however belated) attempt to overcome an unconscious bias?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I said on twitter that it’s shameful having no
women keynotes at EuroSTAR 2015. I stand by that. The program committee chose excellent speakers. But given the talent pool of
excellent women speakers, it's disgraceful that the committee didn’t
expand its field of vision and choose at least one. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And it’s not just EuroSTAR, by the way. Take a
look at StarCanada, only one other example. There are plenty of others.</span></div>
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Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-55954040342239356342014-08-23T19:17:00.000-04:002014-08-23T19:17:11.848-04:00Signing the ISO 29119 Petition and the Tester's ManifestoI forgot to include these links in my previous post on ISO 29119. I have signed both. I urge all testers to read, consider the arguments and, if you agree, add your signature.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.professionaltestersmanifesto.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.professionaltestersmanifesto.org/</a></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.commonsensetesting.org/news/files/PetitionISO29119.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.commonsensetesting.org/news/files/PetitionISO29119.html</a>Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-69906183625213534992014-08-23T17:06:00.002-04:002014-08-23T17:09:14.809-04:00Why I oppose adoption of ISO 29119<style>
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I don’t oppose the idea of a testing standard, though I’d
like to see a programming standard to accompany it. But ISO 29119 and its
predecessors are not testing standards. They are fundamentally standards for documentation
of testing and things called “testing processes”. There is little that goes
into a testing process practiced by a skilled tester that a document about
documents can capture or codify.</div>
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In a long career I have yet to see any indication that
so-called “test” standards have done anything to improve the skill levels of
testers or the quality of their testing. Instead, I’ve seen many organizations
doing mediocre rote testing with testers who are forced to produce reams of
impenetrable, repetitive documents that nobody outside the company testing
circle reads. I repeatedly see test strategy documents showing not an ounce of
strategy yet compliant with standards such as this. Those same organizations
often insist that their testers obtain certification.</div>
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Whether or not this is the intent of the ISO 29119
proponents, it is how adoption will play out in real life in many organizations. As James Christie has pointed out, contract lawyers, internal auditors and managers who know nothing about testing
will insist on the grand panoply of fat documents because it’s a standard and
therefore must represent “best practice”. Nervous and unskilled test managers
will embrace templates based on ISO 29119 because all those documents make them
feel secure and important. People on Agile projects will struggle with the
conflicting demands of their projects and the standards. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I have yet to see evidence that compliance to any “testing”
standard equates to good testing. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Testing is a skilled activity. (James Bach calls it a
“performance art”.) The only true measurement of testing is skill exhibited in
live practice. Some proponents of ISO 29119 sneer at the “craftsman” (or
craftsperson) mentality espoused by many of us. I wrote in an earlier post that
I grew up thinking of craft as <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“skill fuelled by love and integrity”.
You who sneer at the idea of craft and make snide jokes about medieval guilds
should take a look at some highly-skilled professions in the modern world. Do
you think a surgeon never speaks of, nor works to grow, her craft? Is a person
licensed to perform surgery because of the fine strategies, plans and reports
he compiles in templates? </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I don’t doubt that surgeons must plan
and devise strategies. They have procedures they must follow and forms they
must fill. But ultimately, surgeons are evaluated—and licensed by their
state-sanctioned governing bodies—based on their results and the skill they
exhibit on a real live human, tools of the trade in hand. They must also pass
exams on their knowledge of the human body and its pathologies, as well as a
range of tools and techniques. But the exams surgeons undergo are much more
rigorous than anything developed so far for a testing certification. And no-one
becomes a surgeon merely by passing exams. Like other craftspeople, surgeons
serve an apprenticeship: studying, practicing and exhibiting on the job the
skills they must have to qualify for <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>their profession. As do lawyers.</span></div>
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I’m not pretending that software testers normally require
the same level of skill as surgeons, nor as extensive a education program. But I
do think that scaled down the analogy holds.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I would welcome a real testing standard, though I’d like to
see a programming standard to accompany it. A true testing standard would focus
on demonstrated skills assessed by qualified practitioners. It might set
boundaries for the levels of testing skill required to work alone or under
supervision, and the types of software testers at differing levels could work
on. Education to meet such a standard would combine classroom studies with
on-the-job practical training, and judging of live testing. At successful
conclusion of her education, a tester could be certified as a professional. Very
skilled testers could become master testers, in demand for very high-risk
software.</div>
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We aren’t nearly organized enough to devise a real testing
standard in the near future. But I don’t see ISO 29119 as an acceptable
substitute. It puts too much focus on the wrong things.</div>
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Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-75669557324552918882014-07-01T11:57:00.000-04:002014-07-01T11:57:33.991-04:00Off the top of my head - Some skills & personal qualities that a tester can benefit fromMy previous blog post - on why I believe it's good for testers to learn to code - triggered discussion and some protests, especially from testers who argued that testing involves so much more than an understanding of coding. Which is indubitable (to me at least).<br />
<br />
