We can’t do it that way, we have this exception, just like last time

This has come up a dozen or more times recently. We want/need to take some action and without skipping a beat comes the reply, "We can't do it that way because we have this special …" It was in a meeting about Katalon, "Let's set up that old Selenium project in Katalon, and move forward from there with updates. Nope, can't do that, we have to many exceptions, custom code, and custom ways doing things." No you don't, you're just lazy. It has come up with making Agile changes, process changes, UX changes that allow automation, and as above, even getting a project inside Katalon which is where the new code is written. Or at least where it should be written. I see this all over the place. People think the "one off" is a one off even thought it's happened half a dozen times in a row. Even though it derails the project. Even though it cobbles the code […]

Tracking the next phase of my automation development with Project Office

I picked up Project Office in a recent BundleHunt offer. Not to be confused with Microsoft Project, part of Office, Project Office is a standalone project management tool for the Mac by DK Consulting. It looks and works in a similar fashion to MS Project, but is more streamlined, works locally, and costs far less. Nor is it subscription based. I’ve been looking for the right set of tasks to use it with, and this automation project seems like a great candidate. To get started, I have listed the objectives I would like to complete for this next phase. For each task, I have entered the amount of time I expect it to take. This is a good exercise on it’s own. I listed out the individual tasks, and broke down several other topics into their components. Here are a couple of examples of what needs to be completed. I need to create Execution Profiles – QA – Prod Custom […]

Pagico for Project Management

Since I have 2Do for handling tasks, I have Pagico for handling the project. The main difference is that Pagico handles the larger details. For example, you can define the overall pieces of a project, attach relevant requirements documents, add links to important sites, and set up contacts for people that own different parts of the project. I find it very handy to connect all the major documents and milestones of a project within Pagico, then handle each of the individual parts (tasks and test plan) within 2Do. For example, the Jira Epic is listed in Pagico, with the projected start and end date. I then add the requirements, the components under development, PDF documents, screenshots, links to sites or APIs, and any other documentation that I will need to keep track of. I can then make checklists, list milestones and review what needs to be done and when. This would come in the form of, on 7/1/2019, component X […]