Engineering Blog

I started testing at Rally a little over two months ago. My first day was the most amazing culture shock I’ve been privy to in my professional career. Farrar took me on the “meet everyone” tour and all the things are different. People are sitting on exercise balls instead of chairs. Shorts are worn instead of slacks. Casual profanity is being tossed in my general direction, and people are drinking tequila instead of coffee… wait what? Ok so it wasn’t like there was a tequila slammer contest going on, but I did witness someone taking a birthday shot prior to 10am. Lunch time arrived fast and we went out to phys-ed for some football. Plato said that you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. This is probably arguable, however, I did learn the names and built a rapport with everyone who played that hour.

The day was half over and I realized this is the most fun I’ve ever had at work. I spent the rest of my first day immersing myself in the Rally tool, reading user stories and studying closed defects. Over the next few weeks I took a spin on several different teams. I joined the stand ups and helped test wherever I could. In most jobs there’s a meaty (or tofuy, since we’re in Boulder) part that is most enjoyable. As a tester, my favorite part is doing the actual testing. Thinking of interesting ways to get the software to fail, then making the software fail. It was apparent within this short span of time that the majority of my effort is going to be spent working in the delicious tofu.

The Mr. Rogers team was looking for a tester so that’s where I’ve landed. The main focus has been on apps, panels and connectors which offers plenty of variety. There are a couple of things that, as a tester, I’m not a fan of. Unmitigated arguments over the legitimacy of a defect, and being the messenger that gets shot… repeatedly. So far, there have been no arguments over a defect. The defect either gets sorted immediately or we walk over to the arbiter (also known as a product owner) and a decision gets made. I could slap a “No more tears!” sticker on this place.  At least until Robb makes good on his face punching promise – he’s a pretty big dude…

Taking the position at Rally is becoming one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.  Everyone is welcoming, open, and from somewhere else; so they know exactly what it’s like to be in a new place working at a new job.  The collaborative and open environment makes my job a pleasure.  The occasional pint from one of the kegerators and game of foos doesn’t hurt either.