So I thought I'd post this mindmap, an undoubtedly partial - in both senses of the word - list of tester skills and personal qualities that I threw together a few years ago in an idle moment. These are all things I believe a tester can benefit from. It's a very high-level, i.e., superficial view. I'm sure I've missed some very important items. Of the items I did list, it's clear to me that not all testers need every item in every context.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fllQjq33L4uv5g49GZSe_UWshvqcyrsCLDBU2s67qcLqpm8ryADgk4mYLIMtuqhH1NqzywhutFhMBCs5-Zvf6ngwCMqw3ircyp1FHCKqsrB0XaQlX-on1i6hGFpmep6zcqS5iaP0cejY/s1600/Tester+Skills+and+Qualities.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fllQjq33L4uv5g49GZSe_UWshvqcyrsCLDBU2s67qcLqpm8ryADgk4mYLIMtuqhH1NqzywhutFhMBCs5-Zvf6ngwCMqw3ircyp1FHCKqsrB0XaQlX-on1i6hGFpmep6zcqS5iaP0cejY/s1600/Tester+Skills+and+Qualities.jpeg" height="446" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-35994372543568402142014-06-28T14:29:00.001-04:002014-06-28T14:29:23.670-04:00Why I believe it's good for testers to learn to code
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Rob Lambert recently published a blog post with the title
“Why Testers Really Should Learn to Code”. <a href="http://thesocialtester.co.uk/why-testers-really-should-learn-to-code">http://thesocialtester.co.uk/why-testers-really-should-learn-to-code</a>
Rob’s principal argument is that “The market demands it and the supply is
arriving.” </div>
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What follows is an expanded version of the comments I made
on that post.</div>
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First, Rob is presumably speaking about the market he knows
best, i.e., in the UK. I’m not currently seeing such a heavy emphasis on coding
in the Canadian market, though I think it’s probably there in Agile circles.</div>
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But regardless of the market demands, I think there’s a
larger concern: about testers growing their skills and expanding their
toolkits. </div>
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Whether or not testers “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should</i>”
learn to code seems to be a contentious issue in at least some parts of the
testing community at the moment. I admit that I’ve been observing the
controversy with amazement. I’m having trouble understanding why any
tester would <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not want</i> to learn to
code. </div>
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I’m now a test manager, consultant and strategist, and I haven’t done
serious hands-on testing in many years. But when I was a tester I knew how to
code, and I worked at learning the languages I needed to know to understand
and at least read the code for the applications I was working with. Working as
a technical writer before I even became a tester, I learned to code and it
seemed to me then to be an essential skill.</div>
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As coding advocates keep saying, you don’t have to be able
to turn out production-level code. But it’s enormously helpful for a tester to
understand how a system is constructed from the inside out. When you’ve tried
to write working code, you learn to know the kinds of mistakes it’s easy to
make with a given language and that helps you find bugs in other
people’s code. And when you can read code, you
can often spot the place where the error occurred and see what else might be
wrong around it.</div>
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When you can code, you can write routines to build data in bulk, and also to inject data. You can write routines that help you test
(or check) faster, or make it possible for you to test a larger number of input variations
than you could practically manage otherwise. You can write and run your own
batch jobs. You can query a database directly, to find out what’s really
getting written to it. (SQL is code, too.) You can make clever use of
spreadsheets to boost your test capabilities.</div>
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There are so many things a tester can do with code. And
coding is FUN, folks! In fact, executing working code that you’ve written
yourself is a blast! It’s almost as much fun as testing. (Okay, that’s highly
subjective. But if you love software, why wouldn’t you love building some?)</div>
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There's a social aspect too. Being able to write code helps you understand your programmer teammates and it teaches
you empathy and respect for their skills. (You want programmers to empathise
with you and respect your skills too, don’t you?)</div>
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This is not to say that you can’t be a good tester without
knowing how to code. Of course you can. I know lots of excellent testers who
can’t code and don’t want to learn. I also know lots of terrific testers who
don’t have (or don’t believe they have) exploratory testing skills, or visual
thinking skills, and don’t want to learn those either. </div>
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In my experience, these and all your other skills give you tools you
can use when the context calls for them. Not every tool is appropriate or
useful in every context. But the more tools and skills you have at your
disposal, the more flexible you can be and the more easily you can rise to the
demands of different contexts. If you don’t have a particular skill, you may
not even recognize how having it could help you test better in your context.</div>
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I don’t believe that the issue comes down to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should </i>or<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> should not. </i>Rather, I believe it’s about expanding your skills and
your toolkit. Why wouldn’t you want to do that?</div>
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Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-60569473735320762332012-06-12T13:32:00.000-04:002012-06-12T13:32:50.141-04:00Breaking the Tyranny of Form - Part 1<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Testing in many mainstream organizations is choked with low-value standardized documents </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">that not only gobble up valuable thinking and testing time, but actively discourage thinking and impede good testing. While some testers can hope for relief from the document burden through the spread of Agile methods, this ridiculous situation isn't going away in a hurry. As a blog post by <a href="http://clarotesting.wordpress.com/2012/06/" target="_blank">J<span style="color: #666666;">ames Christie</span> </a>recently reminded us, </span>the floodgates on<span style="color: #666666;"> “</span><a href="http://www.softwaretestingstandard.org/index.php" style="color: #666666;" title="ISO29119 international software testing standard">ISO/IEC 29119</a> Software Testing – the new international software testing standard” will soon open. I suppose it's possible that the new standard will wash away the documentation excesses we have now. I'm not holding my breath on that.<br />
