AB Testing

In this engaging interview, Chris Armstrong from SmartBear discusses the evolving role of testing in the age of AI, emphasizing the importance of curiosity, system thinking, and responsible AI integration to ensure quality and trust in software development.https://smartbear.com/ai-software-quality-gap-report/https://smartbear.com/blog/levels-of-autonomy-in-software-development-closing-the-gap-between-creation-and-confidence/

Shachin Agarwal and Pulkit Agarwal join Alan for a discussion on AI in testing.https://evertest.ai

In this engaging interview, Elisabeth Hendrickson shares her journey through the tech industry, her insights on systems thinking, and the principles behind her upcoming book 'Signals and Levers.' Discover how her experiences shape modern approaches to quality, leadership, and software delivery.Elisabeth's book: https://signalsandlevers.com/Elisabeth's linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/testobsessed/The Curious Duck website: https://curiousduck.io/

In this replay of episode 103, we are joined by Jason Huggins, the creator of Selenium, to discuss the true intent of the tool and why the industry has developed what Alan calls a 'tragic sickness' and an 'unhealthy infatuation' with UI automation. Driven by his belief that hand-crafted UI tests are an inefficient 'money pit' and a 'maintenance nightmare,' Alan challenges the traditional reliance on Selenium and advocates for developers owning automation to ensure better code design. Together with Huggins, we explore the history of the 'mercury monster' and the 'Steel Cage Match' while looking toward a future where robotics, AI-assisted record-and-playback, and data-driven experimentation replace brittle, legacy scripts

SummaryIn this episode of the AB Testing Podcast, host Spy welcomes back Walmyr, a seasoned QA engineer and educator, to discuss his journey in quality assurance, the importance of quality culture in software development, and the transition to agile environments. Walmyr shares insights on his experiences with test automation, the significance of effective test design, and the challenges of navigating job changes and company culture. The conversation also touches on personal growth, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and the impact of remote work on team dynamics. Walmyr emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and knowledge sharing in the tech industry, making this episode a valuable resource for anyone interested in quality assurance and software development.More on Walmyr here: https://walmyr.dev/

In this episode of the A-B Testing Podcast, Spy, Walmyr, and Global Warming reflect on the past year, discussing their favorite books, podcasts, and entertainment from 2025. They delve into the importance of code review and refactoring in the age of AI, share personal finance strategies, and explore the evolving landscape of remote work. The conversation also touches on predictions for 2026, including the impact of AI on job markets and the future of work dynamics.

Lina joins Spy this week to talk about metrics, her upcoming book, and a bit about AI (with a whole lot of ranting).More from Lina on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/linazubyte/

Spy is joined by Globalworming, and we talk about quality as a system, PCT hike statistics, and narrative fiction.

Brent is still on hiatus, so Spy-Friend Timm Gleason joins the podcast this week to talk about stuff - but especially Spy's rant's on project management.

Back after a long hiatus - or half back. No Brent this week, but Andreas Worm and Danny Faught listen while I tell trail stories

We take on a mailbag question, and then talk a bit about the upcoming AB Testing hiatus as Alan prepares for a very long walk in the woods.

We ramble a bit...but then get somewhere interesting. Worth a listen.

Alan gives Brent some advice on engaging remote workers, and Alan shares some bigly news.

We take a mailbag question - and talk about other stuff.

More ranting and discussions (and sometimes, some insights) from Brent and Alan.

It's been a while, but we're back to disagree about measuring developer productivity, and then talk about the doom and rebirth coming from AI.

Usual end of year episode where we reflect on 2024, and look forward to 2025.

Once again, we ramble on topics we didn't plan on talking about.

Welp - Alan asked Brent how it was going, he said it was review season, and then 40 minutes of babbling commenced

We're lazy, so we let chatgpt kick us off with a mailbag question. Tangents followed.

It's hard to tell what we talked about in this episode. But it involved a sleep-deprived Alan, and Brent, the Cat-Lady.

The wonderful Dagna Bieda joins us to talk about her new book, Brain Refactor. Buy the book at https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Refactor-Engineering-Fulfillment-Opportunities/dp/B0DB69G798/ and learn more about Dagna at https://www.themindfuldev.com/

We talk about this article - https://stackoverflow.blog/2024/06/10/generative-ai-is-not-going-to-build-your-engineering-team-for-you/ - which is good, but hyperbolic at times.

