Follow these links to see some questions and answers we asked some of our Let’s Test South Africa 2017 speakers:

• Mike Lyles
• Martin Hynie
• Paul Holland
• Richard Philips
• Alison Gitelson

Mike Lyles

Let’s Test: What famous person, movie, TV show or song has inspired you?

Mike: I have so many that have inspired me.  I’m sorry that this may be a longer response than expect.  I used to love reading and listening to Zig Ziglar (motivational speaker).  He had so many common sense thoughts and ideas – so easy to understand that you would always say “why didn’t i think of that”.  I got to meet him before he died, and it was such an awesome conversation.  I also loved reading Stephen Covey – his “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” really resonated with me – and i read it dozens of times, had it on audio and listened to it so many times.  The concept was so easy to grasp and we can all use it in every day life.  Another writer/speaker was Jeffrey Fox.  He wrote a book called “How to Become CEO” (among many other books).  His book was so inspirational to me.  I shared it with everyone i knew.  And most importantly, i was given the opportunity to meet him, interview him, and feature his interview in CIO Magazine.  It showed me the value of not letting fame and fortune drive you to forget the people who are the reason you are where you are.  He wasn’t obligated to give me any time – i was nobody to him.  But he gave his time and was so patient and considerate.  This inspired me to always remember that no matter how far I go in life, I should always be kind and considerate to others.

As for a famous movie star, i’ve always wanted to meet Tom Hanks.  There are so many great actors and actresses out there – too many to mention.  But one thing that stood out to me about Tom Hanks was his ability to always find a way to make every movie he was part of be great.  It came to the point that if I saw a movie had Tom Hanks, i never had to question if it would be worth watching or not.  That inspired me to be a leader in the same fashion.  I want people to look at anything i am working on – whether a conference, or a presentation, or a book, or an article, or any other public forum – i want people to know immediately that it will be worth listening to, simply because it is me.  That’s a huge responsibility, but i’m doing everything I can to live up to it.

Let’s Test: What do you hope to experience at LTSA?

Mike: I have developed a true love for conferences and technical meetups.  It is so inspiring to see people that are hungry to learn something new and share their experiences.  Of all the things I learned in my day-to-day work, or even in my personal  studies in testing, I never obtained the level of awesome input that I have achieved from meeting others at events.  I am looking forward to meeting the folks at LTSA, hearing their stories, sharing my stories, and ensuring that both I and they leave with something new to take back home with them.  If we are unable to do that, then we have not done our job as a speaker.  It’s more than having something to say or a nice presentation.  It’s being an inspiration to others and to gain just as much inspiration from them as you give.

Let’s Test: What gives your life rhythm or rocks you into actions?
Mike: I love the writer and speaker Simon Sinek.  He has a book called “Start With Why”.  If you haven’t seen his video on youTube, then you’re missing out.  He talks about the golden circle and understanding your WHY – instead of your WHAT.  One of the things that he said, that i want to give him credit for, but want to also say that i feel the same is this…. he says that his WHY in life is to “Inspire others to be inspiring”.  I love coaching and mentoring others, and realized this passion when i became a manager in 2003.  Nothing gave me more pleasure through the years than seeing others grow and achieve their goals – and knowing that i had a part in it.  I love finding what it is that people really are passionate about – and you would be surprised how many people are doing one thing in life but not realizing that their greatest talent is something else.  It’s inspiring to help them find that magical talent and to help them grow it.  And when it comes to conferences, nothing gives me more pleasure than speaking to a large crowd, and seeing their faces as something that i am sharing with them ‘hits them in the heart” and their reaction tells me they get it, they like it, and they like what i’m sharing.  I want to inspire.

The word “scope creep” drives me mad

Let’s Test: What word in software projects lights sparks in your brain? And why?
Mike: The word “scope creep” drives me mad.  Our whole world is scope creep.  Look at where we were 30 years ago – the internet, social media, mobile devices, the digital age – all of that was nearing the horizon but not here yet.  If it were not for growth and evolution in IT, we would not be where we are today.  Too many times, teams will consider a client or a stakeholder asking for more as a bad thing.  My challenge to the teams is to stop talking about “scope creep” and work with the stakeholder to determine how we can achieve this together.  If it’s not something we can deliver in the time we have, then let’s talk about version 2, or talk about how we can enhance it later.  But we get so hung up on process and the red tape of things that we forget what we are trying to do – and that is to continue to grow IT, and make the digital age in 2020 and beyond be something that people talk about for years.