<br />
Test documents, whose sole purpose should be to serve the work, are instead driving and constraining the work. Absurdly, form is dictating substance. When, as in this case, the form is obese and bloated, it sucks up and squanders all the energy that ought to go into the real thing.<br />
<br />
Some testers (many, I hope) refuse to be tyrannized by the supremacy of form. I want to reach into the mainstream where form dominates and help testers there to join us. I want to help them learn to think better and think for themselves. This blog post is a step in that ongoing effort.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Another step is the webinar </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">I presented </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">last
week </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">for EuroSTAR: <a href="http://www.eurostarconferences.com/content/eurostar-webinar-unburdening-testing" style="color: #666666;" target="_blank">"Unburdening Testing - Finding the Balance Point for Test Documentation"</a>. (The Q&A from that session are in blog form <a href="http://www.eurostarconferences.com/blog/2012/6/12/webinar-qa-session-with-fiona-charles" style="color: #666666;" target="_blank">on the EuroSTAR site</a><span style="color: #666666;">.) </span>The webinar is an introduction to the interactive tutorial I will present November 6 at EuroSTAR 2012:<span style="color: #666666;"> </span><a href="http://www.eurostarconferences.com/conferences/session/333/right-sizing-test-documentation" style="color: #666666;" target="_blank">"Right-sizing Test Documentation". </a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">After presenting my own webinar, I watched the recorded version of <a href="http://www.testingreflections.com/node/view/3816?from=8" style="color: #666666;" target="_blank">Alan Richardson's</a><span style="color: #999999;"> </span>excellent webinar <a href="http://t.co/1mdr6REL%20" style="color: #666666;" target="_blank">"Thinking Visually in Software Testing".</a> The thinking tools and practices he describes there are so uncannily like my own that it prompted me </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">in writing this post </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">to think and write about my thinking. (I encourage you to watch Alan's webinar, if you haven't already done so.)</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><br />
<h2 style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Form over Substance</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h2 style="color: orange;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">When
I first began working for a consulting company, my project manager gave me a
mantra for billable work: “Never create anything that is not a deliverable to
the customer”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">She
was a brilliant PM who became an important mentor for me, but not all her
advice was equally stellar. That statement in particular put horrible shackles on my
work that I took years to shed completely. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">The
problem was that my customer deliverables were formal, standardized prose
documents. For me to show value, I needed to end each day with sections and
sub-sections populated with tidy paragraphs, building up to the finished
product. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">At
first, I was lucky. My company was only dimly aware of standards purporting to govern
test documentation, and so I created my own templates. But over time, my templates became our company standards. When I used them, I was so busy trying to adapt
the structures for each project that I could no longer work easily with them. Like
the templates for test documentation imposed in many companies, I found that the
structure—the <i>form</i>—acted as a constraint on the <i>substance</i>. The tail was
wagging the dog.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h2>
</h2>
<h2 style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">We Can't Test Without Thinking</span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Testing
is all about thinking. We think and rethink constantly. We think about how best
to gather information on our projects: what to read and look at, and who to
talk to and when. We think about how to approach the software and we develop test
ideas as we go. We create test models, often complementary models for testing
different aspects of the same piece of software. We plan and replan and then
plan again. We think about what we've discovered in testing and design what we're going to do next. If we're doing a good job, we don't ever stop thinking. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Prose
documents in preset patterns inhibit thinking and creativity. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">It’s useful sometimes to have a checklist of important things to
think about, but we can’t afford to let those checklists limit our thinking.Templates are not the best checklists.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Writing in sentences can
sometimes help me to simplify and think through a tangled knot of ideas. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">I
do occasionally write to understand what I’m thinking. But I
never set out to think in predetermined sections of formal standardized prose.
Do you? Does anyone? <i>Can</i> anyone?</span><br />
<h2 style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</h2>
<h2 style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Visual Thinking</span></span></h2>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZTxHC4Vgy3OxT7eA3B43O_Y5ycERca4q59a25xa3g9DCnHWeGrlRrRNwgqLBqg27JMnRsXjb0Fc7laCPaS0YFeECFVpCQEl-aHO436YDwb9uJlJtk4jR-aj9pHIIi0XRBs0eM5EiSwIO/s1600/combo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZTxHC4Vgy3OxT7eA3B43O_Y5ycERca4q59a25xa3g9DCnHWeGrlRrRNwgqLBqg27JMnRsXjb0Fc7laCPaS0YFeECFVpCQEl-aHO436YDwb9uJlJtk4jR-aj9pHIIi0XRBs0eM5EiSwIO/s400/combo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> A couple of years ago these drawings helped me think through a problem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Most
often, I think in scribbles and doodles, beginning with notes and drawings that
acquire structure as I develop the ideas and concepts. Or I might start with a
tentative visual structure to generate ideas and then modify or replace the structure
as needed to fit my thinking. Sometimes I scrawl ideas on coloured sticky notes
and move them around over several days on a board or double-page spread of my
notebook, drawing connections and annotating as I go. I often use mindmaps. I
may use several different techniques to get my hands around a difficult
problem. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h2>
</h2>
<h2 style="color: #b45f06;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Diagrams Emerge</span></span> </span></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">What
comes out of my initial thinking processes is rarely a customer deliverable.
