[All Things Quality] Free Music From Amazon


Not actually my i-Pod


The Amazon MP3 Store now offers "Free Downloads from Artists on the Rise".

From their website:

Artists on the Rise


Each month, we'll shine the spotlight on new artists we think you'll love and give you a free track from each. If you like what you hear, you can pick up each artist's latest release next month for a great price.

Amazon also provides mini-reviews of the artists they select, telling you why they were selected and comparing them to a few other artists.  For example:


Natalia Kills
Why We Like It: Natalia Kills marries heavy dance floor-friendly beats with anthemic melodies that caught our ears on first listen. These well-produced pop jams wouldn’t feel out of place on the radio, in a club, blasting out of car speakers, or at a sweet summer BBQ.
Recommended if you like: Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Robyn

A pretty nice feature if you ask me!

The selections span a wide variety of genres, so you'll almost certainly discover some you like, some you don't like, and some you would never even consider purchasing. But they are free - so you have nothing to lose but a minute or two of your time.

I've found some pretty catchy tunes.  You might, too.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000655511


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.

[All Things Quality] Smart Monkey Testing

Rise of the Sequel of the Remake of the Movie Based on the Book as Translated from the Original of the Planet of the Smart Monkey Testing

Be careful when creating Smart Monkey tests.

Because you could go too far...


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.

[All Things Quality] Kayaking The Concord

The Concord River

Yesterday was hot, humid and overcast.  We decided to take the kayaks out to the Concord River.

We packed up the kayaks and some lunch, drove to Bedford, put it, and headed toward Concord.  This was our first time paddling against the current, and there was a breeze in our face, so it was a bit more work than we anticipated.  Still, we paddled for about an hour and a half before stopping for lunch.  After eating we paddled a bit more before deciding we had enough and turning around for the more leisurely paddle back.

This part of the Concord River is very slow moving (which is good), but it's mostly conservation land so there's not much to see (which is not as good).  We saw a few ducks, geese and a few other birds, but that was pretty much it for the wildlife.

It was fun, quiet, and good exercise, even if not much in the way of sightseeing.  Overall, a nice way to spend part of a Sunday.


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.

[All Things Quality] Imitation, Flattery and Copy Cats

Not exactly a Copy "Cat", but you get the idea

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. 
- Charles Caleb Colton

Everything on this blog is meant to be shared. Read it, use it, quote from it, link to it, print it and pass it around - that's all good.

If you want to re-post it on your website, that's fine too! All I ask is that you include my name as the original author and a link to this blog. That's only fair, right? It certainly can't be too much to ask?

So when I see my words show up on someone else's site without my name or a link to my blog and passed off as someone else's work, I'm not thrilled.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, should I be flattered?

Are these folks Flatterers? Rip-off artists? Copy Cats?



This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.

[All Things Quality] A New Version of WinTask - 3.8

WinTask 3.8 - now supports Firefox

The good folks at TaskWare have released a new version of the favorite tool in my toolbox - WinTask.


The big news here is that WinTask has now added support for Firefox 5 and above as well as for Internet Explorer 9!

A few new functions were also added:

  • EnabledHTMLElement, returns 1 if the specified HTML element is enabled, returns 0 if it is disabled
  • PreviousPage() simulates a Go previous page in the browser window which has the focus. 

Here is the vendor's version history of WinTask: http://www.wintask.com/version-history.php

Check this tool out at http://www.wintask.com/

You can see some of my WinTask utility scripts here, using the WinTask tag.



This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.

[All Things Quality] A New Kindle Game - Jigsaw Words

Amazon released yet another new (free) game for the Kindle - Jigsaw Words.
Jigsaw Words is a word game that challenges you to combine groups of letters into words that match the clues given. 
In each Jigsaw Words puzzle, you start with a set of 10 clues. You also have a set of randomly arranged puzzle pieces with letters on them. Your goal is to solve the clues in the puzzle by arranging the puzzle pieces so that the letters form the word that matches each clue. Start with the easiest clues first. As you use each puzzle piece, it is removed from play, making it easier to find the more difficult matches. You can also shuffle the grid of puzzle pieces at any time for a different perspective. 
Jigsaw Words has 100 puzzles and each puzzle has 10 clues to solve. The puzzles are organized into 10 themed categories like Holidays and Animals, and you can use the theme to help you solve the clues. 
If you enjoy working with words and patterns, try Jigsaw Words and test your ability to build words today!
I don't care for this game as much as some of the other Kindle word games. For example, I like Thread Words a lot more.

Note: This game was free at the time I downloaded it from Amazon.  As with all free items, you must check before you download, since it may no longer be free.

This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.

[All Things Quality] A New Kindle Game - Jigsaw Words

Amazon released yet another new (free) game for the Kindle - Jigsaw Words.
Jigsaw Words is a word game that challenges you to combine groups of letters into words that match the clues given. 
In each Jigsaw Words puzzle, you start with a set of 10 clues. You also have a set of randomly arranged puzzle pieces with letters on them. Your goal is to solve the clues in the puzzle by arranging the puzzle pieces so that the letters form the word that matches each clue. Start with the easiest clues first. As you use each puzzle piece, it is removed from play, making it easier to find the more difficult matches. You can also shuffle the grid of puzzle pieces at any time for a different perspective. 
Jigsaw Words has 100 puzzles and each puzzle has 10 clues to solve. The puzzles are organized into 10 themed categories like Holidays and Animals, and you can use the theme to help you solve the clues. 
If you enjoy working with words and patterns, try Jigsaw Words and test your ability to build words today!
I don't care for this game as much as some of the other Kindle word games. For example, I like Thread Words a lot more.