Let’s Test: What question about testing do you hope to answer in the near future?
Mike: I like to do surveys with the testing community.  Over the past 5 years, I have conducted several surveys and talked to so many people.  Hundreds of people have given their insights to me and I feel that we have so much to learn from those surveys.  I have a new presentation that I’m doing at another conference soon called “Testing is Not a 9 to 5 Job”.  This concept is that we can’t just go to the office, test during the day, and go home, and feel we are our best.  There has to be something in us that makes us want to learn more, grow more and be stronger in our craft.  I always use the example of Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer that won more gold medals in his career than anyone else.  He didn’t just show up to the Olympics and say “here i am, i’m ready to start competing”.  His work started at home, in the pool, daily, weekly, monthly.  He worked tirelessly when no one was watching, and when the time came to show what he could do, he was the best we had ever seen.  We need to do that as testers.  And the way we do it, is to study and learn – outside of the office, and to keep exercising our abilities so that we are the best at our job.  And the last thing i will say here is that in a recent survey of almost 300 people, i found that only 8% of those people said they had a mentor.  We all need mentors.  Find someone that can help you grow – someone that has been in the trenches and learned before you.  It will make you a better tester and grow your career.  Learn from their successes and mistakes.

Let’s Test: Why should I not go to your session?
Mike: That’s an interesting question.  I guess I would say that if you despise having fun in a class, don’t like to be interactive, and don’t enjoy an entertaining presentation, then mine would not be for you.  Additionally, if you’re not open to learning a different way of looking at things, youmight find my talk boring.  But I have given this talk a few times, and i find that people really take away some good ideas – and i always, always, always, learn something myself from the crowd every time i give it.

Let’s Test: How will you keep me awake during your session?
Mike: This will surely not be a boring workshop.  You will not be able to sleep because we will have hands on activities, group discussions, fun experiments, and eye opening revelations.  I guarantee that each and every person will leave with at LEAST one new thing learned that they did NOT come to the class knowing.
What’s the last professional event you attended and what did you learn?

I have been speaking a lot at conferences and events all over the world.  While i have been speaking since 2011, in 2017, I have traveled and spoken at more places than any year before.  I have spoken in Melbourne, Australia at QSA, i have spoken for STPCon in Phoenix, AZ, i have spoken for the KWSQA meetup in Canada, and i have spoken for various meetups local to my home.  I love meeting new people and hearing their ideas and making connections.  I truly cannot wait to get to LTSA and meet the folks there as well!

Martin Hynie

Let’s Test: What famous person, movie, TV show or song has inspired you?
Martin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt1PfbtohSo

Let’s Test: What do you hope to experience at LTSA?
Martin: The energy that the SA community brings with them to every Let’s Test SA. It is why I keep coming back.

Let’s Test: What gives your life rhythm or rocks you into actions?
Martin: Curiosity and a desire to connect with those who see things differently

Let’s Test: What word in software projects lights sparks in your brain? And why?
Martin: Mission. When I hear this, I know we are thinking about purpose, and not end goal.

The energy that the SA community brings with them to every Let’s Test SA…It is why I keep coming back.

Let’s Test: What question about testing do you hope to answer in the near future?
Martin: How do we move towards supporting those who write the code, and further away from uncovering what they actually wrote.

Let’s Test: Why should I not go to your session?
Martin: If you are sure you have all the answers… then you already know why.

Let’s Test: How will you keep me awake during your session?
Martin: Ilari.

Let’s Test: What’s the last professional event you attended and what did you learn?
Martin: Let’s Test Stockholm, Testbash (Manchester, Philly, Brighton) Copenhagen Context, LTGW… seriously do you know who I am? I have a very serious problem. I attend.allTheConferences()
But… I also attended the Analysis to Action with SenseMaker workshop recently… you really want to come to our workshop to find out why this might matter to you

Paul Holland

Let’s Test: What famous person, movie, TV show or song has inspired you?
Paul: Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Because it makes me laugh. Laughter relaxes me and allows me to be creative. When I’m creative I find more bugs.

Let’s Test: What do you hope to experience at LTSA?
Paul: Having fun, meeting awesome people, learning a lot.

