Software Test & Performance Collaborative

On a Boart, Part II

By Matthew Heusser on January 29, 2010 | 2 comments.

It’s been hectic week, and I didn’t have a ton of time to write, but I do have a few goodies to share.

First of all, my colleague Donna Reed write an article on project management trends in 2010, where she interviewed myself and James Christie, the UK testing guru.  She just published it on projecttimes.com; you can read it here.

Second, I’ve been thinking about cruising a fair amount lately.   A typical cruise runs in the $200 per day, per-person range – and that’s after taxes, fees and tips.  (In the $100/night range if you shop around) This is actually less than the cost of some conference hotels in Boston, California, or Florida.  And that’s an all-inclusive rate, including all meals, so the conference organizers don’t have to pay for bagels at breakfast, and you don’t have to fend for yourself at dinner.

All in all, a conference on a boat might just be cheaper than one on land.  So I am continuing to make discreet inquires about organization.

Finally, we just went through the hassle of canceling our Florida trip and re-scheduling it, including dealing with trip insurance, airplanes, and so on.  Yet at this point, I’m reluctant to even consider scheduling a different type of vacation at this point.  That got me to thinking: Why do I associate cruises with leisure so?  Why do I associate them with ‘value’ and ‘quality’?

Now I try to keep the serious philosophical stuff on this blog, but the folks over at searchsoftwarequality.com have set me up with a sort of ‘gonzo journalism’ account, where I can be a little more whimsical, cover testing events in first-person, including throwing in some editorial and opinion. So on a lark I started a ‘little’ post on software quality lessons from a cruise line.

Sixteen Hundred Words later, I realized I was just finishing the financial aspects of quality cruising.  I had, in fact, just finished “part one of two.”  I hope you enjoy it.

I hope you enjoy your weekend; I’ll have more to come next week.