But over time, the result is usually some kind of structured diagram or set of diagrams that
I can then use to communicate my ideas to other people. Rather than dictating and constraining the substance, the <i>form </i>of these diagrams emerges from the<i> substance.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfziRD_DxLmacFRqlvSuyYH9RzKyOVp44DksHNx0VPVL18-Hsfb3wOiioZbvY_txogpC4KGxRG2m_Q2TyZ9Npb93I22mkeneoXFwAjAclFsosPtQOY_P1o0w_Z3YaobMmdKXcCHGfAKlIr/s1600/E2E+Without+Assignment+&+Activation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfziRD_DxLmacFRqlvSuyYH9RzKyOVp44DksHNx0VPVL18-Hsfb3wOiioZbvY_txogpC4KGxRG2m_Q2TyZ9Npb93I22mkeneoXFwAjAclFsosPtQOY_P1o0w_Z3YaobMmdKXcCHGfAKlIr/s400/E2E+Without+Assignment+&+Activation.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of a strategy diagram for an end-to-end systems integration test on a large project</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">When—as is true on most
projects—I must produce a formal document, I prefer to put diagrams front and
centre. I want my documents to communicate, and I try to make them easy to read
and understand. I use prose as sparingly as I can get away with, using tables
and lists wherever possible. I don't include boilerplate, and I never copy wodges of text from one document to another. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">(Why
ever would I waste valuable project time on such useless make-work?)</span><br />
<br />
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZ6T2ACk4CR8PNWZ-ElaSdOhqXWrG7Z0fNiTCIhSLasN0TwQkILocboEm6bcsv18vQNNBoqnwI3-CMPv6hnW1mI8ntiobgDSsucLVy_9_msdsuFIV7Ski3RZJdzCkPMQALF3BCpyH_9vt/s1600/Division+of+responsibility+for+Testing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZ6T2ACk4CR8PNWZ-ElaSdOhqXWrG7Z0fNiTCIhSLasN0TwQkILocboEm6bcsv18vQNNBoqnwI3-CMPv6hnW1mI8ntiobgDSsucLVy_9_msdsuFIV7Ski3RZJdzCkPMQALF3BCpyH_9vt/s400/Division+of+responsibility+for+Testing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This diagram shows the division of responsibility for testing on the same big project </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2 style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Vacuous Form Tyrannizes the Mainstream</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Apparently, that's not how most testers and test leads develop test documentation. In my consulting work with clients, I constantly see mammoth documents stuffed with books worth of low-content stodgy and opaque prose. Often, I search so-called test strategy documents in vain for any actual strategy. I fall asleep looking at test scripts that dictate every point and click and hideously repeat </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">over and over again </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">the most minute detail of so-called "test steps" and their piddling expected results. It's very hard to believe that much thinking is represented </span><span lang="EN-US">therein—or will </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">inform the testing that must unfortunately follow. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Nobody reads this stuff. It isn't useful. It certainly doesn't help anyone test well. So why do testers waste time and spirit churning it out? Why do their managers insist on the tyranny of form over the substance that only thought can produce? </span><br />
<h2 style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Let's Take Testing Back!</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">I believe that thinking testers must take testing </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">back </span><span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">from the process weenies and form merchants. Many testers have done this, but it has yet to happen in the mainstream</span>—in big companies, big banks, government projects...sometimes even in startups and small companies.<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial,Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">In subsequent posts on this topic, I'll explore some ways we can do this.</span></div>Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-3496456484374607772012-05-16T13:56:00.000-04:002012-05-16T13:56:19.630-04:00Let's Test 2012 - A Personal View<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsVeWPbt19xNNVSMPZ8VE_Ey30jScTaPuwosldGDrlYWjW7yZGwnKwiZMi-5x9X4TcDlvI835nGgwLbQRpefrKZFKURUWFrn7rzEGwL5DFuDxPUIqsbwKeUPDDnLpnM_Dt79vQxpc6ECM/s1600/Sweden_12-05-08__0077-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsVeWPbt19xNNVSMPZ8VE_Ey30jScTaPuwosldGDrlYWjW7yZGwnKwiZMi-5x9X4TcDlvI835nGgwLbQRpefrKZFKURUWFrn7rzEGwL5DFuDxPUIqsbwKeUPDDnLpnM_Dt79vQxpc6ECM/s320/Sweden_12-05-08__0077-crop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2>
Let's Test 2012</h2>
I'm rarely tempted to write about conferences, but for once I can't resist: the inaugural Let's Test was a wonderful experience in so many ways.<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Place </h3>
The rural setting at Runo, with its stunning "nobility of labour" art and bright, airy buildings, was an inspired choice, and no small contributor to the conference's success. <span style="font-family: inherit;">We were all captive--miles from other (lesser) attractions--and there were many comfortable and inviting places to sit and confer, both indoors and out.</span> It didn't hurt that there was a bar (with free drinks provided by sponsors on a couple of evenings), and fabulous food (the smoked salmon!). All meals were provided and the breaks were generously provisioned with treats like raspberry smoothies or pretty little macarons. When did you ever eat well, or even sit comfortably, at a conference?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGhvHC6m5skejSaIheTS0xpAQGvBL1wj2RWIjWlDh4dxAOaW97hTlhhLMb1VTUqz3oAcQJ7COGTX_jejVPjLAZPwlMm1nSlnFJUTwuJlPummMWOPTjCMKsCn0fXY__UpEnkGrOmR5-V8o/s1600/Sweden_12-05-08__0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGhvHC6m5skejSaIheTS0xpAQGvBL1wj2RWIjWlDh4dxAOaW97hTlhhLMb1VTUqz3oAcQJ7COGTX_jejVPjLAZPwlMm1nSlnFJUTwuJlPummMWOPTjCMKsCn0fXY__UpEnkGrOmR5-V8o/s320/Sweden_12-05-08__0003.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Organizer Johan Jonasson, who knows I carry my own coffee to conferences and frequently joins me in a cup, promised me good Swedish coffee at Let's Test. It wasn't brilliant, but it was indeed decently strong and far more drinkable than I'd ever get in a North American hotel.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YrhhoEJuPe5Cc_rFEY6SIxIkvBbWmS6ZLtvC6ypHh9IKHoSxljr_Yeg0PWuXiv37SrgfZscG_a-V9rVIuTJtgAdLhkr5bJtxiJar3DOxRfoyWQd3wpvbtK6y9axlDnhXf3rCsYRYaj3Z/s1600/Sweden_12-05-08__0169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YrhhoEJuPe5Cc_rFEY6SIxIkvBbWmS6ZLtvC6ypHh9IKHoSxljr_Yeg0PWuXiv37SrgfZscG_a-V9rVIuTJtgAdLhkr5bJtxiJar3DOxRfoyWQd3wpvbtK6y9axlDnhXf3rCsYRYaj3Z/s320/Sweden_12-05-08__0169.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Participants </h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtMH6POF7jYRk4iUXVfUdZtt9Q5RST5-IcpscqjFQx-uWr8e2c8YFU9LH7S8DHl6VVpTs29Fp2JJCQLG2UferoU5887l9vbaNMeiQxi0JEOP5y8aVOno1zmuGhvOLOMhwgzr7y-brGsyM/s1600/Sweden_12-05-08__0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtMH6POF7jYRk4iUXVfUdZtt9Q5RST5-IcpscqjFQx-uWr8e2c8YFU9LH7S8DHl6VVpTs29Fp2JJCQLG2UferoU5887l9vbaNMeiQxi0JEOP5y8aVOno1zmuGhvOLOMhwgzr7y-brGsyM/s320/Sweden_12-05-08__0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I use the word advisedly. The people at Let's Test were active participants throughout. Adopting the CAST facilitation model may have helped, and it certainly kept in-session discussions on track, but I don't think anything would have kept this group from lively and interesting conversations, often far into the night. And the Test Lab drew a big crowd every evening. That's what conferences are for!<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Sessions</h3>