Just like millions of others, we feel the need to talk about crowdstrike - just a bit. Then we talk about leadership, engagement, and potential new podcasting ventures.

It's another episode of the AI Testing Podcast, where we discuss the advancements of AI, parallels to nuclear war, and what humans will do in the future. Links - OpenAI reportedly nears breakthrough with “reasoning” AI, reveals progress framework The Day After

We talk about a lot of stuff - because that's what we do. Somewhere in there, we talk about the overlap between the ways of devops and MT, and Brent threatens to rewrite the first principle.

We talk about "Podcast Alan", and a bit about Alan's day job. Once again, going with the minimal editing approach.

It's been a long break. Again. But there are reasons. This time, we take a mailbag question and talk about the challenges of organizational change.

In the aftermath of the episode 200 extravaganza, we talk about Fallout (the show), and take a mailbag question that evolves into yet more discussions on AI.

We recorded this episode live - sort of. We have guests. We have fun. We get bobbleheads. We talk about AI. It's EVERYTHING you could ask for on our 200th episode AND 10th anniversary.

For the first time in ten years, Brent and Alan both listen to the very first episode of AB Testing (so you don't have to).

We talk about fiefdoms - but mostly we end up talking about the growth mindset.

Somewhere in the middle of a whole lot of tangents, we take a walk though James Whittaker's post on The Resurrection of Software Testing - https://medium.com/@docjamesw/the-resurrection-of-software-testing-634423cd8411

We had a great time with a wonderful guest. Big thanks to Kat Obring for hanging out with us. Sign up for Kat's newsletter here - https://katobring.podia.com/ You can find Kat on linkedin here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katjaobring/ And even more about Kat and her business here - https://kato-coaching.com/

We start with a bit of a retro of the last few episodes and once again head off into the weeds of AI.

It's the remainder of the interview with Jason. It gets fun, it gets weird, and it gets cool.

We spent a little extra time with Jason and talked A LOT about AI, testing in AI, and whether or not Alan or Brent will have a quality title some day.

We are joined by Bryan Finster who talks about his journey with CD, Developer Testing, and he shares all kinds of fantastic information on delivering quality software. You can read his 5-minute devops blog at blog.bryanfinster.com see his podcast (vcast?) on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@devhopspodcast9535) and see some of his work on CD at minimumcd.org

It's our annual year end episode where we discuss our predictions from a year ago, reflect on the last year, and think a bit about what may happen in 2024.

We talk a bit about our friend chat GPT, and then talk about heroes in the workplace. There's an obvious cross-over to Alan's post on angryweasel.substack.com that's worth checking out.

We're back and recording on a new platform - except when we aren't. In this episode, we talk about...not AI...and instead talk about the Peter Principle and Brent finally reading the Phoenix Project.

We talk with Jason Arbon about - you guessed, AI. Unfortunately, this recording only contains two thirds of our discussion, since zencastr decided to do its own thing.

Yeah - we talk about AI, and (eventually) wonder if AI can be a good CEO.

In this episode, Brent and Alan answer a mailbag question, and talk about how and when they have changed between manager and IC (individual contributor - aka non-manager) roles.

So...Perze asked a question that he said was probably a thought experiment, but we tried to answer, but Perze was right and it ended up being a thought experiment after all - but the answer is in there somewhere.

We discuss an article by the same name, but also dive extensively into the topic, whether it's true or not (or maybe), and tell some stories along the way.

We're back after a mini-break. In this episode, we talk about the concept of Premature Escalation, and whether or not teams are crossing the chasm into Modern Testing. And a bunch of tangents along the way.

We are joined by Brian Pulliam, and we go waaaay deep into StrenthgsFinders. It was fascinating and fun, and a ton of fun. Brian's website is https://refactorcoaching.com/, and you can find more about StrengthsFinders at https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/strengthsfinder.aspx

We talk a lot (again) about AI. Just like Agile was a disruptor when we began the podcast AI is a disruptor that you can ignore at your own peril, or embrace and ride the wave. There's some other good stuff here as well.

Apologies for the delay - anchor failed us for the first time (or maybe the problem was pbkac) - but posting 12 hours late regardless. We spend a little time talking about our previous guest (chat gpt), whether AI is taking our jobs away, return to office, windows phone, and /finally/ a bit (abstractly) about Alan's new gig.