We are really pleased to announce that after lots of hard work and preparation; Testing Circle have passed our REC Inspection!

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) are the governing body that overlook all Employment Businesses and Agencies to ensure we are adhering to the correct codes of conduct and policies, as well as helping us better our practises for Clients and Candidates alike.  We are already honoured to be a member but honestly, being one of the seven businesses chosen (out of 4,000!) to be inspected was a little daunting!  Having the inspection was really important to us not only to vet our standards, but to understand where we can continue to improve.

For Testing Circle; being a member of REC is so important as it helps the people who deal with us on a daily basis, understand what they can expect from us.  It is a set of benchmarks that we should continually strive to surpass and the set of core values that we should aim to echo.  We are not just another Recruitment Agency - we take a consultative approach to all six arms of our business; after all...people don’t buy products, they buy solutions to their problems.

“The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) is the professional body dedicated to representing the interests of the UK’s £19.7 billion recruitment industry in Parliament, Whitehall, the European Commission and to press and opinion formers.  We represent 3,750 Corporate Members, with more than 7,700 branches, and 5,550 Individual Members within the Institute of Recruitment Professionals.  We are committed to raising standards and highlighting excellence throughout the recruitment industry and all REC Members must abide by the REC Code of Professional Practice” -- REC

“The internet contributes to 8.3% of the UK economy, a bigger share than for any of the other G20 major countries, a new study suggests.  The "internet economy" was worth £121bn in 2010, more than £2,000 per person, researchers at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said.  That made it bigger than the healthcare, construction or education sectors.  The UK also carries out far more retail online than any other major economy.  Some 13.5% of all purchases were done over the internet in 2010, according to BCG, and this is projected to rise to 23% by 2016” -- BBC Business News

To be honest...at least 8% of that initial figure is pretty much down to my online shopping addiction ;)

Let’s be honest; a business is hardly a business these days if they don’t have a website.  It doesn’t necessarily need to be an ecommerce site; it can just be a brilliant source of information which boasts a great conversion rate leading to loads of sales.  For example, you can’t buy anything directly from our website; but if you are looking for information about who we are and what we do, then it’s a good place to start.

“While only a quarter of those surveyed said they would consider giving up sex for a year in order to maintain their broadband connection, the figures for other vices were much higher. When surveyed about what people would give up in order to keep their broadband connection, “some 65% would give up alcohol, 76% chocolate and 78% coffee”.  Give up chocolate...are they mad?!!

“Why is it that between 25 and 50 per cent of people report feeling overwhelmed or burned out at work?  It's not just the number of hours we're working, but also the fact that we spend too many continuous hours juggling too many things at the same time.  What we've lost, above all, are stopping points, finish lines and boundaries. Technology has blurred them beyond recognition. Wherever we go, our work follows us, on our digital devices, ever insistent and intrusive. It's like an itch we can't resist scratching, even though scratching invariably makes it worse” -- HBR Blog

The article goes on, asking you to ‘tell the truth’ as to whether you email during conference calls, or surf the net during meetings.  Oops :) I have to say I’m probably one of those...I’m not proud of it or anything, but I do tend to multi-task.  I do however agree that if you try to do everything at once, you’re not focussing properly on anything at all.  Honestly, it’s happened to me a few times; I’ve quickly responded to an email whilst I’m on the phone - then reread the email a little later and I’ve addressed it to the person I was speaking to on the phone.  Not exactly the most professional.

I read an article recently that said you should dedicate certain times to checking and responding to emails - don’t always be readily available to everyone; check them first thing in the morning, then at midday, then mid-afternoon.  I used to be guilty of this - the second an email came through, I’d deal with it even if I was in the middle of something else.  I don’t need to explain the ramifications of stopping and starting a project every five minutes - let’s just say it’s not great for productivity.  Now I’ve adopted a new principle - I rank what I’m doing on a scale of 1-5; 1 being not so important and 5 being ‘do not disturb’.  If an email comes through and it ranks higher than what I’m currently doing then I’ll deal with it then; if it ranks lower then it can wait.  It’s a pretty simple system but seems to be working pretty well for me!

The HBR Blog article continues to say that it’s up to each of us to set out our own days (whether you work in a very structured company or work from home) - by using these three behaviours:

1.       “Do the most important thing first in the morning”
2.       “Establish regular, scheduled time to think more long term, creatively, or strategically”
3.       “Take real and regular vacations”

Do you agree?  Do you have three set behaviours that you adopt on a daily basis?  Let me know and let’s start a whole forum of ideas on how to make our days more productive and less stressful!

