Matthew Heusser

Member for

6 years 8 months

The Managing Consultant at Excelon Development, Matt Heusser is probably best known for his writing. Matt is the former technical editor of Stickyminds.com and he was the lead editor for "How To Reduce The Cost Of Software Testing" (Taylor and Francis, 2011). Matt has served both as a board member for the Association for Software Testing and as a part-time instructor in Information Systems for Calvin College.

Company

Excelon Development

Job Function

Consulting

Job Title

Managing Consultant

Interests

Agile

Architecture

Business Analysis

Cloud

Configuration Management

Design

Development Lifecycles

DevOps

IT Operations

Leadership

Lean

Open Source

Performance Testing

Plan-driven Development

Process Improvement

Programming

Project Management

Quality Assurance

Releases

Requirements

Security

Test Automation

Testing

Country

United States

Matthew Heusser

All Articles by Matthew Heusser

All Stories by Matthew Heusser

	Staying Competitive in Software TestingIn today’s global economy, staying competitive may be more important than ever. Three ways to contend are by focusing on price, niche (addressing a particular group’s needs), or differentiation (doing things better in some way). Which tactic you choose could make all the difference for your software team.
	The Tester as Product OwnerA lot of the bugs we find were never thought through in the first place. Many of these situations are preventable, yet instead of prevention, we get the tester playing the role of the product owner—and playing it late. Why is it that we never have time to do it right, but we always have time to do it over?
	Google’s Magic MetricGoogle has a "magic metric" that determines where effort should be spent, based on the fact that the number of hits on every site with one of its ads is directly correlated to revenue. Most companies do not have a magic metric, so they search for a way to measure process. How can you change the conversation?
	Providing Visibility into Testing Processes That MatterIf the goal of a tester's customer report is to figure out what needs fixing, how close you are to shipping, or how much time you need to do additional testing, the metrics provided often don't give any of those answers. Matt Heusser tells you how and why you need to focus your information.
	What's Your Story? How Testers Add ValueTesters have a story. It involves the kind of information we gather, the way we gather it, whom we tell, and what decisions are impacted by it. Management has their own story, but sometimes the goals are different. Find out the story your executives have for testing, and see what value it brings.
	Software Tester: A Role in TransitionIn an attempt at streamlining, over the years the role of tester has changed. In some cases it's been downright eliminated, replaced by automated acceptance checks and unit tests that run constantly. The state of the traditional tester role is in flux, so it’s time to take a fresh look at testing.
	Cultivating the Growth MindsetTo the fixed mindset, new ideas are either not important and easily rejected, or scary and different. It forces us to focus on our roles and learn in places that are already our strengths. Strive to cultivate a growth mindset, where what you don’t know is an opportunity to learn more and get better.
	Debunking the “Conspiracy” around Learning to CodeWhen people want to learn to code, they often turn to a learn-to-code site. These sites show a list of buzzwords and a solution, assuming the reader will follow right along—except the typical reader can’t. It's as if there’s a conspiracy trying to make writing code look hard. Fear not—there isn't.
	Planning Techniques for Estimating ProjectsAgile teams often use estimation to plan projects. There are many different methods, and which you choose should depend on the type of work, what kind of deadline there is, and your team. Matt Heusser explains some estimating techniques that can expand your options when planning a work effort.
	What Keeps Me in Software TestingA lot of people, when asked why they got into software—especially testing—say they sort of "fell into it." But why do people stay? Matthew Heusser has held many different roles in the industry, and here, he talks about learning what matters in software testing—and what's kept him sticking around.
	The Abstraction ProblemAs technical people, when we give too much information in a project status meeting, we can overwhelm managers. Worse, if we don’t answer the implied question ("When is this thing going to be done?"), the managers will get answers elsewhere. Read on for ideas to get you speaking the same language.
	Goals Are Good, but Adaptation Is Often BetterSetting goals is admirable. But in doing so, you can't neglect the possibility of change. What good is achieving your goals if they became irrelevant or the assumptions behind them were incorrect in the first place? It's smarter to focus on the ultimate outcome you want, not just compliance to plan.
	Analyzing the Value of a Test Tool ApproachMany test managers want to assess the value of their test tool approach. There is a way to do it that does not require writing code—only the ability to read it a little. Matt Heusser helps you figure out if what your team is doing is working, what you could drop, and what might be worth picking up.
	November Leaves, New StickyMinds Articles Matt Heusser, the editor of StickyMinds.com, talks about some recent contributions to the site—including articles about methods for changing a workplace culture, how to develop a team of testers, and the future of testing—and about how you can get involved writing for StickyMinds, too.
	ISO 29119: The Redundancy in the Documentation DocumentWhen it comes to ISO 29119, the new international standard for software testing, there is a great deal of secrecy around it. Matt Heusser has the papers published so far, so he explains and shares his thoughts about Section 5—a document that is basically a collection of documents and definitions.
	How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love ISO 29119 The International Software Testing Standard is implementing new internationally recommended practices for software testing collectively known as ISO 29119. However, copies of the standards are expensive, so most people haven't gotten to read them yet. Matt Heusser has, and he gives his opinions.
	Estimate Effort Based on Past PerformanceHow often have you estimated how long it would take to complete a task, only to be off by a whole week? That's because we assume we will begin the task immediately and have a forty-hour week to work on it. There's a better way: prediction based on performance. Just find a batch size for your work.
	Listen Up, Testers: The Power of an Example for ContextHow long does it take for a tester to change a light bulb? It sounds like a setup for a joke, but any tester will respond, "Which light fixture? With what light bulb? How high up is the outlet?" All of these questions help the tester explore the context—and examples can go a long way toward helping.
	StickyMinds.com: A Home for Software Testers and Quality AdvocatesYou may have heard of StickyMinds.com but not be entirely sure about what kind of content is published there. A good StickyMinds.com article is a story pulled from first-person experience about something that provides a new insight, approach, tool, or idea to our community. Read on to learn more.