More JP Comments on testing

I love the comments JP leaves in my blog. I
just wish that there was some way I could be notified when people leave comments. For
example: I went back to an earlier entry recently only to find a month old comments
I would have never seen. It just would
be nice to get some sort of warning. This
isn’t from a month ago, but from my more recent post on talents required for testing. ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

<Quote JP>

…There is only one
that I might add, but only as a subnote, and that is common sense. That sounds strange,
and some might wonder, "isn't it good to have common sense as a human in general?"
Well, my answer is yes, but the reason that I bring this up is that in technology
many people tend to get caught up in features, gadgets, and just general "coolness"
that the whole concept of "how will people use this" can get lost in the technology.
While this does not always matter in academics and research, its a good thing to keep
in mind when you are trying to sell great software. (my .02)

One other thing that I would add to this discussion is that
in addition to all of these things, you really need to work with others that understand
these strengths. If you work with people who see these as weaknesses or even annoyances,
then you may not be as encouraged to do your best.

</Quote JP>

I also agree that common sense is important, but to me, falls under the talent of
being able to stay grounded in the customer.   Where
it comes in handy is when you are plowing through the volume of customer feedback
you’ll be getting and knowing what to discard and what to drive into the product.  There
will be so many ideas thrown at you from what will appear to be left field and some
won’t be very good.  

I’ll strongly agree with the second paragraph.  To
be successful you must breed an organization that values the talents you find important
to whatever you are doing. 

josh