Note: This game was free at the time I downloaded it from Amazon.  As with all free items, you must check before you download, since it may no longer be free.

This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.

[All Things Quality] How To Sell Testing - You Should Read This!

How to Sell Testing by Jim Hazen

Jim Hazen has written an excellent article "The secret skill – How to sell testing" in the August 2011 issue of Software Test & Quality Assurance Magazine. You can get it at http://www.softwaretestpro.com/Publication/p/STPM (free registration required).

I particularly liked how he listed some of the constituents being served

  • Project Management
  • Development
  • Marketing/Sales
  • Technical Support/IT & Customer Services
  • End User
  • C-Level and Senior Management
what they need from QA/Testing, and the kind of language that should be used to convey that information.

According to the bio in the article:

"Jim Hazen is a veteran of the software testing trenches. He has over twenty years of experience testing applications on the PC and Web platforms. Mr. Hazen has been involved with the startup of testing groups at multiple companies and has done consulting work for the last 10 years. He has helped clients implement tools for functional automation, performance testing and test management. And worked with clientele management to achieve efficiency gains and the financial benefits associated to testing. Mr. Hazen has been a speaker at QA and test conferences."
Jim is a really smart guy, and a long-time friend. When it comes to QA, Testing, Test Automation, and Diving - he knows his stuff.

Check it out!


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.

[All Things Quality] Metrics Are...

Metrics are

According to Google (and Google knows everything), metrics are ...
  • Metrics are bunk
  • Metrics are not available
  • Metrics are used in marketing
  • Metrics are important
  • Metrics are the message
  • Metrics are worthless
  • Metrics are crap
  • Metrics are horrible
  • Metrics are changing
  • Metrics are killing creativity
  • Metrics are wrong
  • Metrics are dangerous
  • Metrics are king!
  • Metrics are just candy for the boss
  • Metrics are not enough
  • Metrics are critical for startups
  • Metrics are a false idol
  • Metrics are in 'Crisis'
  • Metrics are hard to kill
  • Metrics are outdated
  • Metrics are too simple
  • Metrics are coming!
  • Metrics are spreading
  • Metrics are essential
  • Metrics are needed
  • Metrics are awesome
Can you add to the list?


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.

[All Things Quality] Dancing Out Of Our Comfort Zone

Not actually us

I've been seeing a number of articles recently about how you should step outside your comfort zone on occasion, how you should do something different, something less routine, something that makes you stretch a bit. A few months ago, my wife and I did just that.

When our son got engaged last year, my wife told me "It's our son's wedding. I don't want to just sway back and forth on the dance floor like we usually do." She was right. This was important. We needed to learn how to dance.

Now my wife is never uncomfortable just going out and trying something. She doesn't care what others think of her or how she looks doing something new - she'll jump right in and give it a shot. Me - not so much. I tend to be very self-conscious, and very concerned that I'll look foolish. As much as I'd like it to be otherwise, that's just my nature.


I searched around the internet for some self-help dancing instruction. I looked at online video, checked out some websites, even purchased a "Dancing for Dummies" style book. None of that seemed to make any sense to me. I couldn't see how it all fit together.

So we decided more drastic measures were in order. I found a local dance studio that offered ballroom dancing instruction. I called and explained what we were looking for and the instructor suggested that their Beginner Ballroom Dancing would be appropriate. It was a six-week session teaching the basics of Foxtrot, Waltz, Rumba, and Swing.

While we were both a bit nervous the first night, we quickly learned that everyone was at the same beginner stage and that concentrating on learning meant that nobody cared how the others looked, nobody looked foolish, nobody would be judgmental. We were all just learners.

The first few weeks, we weren't sure we'd get it. It was hard to remember what we had learned last week, even though we practiced at home. And it was hard to believe it would ever feel comfortable. But the instructors were terrific. They took us through the beginning steps, started each lesson off with a review of the past week, and introduced new steps very gradually. They showed us what it would look like when we were doing it correctly, and what it might look like when done incorrectly.

Around the third week, we began to feel like "we can do this". While it was still hard work, we started to relax and have fun with it. We even attended a few extra dances that were offered, where we could try out what we had learned.

By the time the wedding rolled around, we were able to get out on the floor and dance many of the dances. We didn't always know what we were doing, since the wedding wasn't limited to the four dances we had practiced, but we were more confident, and more willing to just give it a shot. It was a lot of fun. Several people even asked if we had taken dance lessons.

I learned a little bit about my personal learning style. While I am able to learn a lot by reading and watching, for me that doesn't translate well into physical activity. For something like dancing, I needed someone to show me how to do it, tell me what I was doing wrong, and help me learn.

And I added another "out of my comfort zone" activity to my life. (Writing this blog was another "out of my comfort zone" stretch for me as well.)

Will all of this translate to my work life? Perhaps, I don't really know. But I do know that my wife and I have gone dancing a few times even after my son's wedding, and have had a fun time with it - and that's not half bad!


This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.