https://www.dowen.me.uk/Ben Dowen, the Full Snack Tester, blogs about Software Testing, Quality and Agile Software Development. 2025-06-19T11:29:30+01:00 Ben Dowen https://www.dowen.me.uk/ Jekyll © 2025 Ben Dowen /assets/img/favicons/favicon.ico /assets/img/favicons/favicon-96x96.png 2025-06-19T00:00:00+01:00 2025-06-19T00:00:00+01:00 https://www.dowen.me.uk/posts/5-reasons-i'm-super-excited-to-go-to-testbash-brighton-2025/ Ben Dowen

I’m super excited to be going to hashtag#TestBash Brighton UK 2025! For some many reasons: I’m speaking! I’m giving a talk about navigating a career in Quality Engineeirng I’m an Ambassador! I’ve volenteered a few times before at TestBash, and it’s a prvillage helping everyone get the most from their exprience. I know I’m going to learn a bunch! This will be my 4th time going to TestB...

2025-05-19T00:00:00+01:00 2025-05-19T00:00:00+01:00 https://www.dowen.me.uk/posts/establishing-exploratory-testing-using-regular-collaborative-practice/ Ben Dowen

As I am starting to apply for roles and interviews, I get to draw on examples of work I’m proud of. This example is high on my list! While working at Ada Health, I established exploratory testing in our Medical Knowledge teams, coaching them over a number of months using collaborative working sessions. I ran regular pairing and small ensemble sessions with the team, each time we would define ...

2025-01-20T00:00:00+00:00 2025-01-20T20:34:50+00:00 https://www.dowen.me.uk/posts/context-for-working-with-software-quality/ Ben Dowen

I’ve recently been exploring what the differences are, between the role of a Quality Engineer, a role I’m currently inhabiting in my work at Ada Health, and other roles in Software Quality. One of the realisations I had already, that probably isn’t news to anyone who has worked multiple jobs in any role in technology, is that the way different roles actually work, the expectations and reality,...

2025-01-13T00:00:00+00:00 2025-01-13T00:00:00+00:00 https://www.dowen.me.uk/posts/tactics-for-sharing-community-learnings-at-work/ Ben Dowen

Consume If you’re anything like me, you read a lot, blogs and books, listen to loads of podcasts, and watch a bunch of talks and maybe even attend the odd workshop. I’ll throw in a quick list of resources I consume from shortly. Not everything I consume is useful, and some of it is more relevant to my work context then others. I strongly encourage you to feed broadly from the fire hose that i...

2025-01-07T00:00:00+00:00 2025-01-07T00:00:00+00:00 https://www.dowen.me.uk/posts/12-other-ways-you-can-use-code-to-your-advantage-as-a-quality-engineer/ Ben Dowen

The one obvious way Quality Engineers can use code to their advantage, is building out automated regression checks, in various forms. Here are some other ways you can use code as a QE, or indeed anyone involved in developing or testing software. Find bugs by reading code Code review is an excellent way to contribute to improving the quality of code, learning and sharing knowledge about the so...