People like me who present at a lot of conferences can become very jaded. At most, I rarely find the official sessions compelling and tend to skip them in favour of corridor conversations and networking. In contrast, the Let's Test agenda presented the best dilemma I can experience at a conference. In several time slots, I had difficulty deciding which session to go to. I was glad I chose Christin Wiedemann's "You Are a Scientist - Embracing the Scientific Method in Software Testing" and Alan Richardson's "Testing Hypnotically", but sorry to miss several others. The real standout for me was Anne-Marie's Charrett's "Coaching Testers", especially the fascinating live session at the end, where many of us got to offer suggestions to (i.e., "coach") the coaches.<br />
<br />
CAST is the only other test conference I know of that has this "assembly of peers" feeling, where speakers are as interested in other people's sessions as they are in their own. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Presenting </h3>
I presented a full-day tutorial on Test Leadership and a track session on managing an end-to-end systems integration test.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QcCL1UMmk-TNHONopXW9GmfHSPz_E1m2nK9JhhuMXr0KpeoJqwyu60cxONwIycbStTplMkVK8BVJOPzop-2gzHnlYWfXo-lu2Mpzmw58Ip6x8yHHnqmoOBz-rbYd7Ht5emxszFDDFKTG/s1600/Sweden_12-05-08__0083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QcCL1UMmk-TNHONopXW9GmfHSPz_E1m2nK9JhhuMXr0KpeoJqwyu60cxONwIycbStTplMkVK8BVJOPzop-2gzHnlYWfXo-lu2Mpzmw58Ip6x8yHHnqmoOBz-rbYd7Ht5emxszFDDFKTG/s320/Sweden_12-05-08__0083.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I felt a little trepidation before the tutorial. How would a big group (28 people), for the most part meeting me and each other for the first time, and speaking what was for most a second language, work together in an experiential session? Would they embrace exercises that might seem strange to them, and then be willing to share their experiences and learnings in a debrief?<br />
<br />
I needn't have worried. I started with a small-group exercise that probably helped to draw participants in, particularly some of the quieter ones. In that first exercise, one of the small groups--all Swedes--sensibly worked together in Swedish, though their output was in English. Otherwise (to my shame as a less than marginally bilingual North American), this multilingual group blew me away with their facility and willingness to communicate in my language. Soon everyone was engaged and working together, and they stayed engaged throughout the day (some more quietly than others), coming up with many fascinating insights and strategies for dealing with issues in test leadership. <br />
<br />
I am grateful to everyone in my class for making it such a great learning experience for me! So far, I've had very positive feedback from participants. If you were there, please let me know what you think. Did the session work for you? What went well? What do you think I could do better next time?<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, here's a link to <a href="http://testers-headache.blogspot.se/2012/05/thoughts-from-lets-test-2012.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Simon Morley's blog</a>, where he describes his reactions. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Onwards (for me)!</h3>
I'll be keynoting (Are You Managing Test - or "The Test Process") at the <a href="http://www.bcs.org/category/9264" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BCS SIGIST</a> in London on June 21, and also doing a workshop on mind-mapping a test strategy. I look forward to working with a group of engaged British testers there.<br />
<br />
June 26-28, I will be presenting Beyond Process: three 1-day experiential classes in London, including a reprisal of my Let's Test tutorial, "Inspiring Testing" plus "Determining Business Risks for Testing" and "The Design behind the Plan - Test Strategy workshop". <a href="http://www.electromind.com/training/project-and-people-skills" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Registration is through the sponsor, ElectroMind.</a><br />
<br />
If you're in North America, you may want to register for <a href="http://www.associationforsoftwaretesting.org/training/ast-live-classes/beyond-process-project-skills-for-testers-and-test-leaders/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beyond Process</a> in San Jose before CAST, July 11-13.<br />
<br />
Then it will be time for <a href="http://www.associationforsoftwaretesting.org/conference/cast-2012/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CAST 2012, July 16-18</a>. As Program Chair, I believe the Program Committee and I have assembled an excellent program of sessions and innovative workshops. I'm really looking forward to seeing some of my new and old friends from Let's Test, as well as many others who didn't make it to Sweden. It too is going to be a wonderful conference!<br />
<br />
<h3>
Onwards (for Let's Test)! </h3>
Let's Test 2012 was a terrific first conference. My thanks and congratulations to the organizers, and I look forward eagerly to Let's Test 2013!<br />
<br />
<h3>
And some pics from the Nature Reserve</h3>
One of the evening activities was a Nature Walk, guided by a marvelously fit 80-year-old gentleman, recently named Sweden's Gardener of the Year. It was so beautiful, I rose early the next morning and went out again with my camera.<br />
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<br />Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-73229225406443774142011-06-06T00:21:00.007-04:002011-06-06T12:39:48.276-04:00Six Impossible Things Before BreakfastAs an accompaniment to my June 2011 Tea-time with Testers article, "Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast", here is the list of lies I have heard on software projects over the years. I’ve grouped them roughly; arguably there are some lies listed that cross categories. Also, there is some overlap. “We have to get creative about these numbers!” is one variation on falsifying progress and status.<br /><br />I invite you to add lies you've heard to my list. I'd love to hear about your experiences and observations of software project lying, and also of truth-telling in difficult project circumstances. Please leave a comment.<br /><br />As a reminder, here are the parameters I set for my list.<br /><br />I had personally to have heard the lie told one or more times. Each lie or category of lies had to be material to a software project, though it could have been told to make a sale before a project began or to describe a project after its end. Each lie had to be relatively common in the industry—or at least not rare. A lie had also to be significant to a project: to have influenced perceptions and/or decisions. And finally, I excluded malicious lies intended to subvert or sabotage an individual on a project. