I Can't Do That -- Using the Force To Unlock Your True Testing Potential by Ford Arnett

1. I CAN’T DO THAT
Using the force to unlock your true potential

2. About Me
● Lead Automation Engineer at Bottle
Rocket Studios
● Electrical and Computer Engineering
Degree from UT Austin
● 7 years experience software
development and automation
● Leader of Dallas QA Automation Group

3. What’s Stopping You
From Reaching Your
Potential?

4. What is Your Motivation?
● Why do you want to go on this journey?
● Are you taking the right steps to get there?

5. What is Your Motivation?
● Money is good, but won’t get you past your
hurdles
● What is your passion?
○ Explore, build, create are passions
■ Engineering, programming are actions
● Find something that fuels your passions

6. If I Had A Dollar For Everytime I Heard...
● “Other people are so good at it, but it just doesn’t come naturally to me”
● “If only I understood it as well as this other person”
● “I tried but didn’t understand, so I gave up”

7. I’m Just Not Good At It
● Much easier to see end product than all the work put into it
● Just like any other skill, there are plateaus
● Fear of failure

8. Negative Thoughts
● Alison Ledgerwood Ted Talk “How Can We
Reframe Setbacks In A Positive Light”
● Examination of the power of negativity
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/24/725514227/alison-ledgerwood-how-can-we-reframe-setbacks-in-a-positive-light

9. Negative Thoughts
● Easier to be negative, sticks longer
● Once a positive event happens, doesn’t
return to baseline
https://i.pinimg.com/474x/4c/31/6e/4c316ea2ae01be634bc9783ca982f55f--yoda-quotes-war-quotes.jpg

10. Gain/Loss Study
● 70% success rate ● 30% failure rate

11. Gain/Loss Study
● 30% fail rate ● 70% success rate

13. Starting Your Journey

14. Let’s Be Real, What’s it Going to Take?
● Hard work
● Effort
● Passion
● Time

15. Find Your Learning Preference
● Online classes
● Youtube
● Tutorials
● Community/other college courses
● Books

16. Where to Start
● Lots of hands on examples
● Find a mentor
● Discover a real world example, and do it!

17. Helping Others
● Don’t do it for them
● What are their passions?
● What is the easiest path to explore those passions?
○ It’s ok to start small

18. Let’s Automate

19. Record and Playback
● Selenium IDE
● Requires no technical knowledge
● Try to relate it to something you are interested in, or can see value in

20. Postman
● Slightly more complicated…
● ...but also allows for more options

21. Appium (Selenium for Mobile)
● Requires a fair amount of programming, but allows for virtually any UI interactions
● Still find a simple case
● Find something that interests/annoys you, go automate it

24. Resources
● https://www.ted.com/talks/alison_ledgerwood_a_simple_trick_to_improve_positive_thinking/transcript?l
anguage=en
● https://www.getpostman.com/
● https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/selenium-ide/mooikfkahbdckldjjndioackbalphokd?hl=en
● http://appium.io/
● https://www.ststworld.com/hungarian-psychologist-laszlo-polgar/
● https://www.ranorex.com/
● https://smartbear.com/product/testcomplete/overview/
● https://swapi.co/