There's Always a Duck
There's Always a Duck
A collection of essays about people, culture, and teams
About the Book
This book is a collection of my favorite and most popular essays selected from my blog (testobsessed.com) and other places I've published. Within these pages, you'll find stories about cultures, people, and teams. You'll discover how something as simple as coffee can demonstrate how "normal" is inherently context-dependent. You'll read about unfortunate failures to communicate and what ducks can teach us about translation. You'll meet people who I admire and who have inspired me. You'll read the story of the software sales guy who admitted that he wouldn't use his software either. In all, the book contains 31 essays in 179 pages spanning 15 years of writing. I've edited all the essays and added new bits to stitch the whole thing together. Even if you've been a long time reader of my blog you will find something new within these pages.
About the Author
Table of Contents
-
Preface
-
Something Familiar
- Always a Duck
- More Similar Than Different
- We're All Human
- A Duck by Any Other Name
-
Translations and Failures in Communication
- Lost in Translation
- What They Forgot to Say
- What's in a Name? Everything.
- Becky and Matthew
-
A Nice Cup of Coffee
- Normal is in the Eye of the Beholder
- ``Normal'' in Context
- Brewing Trouble
-
Software in the Wild
- But Do You Know if It's Any Good
- The Problem with 63,000 Bugs
- Inside Information
- Minimally Viable
-
Play Time
- Thinking Games
- Trucks in the Sandbox
- Adventures in Virtual Testing, a Fable
- Little Green Men
-
Observations
- Noticing the Little Things
- Looking for What's Not There
- The Problem Isn't Always THE Problem
- Schrödinger's Cat
-
Navigating
- Going Down with the Ship
- Ensuring Project Success: 10 Rules of the Road
- You Can't Test the Wings Back on an Airplane
- Don't Confuse Speed with Progress
- Fear is a Lousy Compass
-
Community
- How Tim Lister Changed My Life
- Agile Up to Here
- The Gordon Pask Award
-
Parting Thoughts
Authors have earned$10,052,337writing, publishing and selling on Leanpub, earning 80% royalties while saving up to 25 million pounds of CO2 and up to 46,000 trees.
Learn more about writing on Leanpub
The Leanpub 45-day 100% Happiness Guarantee
Within 45 days of purchase you can get a 100% refund on any Leanpub purchase, in two clicks.
See full terms
Free Updates. DRM Free.
If you buy a Leanpub book, you get free updates for as long as the author updates the book! Many authors use Leanpub to publish their books in-progress, while they are writing them. All readers get free updates, regardless of when they bought the book or how much they paid (including free).
Most Leanpub books are available in PDF (for computers), EPUB (for phones and tablets) and MOBI (for Kindle). The formats that a book includes are shown at the top right corner of this page.
Finally, Leanpub books don't have any DRM copy-protection nonsense, so you can easily read them on any supported device.
Learn more about Leanpub's ebook formats and where to read them
Top Books
- #1
C++ Best Practices
Jason TurnerLevel up your C++, get the tools working for you, eliminate common problems, and move on to more exciting things!
- #2
Digital-First Events
Joep Piscaer and Jana BorutaThe only resource you will ever need to launch your digital events program.
- #3
Algebra-Driven Design
Sandy MaguireA how-to field guide on building leak-free abstractions and algebraically designing real-world applications.
- #4
Ansible for DevOps
Jeff GeerlingAnsible is a simple, but powerful, server and configuration management tool. Learn to use Ansible effectively, whether you manage one server—or thousands.
- #5
R Programming for Data Science
Roger D. PengThis book brings the fundamentals of R programming to you, using the same material developed as part of the industry-leading Johns Hopkins Data Science Specialization. The skills taught in this book will lay the foundation for you to begin your journey learning data science. Printed copies of this book are available through Lulu.
- #6
Continuous Delivery Pipelines
Dave FarleyThis practical handbook provides a step-by-step guide for you to get the best continuous delivery pipeline for your software.
- #7
Cloud Strategy
Gregor Hohpe“Strategy is the difference between making a wish and making it come true.” A successful migration to the cloud can transform your organization, but it shouldn’t be driven by wishes. This book tells you how to develop a sound strategy guided by frameworks and decision models without being overly abstract nor getting lost in product details.
- #8
node-opcua by example
Etienne RossignonGet the best out of node-opcua through a set of documented examples by the author himself that will allow you to create stunning OPCUA Servers or Clients.
- #9
Technical leadership and the balance with agility
Simon BrownA developer-friendly, practical and pragmatic guide to lightweight software architecture, technical leadership and the balance with agility.
- #10
Everyday Rails - RSpecによるRailsテスト入門
Junichi Ito (伊藤淳一), AKIMOTO Toshiharu, 魚振江, and Aaron SumnerRSpecを使ってRailsアプリケーションに信頼性の高いテストを書く実践的なアドバイスを提供します。詳細で丁寧な説明は本書のオリジナルコンテンツです。また、説明には実際に動かせるサンプルアプリケーションも使用します。本書は2017年版にアップデートされ、RSpec 3.6やRails 5.1といった新しい環境に対応しています！さあ、自信をもってテストできるようになりましょう！
Top Bundles
- #1
Software Architecture for Developers: Volumes 1 & 2 - Technical leadership and communication
2 Books
"Software Architecture for Developers" is a practical and pragmatic guide to modern, lightweight software architecture, specifically aimed at developers. You'll learn:The essence of software architecture.Why the software architecture role should include coding, coaching and collaboration.The things that you really need to think about before... - #2
CCIE Service Provider Ultimate Study Bundle
2 Books
Piotr Jablonski, Lukasz Bromirski, and Nick Russo have joined forces to deliver the only CCIE Service Provider training resource you'll ever need. This bundle contains a detailed and challenging collection of workbook labs, plus an extensively detailed technical reference guide. All of us have earned the CCIE Service Provider certification... - #3
Modern C++ by Nicolai Josuttis
2 Books
- #4
Django for Beginners/APIs/Professionals
3 Books
- #5
Modern Management Made Easy
3 Books
Read all three Modern Management Made Easy books. Learn to manage yourself, lead and serve others, and lead the organization. - #6
Cisco CCNA 200-301 Complet
4 Books
Ce lot comprend les quatre volumes du guide préparation à l'examen de certification Cisco CCNA 200-301. - #7
Mastering Containers
2 Books
Docker and Kubernetes are taking the world by storm! These books will get you up-to-speed fast! Docker Deep Dive is over 400 pages long, and covers all objectives on the Docker Certified Associate exam.The Kubernetes Book includes everything you need to get up and running with Kubernetes! - #8
The Python Craftsman
3 Books
The Python Craftsman series comprises The Python Apprentice, The Python Journeyman, and The Python Master. The first book is primarily suitable for for programmers with some experience of programming in another language. If you don't have any experience with programming this book may be a bit daunting. You'll be learning not just a programming... - #9
CCDE Practical Studies (All labs)
3 Books
CCDE lab - #10
Linux Administration Complet
4 Books
Ce lot comprend les quatre volumes du Guide Linux Administration :Linux Administration, Volume 1, Administration fondamentale : Guide pratique de préparation aux examens de certification LPIC 1, Linux Essentials, RHCSA et LFCS. Administration fondamentale. Introduction à Linux. Le Shell. Traitement du texte. Arborescence de fichiers. Sécurité...
