F13-803: Ingredients of an Interaction

Track: Leadership Perspectives for Testers

Ever had an interaction about a bug, or a test strategy, or hiring, which left you feeling you had no dialogue but two monologues instead? Most human interactions occur at such lightning speed, we find our messages flying past each other, with no one listening, just each waiting for our turn to speak. Emotions run high, and we often react rather than respond. Can we do better? With so much communication around, how do we keep it constructive? In this interactive session, we will explore a model of human interaction borrowed from family therapy to help us understand what occurs so rapidly beneath our radar and how to intercept the process so that we respond through choice. (This is an experiential session, not a lecture: we discover and learn by doing.)

Session Takeaways:

  • Interactions may be quick, but interactions have distinct elements: intake, meaning, significance, response.
  • Awareness of those elements (e.g. Assigning Meaning) allows us to intercept the process, becoming aware of our choices.
  • Intercepting the process prevents reactive behavior, fostering effective responses.
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Session Speaker:

Lio HeppisLeonidas Hepis – Director of QA, Verimatrix
Leonidas Hepis has been testing software and managing software test teams since 1994. He helps organizations understand what can be known and what cannot be known through product testing. Better informed about the limits of testing, organizations can improve their processes and products, to produce higher value for their paying customers. Hepis is a member of the Association for Software Testing, as well as a Senior member of the American Society for Quality. He lives in San Diego, California where he finds “rain” to be an extraordinary, marvelous, and inspiring event. He favors organizations that have maintained their playfulness and sense of humor.