I’ve been phoned a couple of times about a position where the testing involves and needs experience of Windows active directory, and specifically for Windows 2003. Needless to say I wasn’t interested as I don’t know anything about it.

This morning I had a third call about this same position and this agent sounded a bit desperate about finding someone. I asked him what the actual application, that was to be tested, was supposed to do, rather than all of the active directory stuff. I don’t think there is a new application as the job spec solely mentions Windows 2003 and active directory and a load of other plumbing mumbo jumbo. Surely Microsoft have a had a stab at testing active directory themselves so what’s the point in me having a go at it. I told him that I knew nothing about it and that as far as I was concerned it’s just part of the implementation of Windows and was transparent to me. I did say I could quickly read up on it and then possibly mention it on my resume.

So I did and it’s horrible. If I really tried I might just be able to skim the surface of it but one half decent question at an interview and I would be found out.

I phoned the agent back and told him that this wasn’t a testing position more a implementation position and that what the agent should be looking for is Windows implementers and don’t mention the word testing to them until the last moment as any windows implementation guy is no way wanting to be thought of as a tester. Apparently the hiring manager said they definitely wanted a tester for this work. I mentioned to the agent that what I thought they were doing was probably upgrading to Windows 2003 and wanted to make sure that doing so wouldn’t mash any of their existing systems. Maybe the hiring manager is not a raw IT guy but may have come from a super-user type of background and then found himself over promoted and out of his depth and spreading some confusion. Who the heck knows.

This has happened before where a non-IT person goes on a Project Management course and the next thing is he is managing a software development project and forcing some half tested buggy code out through the live door because his project plan has told him testing finished last week. Nevermind the 50 critical bugs that are still lying around tripping up some other well working functionality and displaying to the world more evidence of yet another (airport baggage handling) IT system going belly up.

The agent really appreciated my comments as it put some kind of sense on the requirement. The agent then phoned the hiring manager and obviously repeated some of what I said. The outcome of that conversation was that the hiring manager definitely wants to see my resume now as I was the first person to put any sense on what they wanted. He does know that it’s an implementation thing but what he wants is someone to instill some testing discipline on his implementation guys. I have to assume he’s had problems in this area before.