The attributes that pulls Hilda Baci through her 100 hours cookathon that every software tester should have.

I know this is a trending topic, and I'm not here to reiterate who Hilda Baci is or what the trending topic is all about; you can check out her page for details here . But while Hilda Baci's accomplishment in completing the 100-hour cookathon and breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest individual cooker may seem unrelated to software testing at first glance, there are valuable lessons that software testers can learn from this experience:

?? Perseverance and Endurance:

Hilda Baci's achievement required immense perseverance and endurance to cook continuously for 100 hours. Similarly, as software testers, you will often encounter challenging and demanding situations during testing projects. You need to exhibit perseverance and endurance to overcome obstacles, handle complex scenarios, and ensure the quality of the software throughout the testing process, no matter the tight schedule.

She did persevere

?? Attention to Detail:

Cooking for such an extended period demands meticulous attention to detail, including precise measurements, timing, and ingredient preparation. As a software tester, you must also pay meticulous attention to detail when designing test cases, executing tests, and analyzing results. You must have a keen eye for even the most minor issues, ensuring that every aspect of the software is thoroughly tested. It is not enough to test the application holistically, zoom into the tiniest feature, and test thoroughly. This is not a negotiable skill; it is a must!

Quality should never be compromised. Quality product release or nothing. Just like Hilda, all the meals cooked had a delicious taste.

?? Time Management:

A 100-hour cookathon requires effective time management to maintain consistency and deliver results. Though we understand most organizations don't prioritize testing time, you must educate your team on the importance of adequate testing time. However, as a software tester, you must manage your time efficiently, allocating sufficient time for test planning, execution, and reporting. Ensuring you work alongside other activities following the swim lane. You should prioritize testing activities based on project timelines and ensure testing is completed within the allotted schedule.

?? Focus and Concentration:

Maintaining focus and concentration is crucial during a 100-hour cookathon to prevent errors and ensure the food's quality. This was key to breaking the record she aimed for, so despite all the fun and cheering, she had one fundamental function to maintain: focus and concentration. Software testing also requires high focus and concentration to detect defects, identify inconsistencies, and provide accurate feedback on the software's functionality and performance. To maintain focus and concentration at work, a few things I do are:

• Either working remotely, hybrid, or entirely onsite, one rule of the game is to keep social media and personal life out of dedicated work hours.
• Have a list of what you want to do.
• Execute based on priority
• Ensuring you are doing just one thing at a time. I understand you want to multitask, but if you are attentive, you do have to realize you aren't delivering as much work and a thorough job when you multitask as when you focus on one thing at a time.

?? Adaptability and Flexibility:

During her lengthy cookathon, unexpected challenges arose, such as losing strength and gas shortages. When she almost fainted, she improvised to take a 5mins break earlier than expected, and while the gas was being refilled, she was focusing on other meals that didn't need cooking, like salad, etc. Adaptability and flexibility are essential to overcome such hurdles and keep the cooking process on track. Similarly, as a software tester, you should be adaptable and flexible when confronted with changes in requirements, evolving project scopes, or shifting priorities. You should be able to adjust the testing strategies and approaches accordingly. While some fixes are occurring for some features, this is the time to focus on other documentation, regression testing, and report creation.

?? Teamwork and Collaboration:

While Hilda Baci completed the cookathon individually, teamwork and collaboration can still be applied metaphorically. You can check out all her planning work here . Software testers often work as part of a larger development team, and effective collaboration with developers, project managers, and stakeholders is vital. You can contribute to a more efficient and successful testing process by fostering open communication, sharing knowledge, and collaborating effectively.

It takes a village to build a mighty fortress

?? Record-Keeping and Documentation:

Breaking a Guinness World Record requires meticulous record-keeping and documentation to validate the achievement. This process takes due diligence and investigation to ensure there is no compromise; hence, it is essential that proper documentation is paramount. Similarly, software testers should maintain comprehensive records of their testing activities, including test plans, test cases, test execution results, and bug reports. This document has to be kept current and updated frequently. Proper documentation facilitates traceability, enhances collaboration, and provides a reference for future testing cycles.

?? Excellence:

Excellence means beating your own record. She exceeded the previous record of 87 hours and 45 minutes by an additional 23 hours to reach 100 hours and 45 minutes, setting her own record.

• It was not enough to just hit 87 hours and 47 minutes. She won't be breaking any records by doing that. As a software tester, just testing a positive scenario against acceptance criteria is actually not software testing.
• She aimed at hitting 96 hours. Aim at thoroughly testing both positive and negative scenarios, ensuring 100% test coverage.

• She eventually stopped at 100 hours and 45 minutes. Now that is excellence! Going far and above when testing is what excellence means. In most cases, product managers won't cover all possible acceptance criteria, and developers won't initiate a new scenario. As a central man with many hats, it is important for you to think deeply about the business requirements, propose uncovered scenarios to the team, and innovate possible ideas and solutions that can make the product better and satisfy the customer.

She did it; you can too.

By embracing these lessons as a software tester, you can enhance your testing skills, contribute to delivering high-quality software, and achieve success in your projects.