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lies told to make a sale or get funding for a project</span><br /><br />1. Deliberate underbidding [<span style="font-style:italic;">but we’ll make it up with change requests</span>]<br /><br />2. Bait & switch [<span style="font-style:italic;">proposing highly skilled staff to make the sale, then replacing them on the project with junior and lower-skilled people</span>]<br /><br />3. “The system will be standalone.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">To be usable, this particular system actually required expensive integration with several major systems, both upstream and downstream. The development team told management this before the project was approved, but the project sponsor ignored their information. I’ve heard similar claims on other projects.</span>] <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Management lies</span><br /><br />4. Fictitious schedule: fixing scope, cost and staffing after arbitrarily slashing informed estimates by the project teams<br /><br />5. “Our software is bug-free.”<br /><br />6. “We can cut the testing in half without affecting quality.”<br /><br />7. “This project is life or death for the company. If it doesn’t succeed, we’ll all be out of a job!”<br /><br />8. “We’re slipping the date out, but don’t tell the team. We need to keep their feet to the fire.”<br /><br />9. “We have to get creative about these numbers!”<br /><br />10. “We can solve all the project’s problems with mandatory overtime.”<br /><br />11. “The project team is pulling out all the stops to deliver this project.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">Actually, they’re exhausted and making a lot of mistakes, and we’re only getting about 30 hours productivity from the 60-hour weeks we’re making them work.</span>] <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lies about programming</span><br /><br />12. Code complete. [<span style="font-style:italic;">On one project, the programmers had actually left comments in the code listing what had not yet been done</span>.]<br /><br />13. “We’re done!” [<span style="font-style:italic;">Though we haven’t done the unit testing we committed to.</span>]<br /><br />14. “I only changed one line of code. You don’t need to test it.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">Though I didn’t do an impact analysis of the fix and I have no idea what might break.</span>]<br /><br />15. Padding estimates<br /><br />16. Hiding bugs<br /><br />17. “It’s not technically possible to do it that way.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">It is, actually, but I want to use this cool new technology that will enhance my skills.</span>]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lies about testing</span><br /><br />18. “Anyone can test. We can get people off the street to do this job.”<br /><br />19. “Anyone can test. We just have to give them the right process to follow.”<br /><br />20. Tester exaggerating risk<br /><br />21. Tester padding estimates<br /><br />22. “This bug is out of my scope, and I’m under the gun. I don’t need to report it.”<br /><br />23. “Testing is holding up the project. You’re finding too many bugs!”<br /><br />24. “Our test cases will provide complete system coverage.”<br /><br />25. “The infrastructure upgrade will be completely transparent. You won’t need to test.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">Although nobody did an impact analysis of the upgrade and we have no idea what might break.</span>]<br /><br />26. “We can deem these test cases passed.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">Though they haven’t actually been executed for months and we strongly suspect many of them wouldn’t pass.</span>]<br /><br />27. “You only need three weeks for testing.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">Because the code is late and we cut three weeks from the test schedule.</span>]<br /><br />28. “The testers don’t know what they’re doing.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">They estimated it would take two weeks, but found incomplete code and so many bugs it has taken six, and they’re not done yet.</span>]<br /><br />29. “Our mature test process employs all the industry best practices.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">Major bugs frequently bring production systems down, but we have all the “right” testing documentation.</span>]<br /><br />30. “Total test automation will make testing much faster and more efficient, and we can save on expensive labor costs.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">We haven’t thought about who will design or script the automated tests, and we have no idea what it will take to maintain them.</span>]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Lies told by customers</span><br /><br />31. Exaggerating the risk of bugs to make a vendor or internal IT team look bad<br /><br />32. Lying about their own state of preparedness<br /><br />33. Falsely claiming a vendor’s solution was not technically viable [<span style="font-style:italic;">Customer’s IT had failed in two attempts to develop the system and didn’t want the vendor to succeed and show them up. I've seen variants of this elsewhere.</span>]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Miscellaneous lies (anybody)</span><br /><br />34. “We’re a month behind, but it won’t impact the schedule. We can make up the time!”<br /><br />35. Knowingly committing to impossible deliveries <br /><br />36. Deliberately downgrading bug severity to make a release<br /><br />37. Falsely blaming slow progress on hold-ups by other teams or external vendors<br /><br />38. Falsifying progress and status to look good<br /><br />39. “Our security rules don’t permit you to have that access.” [<span style="font-style:italic;">Not true, but it’s a lot of work to give it to you, and I’m too busy/lazy.</span>]Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-26724549348893027112010-08-22T10:53:00.001-04:002010-08-22T11:03:14.729-04:00Bug Severity vs. PrioritySeverity and priority are two ways of thinking about software bugs and deciding which ones should get fixed and in what order. Not everyone uses both. I’ve been in places where bugs are categorized by only one of them. But inevitably in those places, I find that the two ways of thinking get mixed and people end up confused. As I use them, bug severity and priority are different and we need both.<br /><br />Severity is about the risk a bug poses if it gets out into the wild. I’ve written about testing and software risk elsewhere. See http://www.quality-intelligence.com/articles/DeterminingBusinessRisksForTesting.pdf. <br /><br />Briefly, software risk can be characterized as:<br /><br />The potential for <br />some fault, failure or other unintended happening <br />in the implemented system<br />to cause harm or loss <br />to one or more persons or organizations.<br /><br />We assess the risk of a bug by asking questions about impact and probability. How much harm could this bug cause to some thing the customer cares about, such as human safety or the bottom line? How likely is this bug to manifest and how likely is that harm to occur if it does?