-
James on Gender
James discusses his attitude towards gender, masculinity and non-binaryness, while reflecting upon his childhood and his twenties.
-
Cypress tips and tricks, part 1 : working with single-purpose iframes
Cypress is a fantastic test automation tool for frontend testing newbies. It has a low barrier to entry, with detailed and helpful documentation. It comes bundled with many of the key components of a full-fledged testing framework, minimising initial configuration. Most importantly, it’s enjoyable to work with, and has a strong community of enthusiastic and […]
-
Tentative Cypress GitLab CI integration for fun and profit
Not sure how to integrate Cypress into your team’s CI pipeline? This guide demonstrates an initial approach using GitLab CI or GitHub Actions.
-
(Almost) everyone’s an AV engineer in the COVID-19 era
In a global pandemic many people are acting as their own AV engineer. James explores this phenomenon and its implications for consumer tech and remote working.
-
Crafting a Browser Matrix
When developing a website, you will likely have a list of browsers and devices that you expect the site to work with. When this list is formalised, it is often called a ‘browser matrix’ or ‘browser support matrix’. If you build sites for external clients, a browser matrix can form part of your agreement with them. If […]
-
TestBash Brighton and the Evolution of Testing
In March 2017 I attended TestBash Brighton. Despite being a long-time fan of the Ministry of Testing (as well as their busy Testers’ Slack), I’d never been to any of their events before. I expected an enjoyable and engaging day, and I was not disappointed! Both speakers and attendees were friendly and approachable, and each talk was […]
-
We need to talk about test data
Last month, I was hurriedly booking a vets’ appointment using my surgery’s online form. In the process, I accidentally used test data instead of my own! #testerproblems Absent-mindedly filling in the vets’ contact form with fake contact details rather than my real details. — James Sheasby Thomas (@RightSaidJames) April 20, 2017 Not sure Mr Fakename (email: test@example.com) […]
-
Accessibility testing crash course
This post is a companion to my ‘Accessibility testing crash course’ talk that I gave at Leeds Testing Atelier 2016. I gave a revised version of this talk at Inviqa DevDay in December 2016. Accessibility is arguably the ‘last mile‘ of web development. No matter how good your site’s design, tech stack, code and testing is, its accessibility is probably passable at […]
-
Testing: 3 lessons learned
In Summer 2013 I made the difficult decision to move away from my beloved Cardiff to live in Yorkshire with my (now-) wife. During my 6 month job hunting period I blogged about my frustrations with Jobcentre Plus and shared my advice for dealing with recruiters. Dozens of applications and 3 job interviews later, I found a […]
-
Dealing with recruiters – jobseeking advice
This is my second post for #NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), in which I’m blogging about my experiences of searching for a new job. Check back soon for more posts. Recruiters – your worst nightmare? What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘recruiter’? I suppose it depends on your past experience of recruitment […]