Monthly Archives: June 2018

Another EPIC TestAbility Academy course comes to an end

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The second run of the EPIC TestAbility Academy recently came to an end. For this second run, we had ten students and nine made it to the end of the 12-week course.

I unfortunately only managed to be present for four sessions this time, due to various work and personal overseas travel commitments so Paul Seaman shared the teaching load with Michele Playfair during the other eight sessions.

I was fortunate to be able to Skype into the final session, though, from the Czech Republic to wish the students well and congratulate them on their achievement in making it through the course. The final session included the presentation of completion certificates and also the chance for some great photos thanks to professional photographer, Monika Berry.

Lee Skypes in from the Czech Republic during the last session of ETA #2

Hard-earned certificates of completion

ETA #2 students and trainers

(To see the full set of Monika’s photos, visit https://mbcaptured.pixieset.com/epicassist/)

This second group was very different from our first and certainly proved the oft-quoted statement about autism: “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” Our approach to teaching the course needed to change quite significantly in response to the different personalities and group vibe, these are good learnings as we plan for the next run of the course. As context-driven testers, we of course know that context is everything and this was another example of using our CDT mindset to great effect.

My personal thanks to Paul for taking on so much extra load in teaching the course in my absences and also to Michele for her unbelievable commitment at short notice to play such a big role in bringing this run of the course to a successful conclusion. Thanks also to Kym Vassiliou and Craig Thompson from EPIC – your belief in the programme and continued commitment to it are great motivators and ETA wouldn’t be what it is today without you.

The people who make ETA happen (left to right: Michele, Craig, Paul, Kym)

Planning for the third run has already begun! If you know anyone who might be suited and interested in learning the basics of software testing through this programme, please let them know to register on the EPIC Assist website.