<br /><br />If a bug could cause significant harm but only manifests under very unlikely circumstances, then we might decide it’s less severe than a bug that could cause less harm but manifests frequently. Or not, depending on the context. <br /><br />Most organizations have standard criteria for classifying bug severity, such as:<br /><br />Severity 1 – Catastrophic bug or showstopper. Causes system crash, data corruption, irreparable harm, etc.<br /><br />Severity 2 – Critical bug in important function. No reasonable workaround.<br /><br />Severity 3 – Major bug but has viable workaround.<br /><br />Severity 4 – Minor bug with trivial impact. <br /><br />Typically, Severity 1 and 2 bugs must be fixed before release, where 3’s and 4’s might not be, depending on how many we have and on plans for their subsequent disposition.<br /><br />Priority, on the other hand, is about the order in which bugs need to be fixed. Often, priority and severity run hand-in-hand: a bug is both high severity and high priority to fix. But that’s not always true. Occasionally in testing we’d like to have lower-severity bugs fixed so we can explore an area more thoroughly and see if they’re masking something else. Particularly on large projects, we can also find that we have a larger number of high severity bugs open than the programmers can readily fix. In this case, we need to specify the order for fixes based on where we plan to test next. To some extent also, ease of programming kicks in. A programmer working on high severity bugs in a particular module may choose to fix the low severity bugs in the same session.<br /><br />At least theoretically, bug severity doesn’t change. The potential for business or technical impacts stays pretty much the same throughout the development project. (The passage of time can affect risk, but that’s a subject for another post.) <br /><br />Priorities for fixing bugs do change depending on where we are in the project. At first, it’s testing priorities that matter most. But the closer we get to release, the more important the customer’s priorities become, to the point where they take over entirely.<br /><br />And that brings us to an essential question about both severity and priority. Who gets to decide?<br /><br />Ultimately, it’s the customer’s prerogative to decide both severity and priority (using “customer” as the stand-in here for “key decision-makers”). We—testers, project managers, and programmers alike—can make educated guesses about business risk and even about business tolerance for risk, but we can’t really know and we certainly can’t decide for the customer. Similarly, we can’t decide bug fix order for the customer, who frequently has different priorities from ours.<br /><br />That’s not to say we abdicate responsibility. It’s a tester’s job to try and represent the customer’s point of view when they are absent. It’s also our job to help customers make those decisions. We do that by attempting to understand the true significance of a bug and communicating our understanding. We also ask questions to help our customers assess relative risk. (As anyone who has ever supported UAT knows, customers frequently assume everything is equally high risk until we ask those questions.)<br /><br />It’s good to engage with customers and ask those questions early, ideally as we go through the development project. (Agile projects have it easy in this regard.) Early engagement is especially important for assigning severity. <br /><br />But until we reach the point in the project of determining bug fix priorities for release, it’s only practical for the entire development team to set priorities according to what’s needed to move the project forward. Most often that means the testers’ needs: the bug fix priorities for testing. <br /><br />Of course, there are other factors affecting priority during a development project, including the relative risk and cost of fixing a bug. But generally speaking, it makes sense for testers to drive priority until we switch over to the customer’s priorities for release.Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-49293451517068152522010-06-04T06:22:00.001-04:002010-06-05T18:19:25.865-04:00Craftspeople testersAn online forum I belong to is currently having a discussion about the “professional tester” and what that means.<br /><br />As often happens to me, I find the question not quite framed to how I think. “Professional” is a word that has been fuzzed over time, from having a very precise application to wholesale acquisition by every coterie of white-collar workers who wanted more status—or, being charitable—to be taken seriously for their very real skills and (possible) contribution to society. Once, professionals were doctors and lawyers, and maybe engineers. Now, it’s apparently you, me, and Harry in the next cubicle who spends his days churning out code. <br /><br />So I don’t find “professional” (tester or anything else) a useful label and I can’t be bothered wearing it. That’s as opposed to “professionalism”, which I think can perhaps still say something about a person’s conduct, ethics, and application of skill. “Craftsperson” is more interesting to me, as a concept, as a practice, and therefore as a possible handle. <br /><br />My father was an engraver, a proud lifelong master practitioner of a highly skilled craft, and a constant explorer and learner of new skills. He was always practising, honing his skill. So I grew up with craft, and although I don’t remember my father ever articulating it this way, I learned the idea of craft as skill fuelled by love and integrity.<br /><br />When I think about a “craftsperson tester” and what that means, I’m thinking about the career tester: the person who has chosen to stay with testing software for a living, however he or she got there. And I continually revise my definition of a good tester as I work on different projects and meet new people. I think there’s a great diversity in good testers that is too easily dismissed when we divide ourselves into “schools”, or even into communities of practice. I don’t do schools. The divisions—and divisiveness—practiced by some prominent testers (on both sides of the argument), bores me. I’ve said elsewhere that I’m not a card-carrying anything.<br /><br />I’ve also said that I’m most in sympathy with the testers and thinkers in the Context Driven School. That remains true, in part because that’s where I see many craftsperson testers: people who, fuelled by love and integrity, continually strive to practice testing well, while growing themselves and the testing craft. And context is paramount to me.<br /><br />But it’s not the only place I see craft. I see it also in what remains the mainstream: the big banks, the telecoms, and—yes—even among the ISEB-or-whatever-certified traditionalists who practice a pre-scripted form of testing they describe as “structured”. Although they’re often ignorant of other forms of testing, and uninterested in learning about them, many of these testers are highly skilled analysts and practitioners who are dedicated to testing software well. I’m working now with some excellent testers who practice testing during the working day and then go home and don’t think about it. Testing isn’t their life, and they don’t give a toss about the ferment of ideas and learning about testing that many of us constantly engage in.