Charlie, I just try to point out the business cases for testing. With many owners/managers, it comes down to money and time, with time also being related to money. As a professional, I ALWAYS write up my business case in a 1 page summary, which hits the highlights as to why ANY software product, internet or otherwise, should be tested. Since I am a Texas Registered Professional Engineer, I will sometimes also sign and seal the document with my license number (depending on how big the financial/legal liability could be to my client and/or to me), although this is NOT a requirement in TX. This gives the document a very formal and professional look/feel. It also covers my "rear-end" in the event someone wants to try and place the blame on me.
I take the position that some of my friends who are in the legal profession take. My job is to inform my client/management of any potential pitfalls/liabilities/impacts to the company, and provide them with a recommended course(s) of action(s). Whether they accept and act on my advice is up to them. They are the decision makers, not me. If not, then I have clearly document what could happen. That doesn't mean that they cannot try to pass the blame back onto me when something does go wrong. But if they do, I can always refer back to my original document dated "such and such", and remind them that the final decision was of their making. I then move the conversation forward to the "now this is what we need to do to get this fixed" arguments. It's never in your best interest, or very professional, to "rub it in" to a client when they do get "bitten" by a poor decision. We all learn through our mistakes, and businesses and owners are no different. The big thing here to note is documentation. Always document your objections, concerns, etc., and do it in a factual and professional manner. Never let any emotion "show through" in your correspondence. The person you may be dealing with might be a "jerk" in real life, but it doesn't do you any good to remind him/her of that fact. Your objective is to protect your client/company using your skills sets/education/experience (and in some cases to try and win them over), and to do it in a non-threatening and professional manner. After a while, when people begin to realize that 9 times out of 10 your right, they will begin to start listening to you and to take notice of you. And taking such a professional course of action will gain you a positive reputation with your co-workers and within the developer community. Don't know if this advice helps, but I have found over the years this is best course of action. Particularly for a women in a male dominated industry (which I am). Just remember you are being paid to do a job to the best of your abilities, and part of that job is to "warn" your client/employer of any potential pitfalls their actions/decisions could have on their business/company. Unless you are an owner, or an officer of the company, the final decision is probably not yours to make, so don't take the "rejection" of your recommendations/advice personally. It's just business. Just make sure you document everything to protect yourself and your professional reputation. Celeste -----Original Message----- From: charles arehart [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002 11:47 PM To: JRun-Talk Subject: RE: load testing (was RE: Difficult To Reproduce Session Issue) Yep, Dave and Ted have ID'ed the two most popular free tools I know of. So cost isn't really the issue, once one knows of these. It's more just a matter of deciding that the effort's worthwhile. Sounds like in your case, Celeste, that the bosses really just aren't motivated to worry about testing. That's the part I want to address. What do we, as professionals, do (and know, and say) to promote more effective testing (load and otherwise). What's really keeping it from being more prominent? Just some rhetorical questions. If there are no replies, I'll know it's the sound of one hand clapping. :-) /charlie > -----Original Message----- > From: Dave Watts [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002 5:06 PM > To: JRun-Talk > Subject: RE: load testing (was RE: Difficult To Reproduce Session Issue) > > > > If you do find other freebie testing tools, I would be > > interested in the names/links. > > Take a look at OpenSTA: > http://www.opensta.org/ > > It's open-source, and free, and looks pretty good. I haven't used > it for an > actual testing engagement yet (I'm used to SilkPerformer) but it > looks like > it covers all the bases pretty well. > > Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software > http://www.figleaf.com/ > voice: (202) 797-5496 > fax: (202) 797-5444 > > ______________________________________________________________________ This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