Let’s Test: What gives your life rhythm or rocks you into actions?
Paul: Sarcasm.

Let’s Test: What word in software projects lights sparks in your brain? And why?
Paul: Best Practices, Quality Assurance, Metrics – I’ll say why in my keynote. 🙂

Laughter relaxes me and allows me to be creative. When I’m creative I find more bugs.

Let’s Test: What question about testing do you hope to answer in the near future?
Paul: What is the one best way to test everything. I’m almost there. (See? Sarcasm!)

Let’s Test: Why should I not go to your session?
Paul: Because you will be hung over from drinking and talking with awesome people the night before.

Let’s Test: How will you keep me awake during your session?
Paul: By talking loudly (and hopefully being interesting and perhaps controversial)

Let’s Test: What’s the last professional event you attended and what did you learn?
Paul: Let’s Test is the 12th conference of the year for me. I think the last before the conference will be Agile Testing Days in Germany. I haven’t learned anything there yet. 🙂

Richard Philips

Let’s Test: What do you hope to experience at Let’s Test SA 2017?
Richard: I hope to make some new connections with international testers and to align my thinking (once again) with some of the most critical minds out there in the market place.

Let’s Test: What gives your life rhythm or rocks you into actions?
Richard: My children bring the rhythmic chaos and trail running eases the chaos and stress.

Let’s Test: What word in software projects lights sparks in your brain? And why?
Richard: “Final version” – How many specifications or stories have we seen with “final version” appended to the end. I once worked with a spec called Requirements Final Copy Final V3.docx.
When working with software (or any building project for that matter), this scope creep is a given. It will happen. As a tester though, it always adds complexity and risk to a solution. Managing this risk and knowing when to draw the line is one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of being a tester.

…knowing when to draw the line is one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of being a tester…

Let’s Test: What question about testing do you hope to answer in the near future?
Richard: How can I build a well-integrated automation test suite to free up more of my time that is currently spent doing manual testing of Webservices and API calls?

Let’s Test: Why should I not go to your session?
Richard: This will not be a technical session at all, so if you are interested only in the more technical aspects of testing, then this will be disappointing. I will be focussing on the more human aspects of our trade.

Let’s Test: How will you keep me awake during your session?
Richard: Tough one… I’m the last speaker at the conference, so this will be a real challenge. I think the answer lies in the fact that I will weave humour and real life stories into my talk.

Let’s Test: What’s the last professional event you attended and what did you learn?
Richard: Agile Testing Days in Potsdam (Germany). It’s difficult to pinpoint “a” learning from this experience. Overall, I learned that we are on the right track here in South Africa. Our testing frameworks and approach is world-class.

Alison Gitelson

Let’s Test: What famous person, movie, TV show or song has inspired you?
Alison: Every true story movie of people pulling together to win or to overcome major obstacles.

Let’s Test: What do you hope to experience at LTSA?
Alison: Fun, learning and friendship.

Let’s Test: What gives your life rhythm or rocks you into actions?
Alison: Clarity. When I can see what needs to be done to get better results anywhere I either want to jump in and do it myself or start lobbying for others to do it.

Let’s Test: What word in software projects lights sparks in your brain? And why?
Alison: What question about testing do you hope to answer in the near future?  How can we test more quickly and more effectively?

…we in South Africa are in the same position as all the other countries trying to deliver software…

Let’s Test: Why should I not go to your session?
Alison: (Session 1: Getting my message across bravely and effectively) Because you will be strongly encouraged to contribute and learn and move around and think and question.
Alison: (Session 1: Reflection session) You don’t want to remember the best things you learnt when you get back to work.

Let’s Test: How will you keep me awake during your session?
Alison: (Getting my message across bravely and effectively) I will keep you moving around participating in ‘games’ that teach your body and mind together in a fun way.
Alison: (Reflection session) You will be too busy writing on flip charts and stickies and sharing your key insights with other people, to be able to fall asleep.

Let’s Test: What’s the last professional event you attended and what did you learn?
Alison: Global Scrum Gathering Singapore. I learnt that we in South Africa are in the same position as all the other countries trying to deliver software and other projects in an Agile manner. Some successes, some failures and a lot of “we are sort of getting there”.

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Remember, you can find all of our speaker’s full bio’s here.