it’s hard for a lot of testers to avoid constantly thinking of ways to improve and refine different operations and processes. Most testers I know, including myself are rarely 100% satisfied with anything. They know that there must always be a faster, more efficient way to accomplish a goal. I see this on the ice, out on the field, and in my job. Don’t get me wrong, everyone wants to do the best job possible within their ability, but we all look back and think: How could I have done that better? Sometimes you can go back and completely redo something because you’ve found a better way to do something. The problem with this is reality. You won’t always have the luxury of time. Cost, and resources may dictate how you accomplish something. You learn to get things done with what you have. You learn how to get the most out of your tools, time, and money. What you don’t want to do is get in a situation where you’re second-guessing everything. You either do something right or you get someone who will help you make sure you do it right. When you finish, everything should work the way it was designed. A lot of times you’ll come across something someone else has done and you’ll know right off the bat that you could have done a better job than that. This is good. It’s a little bit of competition in you that keeps you going and striving to get better every day. You learn. You get better each day. You want to hit a home run on every job you do. When you stop feeling and thinking like this, you’re done. Sure, take a break every once in a while, or walk away to rethink a situation, but don’t lose that edge. Keep improving each day, and take the steps necessary to stay on top of things. Every once in a while you should get your tools out. Look them over and ask yourself if you’re getting the most out of each one. The same goes for your laptop and software. Get that multi-meter out and remember where it all starts. Take a look at that the data flowing that keeps your system running. What other ways can you test your system or redesign what you’re looking at. Go through each server. Go through each system and subsystem from top to bottom. Have you got a good handle on everything? Never think you know everything there is to know. Keep learning new ways and new ideas. This will help you avoid foolish mistakes. Oh, you’ll make a few in your career. Hopefully you’ll learn from each experience. Let fools talk, and you listen. You’ll need to avoid the temptation to respond too quickly. Think long and hard before you say something or do something. Make sure you know what you are talking about before you state something as matter of fact. Sometimes it’s better to be real good then real loud. If you want to promote yourself, then do good work and get things done. Fix things other people can’t. That usually gets your name around pretty fast. If you want to promote yourself than have something you can point to that shows how good you are. You’ll be your own toughest critic most of the time. That’s just the way it is.
