Testing and Learning with Katrina Clokie
Tags: testing, devops, writing
Published: 2018-04-26 10:36:17

---
title: Testing and Learning with Katrina Clokie
published: true
tags: testing, devops, writing
canonical_url: https://www.samjarman.co.nz/blog/katrina-clokie
---

_This is a article from my "Dev Chats" series where I speak to an awesome developer or techie every week or so. You can read more [here](https://www.samjarman.co.nz/chats). Let me know in the comments if you find these useful to you!_

&nbsp; ![Katrina is a tester, author and conference speaker.](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58bfb8c059cc68cc36914ea9/t/5a24d27a53450a52b510f38e/1512362624251/katrinaclokie_sml.JPG?format=1000w)



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### Introduce yourself! Who are you? Where do you work?

I’m Katrina Clokie. I work as a Test Practice Manager at the Bank of New Zealand.

&nbsp;

### Who or what got you into software testing?

I entered the IT industry from a Bachelor of Computing and Mathematical Science majoring in Software Engineer. When I graduated, being a developer was the only technical role that I knew of. Once I was part of an organisation I saw that there were many career paths available. I quickly moved from developer to solution delivery engineer to tester.

Why testing? After my first two roles, I reflected on what I enjoyed and looked for a specialist area within IT that had the right mix of interaction with people, problem solving, and technical work. My move into testing was a considered decision.

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### How should developers and testers best work together?

As closely as possible. The more you collaborate, the more successful your developers and testers become. I encourage practices like peer review of test coverage, including testers on pull requests, cross-discipline pair programming or pair testing, etc.

&nbsp;

### How has your book helped your career? What’s the game plan there?

This question assumes that I have a much savvier approach than reality!

My book, [A Practical Guide to Testing in DevOps](https://leanpub.com/testingindevops), was primarily written for my own team of testers at BNZ. I wanted a single, consolidated reference to support our journey. I used LeanPub as the platform to write and decided to share my work in case it was useful to others. I wasn’t expecting it to be so successful. I published on the 1st of August 2017 and by the 1st of December there hadn’t been a zero download day.

From a career perspective, writing a book has created more opportunities for conference talks, webinars, podcasts, and interviews. All of these activities continue to broaden my audience and professional network.

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### How has doing conference talks helped your career? What drives you to give talks?

I was initially driven to speak at conferences so that I would be able to attend them. It’s expensive for New Zealand employers to fund trips to international conferences. Becoming a conference speaker has given me the opportunity to learn from and network with the international testing community.

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### What has been your toughest lesson to learn in your tech career so far?

There have been a lot of tough lessons. I think the worst was my first experience with sustained and unwelcome attention from a male colleague. It had a lasting impact on my professional personality and made me aware of how I might be perceived as a woman in technology.

&nbsp;

### What would be your number one piece of advice for a successful tech career?

It is never too late to learn something new.

I think this advice applies whether you want to get into a career in technology, or you want to switch disciplines within technology, or you just want to learn a new coding language. The pace of change in our industry can make it seem like opportunities are fleeting. I think that those who are most successful are those who are always willing to learn.

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### Have you got any hobbies outside of your job? Do you think they help your tech career in any way?

I have a lot of hobbies. I often get asked how many hours I have in a day.

Related to technology, I co-founded [WeTest](http://wetest.co.nz/), the New Zealand software testing community, and continue to co-organise the WeTest Wellington MeetUp and our annual conferences. I founded [Testing Trapeze](http://www.testingtrapezemagazine.com/), a bi-monthly software testing magazine, and have been the Editor for the past four years. I also blog regularly as [Katrina the Tester](http://katrinatester.blogspot.co.nz/).

Outside of technology, I am a leader of the Kelburn Brownies as part of GirlGuiding NZ. I’m a member of Altrusa International of Wellington, a volunteer service organisation. In Altrusa I’m the current secretary of our Wellington club, I’m the national leadership chair, I run the international social media accounts as part of the international communications committee, and I’m a member of a task force team to re-develop our international website.

I think that all my hobbies contribute to my career, though that isn’t their primary intent. These activities help me develop and practice a variety of skills.

&nbsp;

### What books/resources would you recommend?

For testing? If you’re curious about what is happening in the international testing community, the [Testing Curator](http://blog.testingcurator.com/) does a weekly round-up of software testing blogs that I find a useful summary. If you’re interested in a career in testing, I would recommend Heather Reid’s [30 Things Every New Software Tester Should Learn](https://dojo.ministryoftesting.com/lessons/30-things-every-new-software-tester-should-learn).

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### Finally, make your shoutout! What would you like the readers to go have a look at?

I think I’ve shouted enough within my previous answers :)

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