by Justin Rohrman

Twelve months ago, the first Workshop on Self-Education in Software Testing (WHOSE) took place in West Lake, Ohio just outside of Cleveland. This was an AST Event, the goal of which was to produce a list of skills that were important for software testers. The principles of the Context Driven Testing school immediately became apparent. A simple list of skills would not be meaningful. Skills are dependent on context, how a person uses a skill is dependent on context.

What you will find in version one of the WHOSE skill book is not a skill list, but a context driven skill list. Each skill is written by a person with an authentic story of how the skill was useful to them and the context where they were able to use that skill.

This is not a list frozen in time. It will be edited, added to, commented on, and updated over time to reflect changes in the software industry at large as well as developments in software testing as a craft.

Version 1 contains ten skills, there are many more that were produced during the weekend in West Lake that will be added over time.

Version 1 of the WHOSE skill book is here.

Stay tuned for Version 2.