A day in the life of a Lead Tester

My day as a Lead Tester invariably begins with a ten-minute battle with a savage kitten. After I've fought off the beast, I'm out the door with a cup of tea in my hand and walking the mean streets of Brighton.

First things first. My main priority when I get into the Upper Comp Lab is to make sure any software that needs to be downloaded from the client is on its way, and that anything left downloading is ready to be burned to disk.

At this point, it's time for more tea.

Once the software is downloaded and burned, it's handed out to the testers. Often with the projects I lead, there are special instructions from the client, regarding either the installation of the program or the content that requires testing. I then help the testers prepare for the day, 'ghosting' their kits and installing software, ensuring minimal time is spent in preparation.

Once the testers are working, I can begin to catch up with any outstanding client correspondence. This includes answering any queries from the previous day's testing, responding to requests for testing dates and booking in the testers as required. Then it's time to see what work is booked in for the following day.
If a new project is starting, I go through all the relevant documentation to find which platforms need to be tested, what third party software needs to be installed and any other details.

Once I have this information, I can begin putting together a matrix for the testers, so they know what they'll need.
Throughout the day, I receive a lot of queries and requests from my clients - anything from feedback on a bug, to a full retest of specific issues. I also spend a large amount of my day answering the phone for Ewen, as he's invariably in a meeting. Occasionally, I even get to go to a meeting myself.

After lunch, I begin to prepare the brief for the following day. This is also a good time to contact clients regarding the following day's work and ensure it will be delivered on time, or made available to download. It's preferable to download the software as deliveries have a tendency to arrive after you need them.

Another all-day task is the vetting and checking of all bugs entered into the bug database, making sure they make sense to anyone reading them. This gives me a chance to check and correct any grammar errors. These are then reassigned to the client. On a busy day, it's all too easy to slip on vetting and find a huge number of bugs staring back at you. At the end of the day, once all bugs are vetted and assigned, all briefs and matrices prepared and testing concluded, I make final contact with the client to confirm completion of the day's test.

When the day is done I return home to my lovely lady and the beast-kitten, where, to be honest, I do as little as possible. I'm highly qualified in relaxation and inactivity. My evenings often consist of playing around on my computer, fiddling with either Photoshop or 3D Studio, as I have been interested in modelling and texturing for games for a number of years.

Though it's currently moving slowly, I am also involved in a short animation about robots which is in its infacy at the moment. Hopefully this will pick up pace and rob me of even more of my free time soon. Although my skills in this area are still limited, it's something I have a passion for and truly enjoy. Aside from that I indulge myself in a very small-scale internet radio show, which is mostly playing my music to my friends and chatting online. Even though we have very few listeners, it's a great way to keep in touch with the people I've met online and to showcase things they may not have heard. I've also had a few local bands request their music is played on my show.