“Earlier this month Apple announced that downloads of "apps" had hit 25 billion.  It is proof of the massive reach of these small pieces of software for mobile devices.  The 25 billionth app downloaded was a game called "Where's my water" by Disney, featuring Swampy the Alligator” -- BBC Business

25 BILLION?!!  That’s an awful lot of apps.  And according to the BBC, this is the first time Disney have released a new character on an app rather than via film...kind of incredible how the tables have turned and that Disney are certain that ‘Swampy the Alligator’ will still reach their target audience of kids.  “Bart Decrem, general manager of Disney Mobile, said gaming - once traditionally the realm of "teenage boys" - is now reaching a much wider audience.” (BBC Business)

I recently saw this quote on one of my friends Facebook profiles:

“Kids these days have mobiles, laptops and tablets.  In my day, we had paper, crayons and an imagination”

Ok so whilst this is potentially true (also, in my opinion down to parents allowing too much emphasis on material possessions, but that’s a whole other story!) I also think that imagination can stem from technology.  I’m still inspired and enthused by articles I read on various blogs, as well as by reading books; and by a cool app I’ve been recommended as well as having a chat with a friend.  There is definitely a place for both - and I say ‘both’ in the hopes that people will understand that there is still very much a place for the written word (or the handwritten word!) and conversations with old friends.  Not to get all nostalgic or anything :)

“Does getting a test certification make you a better tester?”  This is the question asked by Ramanath Shanbhag in the most recent edition of ‘Test’ Magazine.  “I remember reading a blog from James Whittaker (currently working as Test Director at Google) which said “I have yet to meet a single tester at Microsoft who is certified.  Most don’t even know there is such a thing.  They’ve all learnt testing the old fashioned way: by reading all the books and papers they can get their hands on, apprenticing themselves to people at the company that are better at it than they are and critiquing the gurus and would-be gurus who spout off in person and in print.”  This is what he said when he was at Microsoft (more than three years ago) and I don’t think his thoughts would have changed even at Google” -- Ramanath Shanbhag for Test Magazine.

Ok so don’t get me wrong; I’m certainly not saying an ISEB/ISTQB Certification is unnecessary - I think for graduates or people looking into getting into Testing, it’s a great place to start.  It gives a really good grounding and is pretty reasonably priced (*shameless plug* check out the Training Sales tab on our website for great prices!)  More and more often on job specs, we are seeing this certification popping up as a pre-requisite for an application and although I agree in principal - what have people been doing for the last few decades without this piece of paper?  I’m all for saying that in a graduates position or even a junior position, that an ISEB/ISTQB is needed - but for a Test Manager or Test Director - is it really necessary to check that they have a piece of paper to prove that they can do what they’ve been doing for 10, 15, 20 years?

Testing Circle offer four levels of courses for Software Testers - Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced and Advanced Test Manager.  As I said above, it’s a great idea for graduates or junior level testers to get their ISEB, it’s just a good back up for their knowledge and proves they are willing to learn outside of their core working hours.  The Testing Circle IT Academy offers this course as part of our training scheme - hands on experience alongside ISEB/ISTQB Foundation Certification studying - we have had very positive feedback about the ‘multi-pronged attack’ and we know that in this instance, the certification definitely does well on their CV when we are discussing their profiles with Clients.

Do you have another opinion?  I’d love to hear it - maybe someone would even like to write a guest blog counter argument?  Email me!

“Take silliness seriously.  Theme days, dress-up days, contests, and even coordinated teasing of executives keeps our culture loose, fast, and fun. Pay attention to popular shows and pop culture and coordinate an event that capitalizes on what's hot out in the world. We got media coverage from the employee-driven "pirates" vs. "ninjas" competition day in our offices. It wasn't a PR stunt. It was just something that made our employees happy. Cost to the company?  Some boxes and poster paper” -- Paul Spiegelman and Lara Morrow for Inc.com

Despite the obvious ‘Pirates vs. Ninjas’ debate (to be continued...) I think the real subject matter of the article is pretty important.  I read the Inc.com write-up this morning because it was entitled “Great Company Culture Isn’t Pricey” and it really rang home.  I am all for making a working environment a fun and inspiring place to me - and I understand that each person works differently.  The quote above was taken from the seventh point of how to make a “low-to-no cost culture” where the majority of ideas cost next to nothing...it’s a pretty great read if you have a spare five minutes.

The big question for me is...if you are a senior member of staff; are you doing everything you can to make your team comfortable and happy therefore far more productive?  In my opinion, the role of a manager is to remove the road blocks and the obstacles so your team can sail smoothly through.  There are enough worries and difficulties in the world without making your team feel stressed at work.  So why not shield them from the bad things, praise them for the good things...and let them give you suggestions as to how they could be more productive.  It doesn’t cost anything to listen.

Let the Pirate vs. Ninja debate commence!