<br /><br />But they’re good at what they do, dedicated to doing it well, and they hone their skills on the job. They teach and mentor others—on the job. I admire their thoughtfulness, skill, integrity and professionalism, and I certainly think of them as craftspeople. I enjoy working with them, and I count on them to do what’s needed on my project.<br /><br />Of course, I know there are also bozos and seat-warmers among the traditionalists—large herds of them even, blighting the software and testing landscapes and giving us all a bad name (though not on my project!). But just because the good ones don’t fit my preferred model of craft, it’d be a big mistake to dismiss them. <br /><br />I’m proud to work with craftspeople testers of all stripes.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">With thanks to the members of Writing About Testing, whose discussion prompted this post.</span><br /><br /><br /><br />Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926041545494903652.post-15932128971704287262010-01-05T18:18:00.005-05:002010-01-05T18:26:48.688-05:00Don't Argue with Sleepwalkers<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 268435456 0 0 -2147483648 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1776290718; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-765818810 697067974 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; font-family:Symbol; color:windowtext;} @list l1 {mso-list-id:2023580869; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:940727928 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;} @list l1:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; font-family:Symbol;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Influencing people is always hard. It’s especially difficult when people are operating from a fixed set of ideas with no room for even the possibility of a different point of view—almost as if they’re sleepwalking.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I thought of this recently when a friend said, “One thing I’ve learned over a long life: don’t argue with drunks.” “No”, I replied without missing a beat, “and don’t argue with sleepwalkers, either.” My friend didn’t get that one, so I explained.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In my youth, I was married to a guy who walked and talked in his sleep. Several times, I woke suddenly alone in bed with the kitchen light shining in my eyes. Shocked awake, I’d find him at the kitchen table eating the breakfast he’d just cooked—having showered, shaved and dressed fully including jacket and tie, all of it while fast asleep. If I hadn’t looked at the clock and I’d failed to notice his slightly glassy eyes, it would have seemed like a normal morning scene.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">He talked coherently in his sleep, too. When I asked what he was doing, he’d say he was eating his breakfast and getting ready to go to work. At first, I was flabbergasted. I’d blurt out, “But it’s the middle of the night!“ And he’d say, “No, it’s eight thirty. Would you like some eggs?” Then I’d argue. But the more I tried to get him to see reality, the more adamant he became, almost angry. I’d be afraid that any minute now he’d go out the door, get in the car and drive there. And his unyielding obstinacy and escalating emotion disconcerted me.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I knew nothing about sleepwalking, not even the myth that waking a sleepwalker was dangerous. I think sometimes I did manage to wake him. Mostly though, the only way I could see out of the impasse was to play along, to try to enter my husband’s sleeping reality and while there try to persuade him to take a different course of action. I might say, “But Sweetie, it’s a holiday today and we can sleep in. You can go back to bed!” Then he’d cheerfully do that, and in the morning he’d have forgotten the entire episode.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One snowy night, I found him stark naked opening the front door: “waiting for the people to come”. By then I knew what to say. “Oh…but they aren’t coming for a couple of hours yet. So you might as well come back to bed and be warm in the meantime.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The thing about sleepwalkers, I learned (and sleep-talkers, too), is that they can’t see outside the single frame of reference they’re stuck in. Argument is worse than futile. It upsets or annoys the sleeper. But if you can enter the sleeper’s world, you can operate within it to achieve a mutually acceptable result.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I try to keep this in mind whenever I have to deal with a manager or client whom I perceive as particularly blinkered or fixed on a single—and to me, wrong-headed—course of action. Perhaps it’s stretching a point to suggest such people are sleepwalking, but the situation is analogous enough that similar techniques can help.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When my ex-husband walked in his sleep, I had to:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="">Remind myself to approach him calmly and patiently, however absurd or alarming the situation he was in.<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="">Listen to him and find out where he was coming from—his current frame of reference.<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="">Refrain from arguing, but instead enter his frame of reference and suggest a different course of action consistent with it.<br /><br /></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Compare that with this Aikido sequence that I learned from Jerry Weinberg: centre, enter, turn. That is:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="">Centre (yourself). Breathe calmly and concentrate your energy in the centre of your body.<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="">Enter (your opponent’s attack).<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="">Turn (your opponent’s attack to your own advantage or in the direction you want to go).<br /><br /></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You can only ever influence people by connecting with their reality. That may not be so obvious when the other person’s reality has built-in points of connection with your own. But when there’s a radical disconnect between the other person’s frame of reference and your own, and he or she is taking a fixed position, it’s helpful to remember the sleepwalking analogy.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Next time a project manager gets totally stuck on the notion that you should publish metrics you’ve explained will be meaningless and misleading, don’t persist and tell her what a silly idea you think it is. Instead, act as if she’s talking in her sleep. Listen quietly and carefully to what she wants and where she’s coming from. Try and enter her frame of reference. Then go away and think about how you might operate within that frame of reference and turn what she’s demanding into something useful to both of you: say, a report that gives her a meaningful measurement you can believe in and support.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Don’t argue with sleepwalkers.</p>Fiona Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05261957091656214838noreply@blogger.com5