- Focusing Your Practice
- Avoiding Automated Performance
- Contributing to Open Source Projects
- Beta Testing
- Pair Testing/Programming
- Adopt "Parallel Thinking"
- Search for Bugs in the Wild
- Learn "Systems Thinking"
- Teaching and Writing
- Participating in Conferences and Workshops
- Develop Your Cognition Skills
- Finding the Time for Practice
Teaching and Writing
Another possible source of practice is teaching others and writing about your experiences. There are several online places for testers to publish, as well as some good testing magazines (check out print publications Better Software, Software Test & Performance, and Professional Tester). If your group includes junior testers, schedule some time to train them. If you really know something in depth about testing, or have an interesting experience to share, present the topic at a local user group or at a conference. By training others, not only do they benefit, but you benefit through shared experience, asking and answering questions, and the reinforcement of the material that comes with speaking about it.