By the way...Happy National Employee Appreciation Day!

“The regulator Ofcom says the measures are needed to stop so-called "bill shock".  It says its research shows that 1.4 million customers with mobile phone contracts have been hit by surprisingly large bills in the past six months.  “Ofcom believes mobile providers can do more to help customers control the amount they spend on their mobile phones," the regulator said.  "Ofcom has written to the mobile providers calling on them to do more to develop and promote 'opt-in' measures, such as tariffs that allow consumers to set their own financial caps or receive alerts about usage."  The move was welcomed by the consumers' association Which?.” -- BBC

FINALLY!!  I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve opened my bill at the end of the month and thought that my network provider has misplaced a decimal point!  So sign me up to whoever is going to offer this service!

As a counter argument; I do understand that Telco companies need to make their money from somewhere (because it’s not like they make enough I guess?!) so if we all capped our bills then that little bit extra *cough - £200 a month* would disappear.  I am trying to stretch my imagination a little further but to be perfectly honest, I’m drawing blanks.

Ofcom...my new best friends :)

When we talk about website security in this day and age it’s typically accompanied with a question like "who has anonymously hacked this time?” frequently proving that no one is safe if you have annoyed the wrong people. Combine this with high profile security breaches of companies like Sony and Valves digital distribution platform ‘Steam’ and its clear the internet is a dangerous place.

The majority of attacks focus on a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) which in essence leaves users unable to access the website. This is done by flooding the target with excessive requests to the point where the server can no longer handle the strain. This is a popular method of attack because the Botnets required to execute one can be rented cheaply or with a little more effort created through infecting other networks.

With so much to worry about in the form of malicious users you think companies would do their best to ensure legitimate users from doing the same. Personally I have experienced this 3 times in the last year and I’m sure there are plenty more examples out there. Let me shed a little more light on these experiences:

1.       HP Fire Sale – When HP announced that they were going to be selling their TouchPad for £89 the online community went crazy. Each time a new retailer announced its price had dropped chances are that minutes later the website would be struggling with load (in the best of cases) or completely stopped responding (in the worst). I saw this take down some online giants likes Dabs and Currys as well as an extensive list of small independent retailers.

2.       The Ebuyer £1 sale – In an effort to shift a load of old stock Ebuyer decided to sell a bunch of items for £1; however their server capacity was not prepared for the huge increase in traffic. This resulted with the website being unusable for the majority of the day meaning that not only the people there for the sale but regular everyday users were unable to complete any transactions.

3.       Apple iPhone 4S pre orders – Probably the least serious of the bunch but still worth a mention. On the day the iPhone 4S was announced the ordering system was slowed to a snail’s pace as over a million people placed pre-orders. Personally it took me around 30 minutes to complete what should have been a 5 minute process; this in turn slowed down the rest of Apples site as well.

Apple for one certainly must have learnt from their mistakes following the previous years release of the iPhone 4 where they had to stop accepting preorders at 9am due to a ‘Computer Glitch’.

While it’s difficult to predict exactly how much extra capacity would be needed for such events perhaps with a little foresight and more load testing these problems could have been recognised earlier and defensive measures put in place.

Craig Pilgrim is a Software Tester at Lightspeed IT Solutions.  Testing Circle would like to thank Craig for his contribution as a guest blogger!

“Richard Moross wants you to know that business cards are alive and well. As the CEO of MOO, the company that pioneered those clever mini cards with do-it-yourself design options, Moross says the business of printing may be 500+ years old, but it's doing quite nicely, thank you very much” -- Fast Company

After having a look at the ‘MOO’ website, I have to say...I want some new business cards!  In fact, scratch that...these things aren’t even just business cards; they are a whole new kind of thing.  It’s amazing the inspiration I got for a new bunch of cards, just by looking at their website.  These Mini-Cards will act as a gateway, a quick snap shot of who you are, what you do, who your company are, their ideals.  A picture really does say a thousand words - and you could say so many things about yourself or your company on one small piece of paper.

With the infinite amounts of technology out there, you’d be forgiven for thinking that business cards are irrelevant.  I however, think that it’s for that exact reason that they’re so important.  The power of the written word is still alive and strong - I, for one still go to bookshops instead of picking up a Kindle; or love writing a letter to family abroad instead of emailing.  The MOO business card bridges the gap between personal and business...

““It is hard to generate trust virtually and convey your personality through a Skype call,” Moross explains. Though he says, “we sell the most boring products in the world,” Moross notes that business cards are resilient for a number of reasons, not the least of which is simplicity. “You don't need to upgrade the OS. Everyone understands what it is, and it just works”” -- Fast Company

Couldn’t have said it better myself ;) ...so what picture/saying would be on your MOO mini-card?