Thursday, March 19, 2015

Monthly Learning Session #2: Selenium Functional Testing and Book Reviews

For the February MLS, our CTO June conducted a training about Selenium Functional Testing.

CTO June (middle) coaching Mickmick (L) and Kevin M (R) in Selenium

Testing is a very important process in ensuring code quality. June began by explaining the difference of manual testing vs. scripted testing. In the more traditional manual testing, the tester or the developer will have to exert more effort and time in exploring the website and trying out its various features, like filling-in forms, submitting forms, and everything else. Usually, bugs and all other errors are found during this process, which satisfies what testing is for, although since the tester is human, there might be a few bugs that will get missed. Aside from this, another possible downside to manual testing is that it just really takes up a lot of time - and in this industry, time is money.

However, when you utilize Selenium, a browser automation tool with Python driver, you cut the time you will have to spend in testing by more than half, cover more bases and discover more errors, and ultimately automate your testing process.

Using Selenium for functional testing is as easypeasy as bacon greasy! All the developer or tester has to do is to create a script in Selenium and it will automatically test every aspect specified in that script created. This not only makes the developers' and testers' lives easier, it also saves clients' money!

June further outlined the advantages of using Selenium for automated functional testing:
  1. Selenium is free and can be used by all!
  2. You have control. Since you are using a script you created, you can specify which portions to fill and how thorough the testing would be.
  3. Selenium, since it is automated, is repeatable. No matter how many times (in the same project or on others) you have to test a code you have written, it will now be as easy as a click of a mouse button and you wouldn't have to recreate your script time and again.
  4. Automated testing is more accurate because you can specify in the script how thorough you would want to test your code. Hence, you can catch bugs in those dubious areas that you just know are more prone to bugs.
Obviously, Selenium does have its disadvantages such as you might have overlooked some things because they were omitted or weren't included in your testing script. Also, Selenium, while free, entails a bit of work to learn and master just like all new things that we have to learn and master. But those are very small inconveniences compared to what you can achieve with learning Selenium.

having fun learning together!


happy team!
Jefford also shared his book review for "Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work".

He says that the biggest takeaway he got from the book is that in order for any professional to stay relevant in his field or industry, he should stay fresh but keeping on adding to his knowledge, keep learning, and knowing when to think like a rookie.

Thinking like a rookie would mean that you should let go of deep-seated biases or adamant approaches to problems and issues and look at it with fresh eyes. The rookie would be someone who is naive, innocent, and to a degree, unlearned. But this can be an asset as well because it forces you to look at things in a fresher perspective hence, giving you a fresher outlook and point of view on how to handle things. In the end, it all comes down to this: that for today's knowledge workers, constant learning is more valuable than mastery.

Jeff's book review of "Rookie Smarts"

Dan also shared about Confidentiality and Privacy practices and processes.

Confidentiality is very important because it protects our privacy, our ideas, and other information that we simply don't want to be out there in the worldwide web for others to see. In this advanced and connected age, it is very easy for unscrupulous individuals with bad intentions to get our information and they may use it against you or others. This is why Ingenuity really keeps tabs on all information and data being handled by the team. We would like our clients to maintain their confidence in us and this is one way of keeping their trust - by keeping their business private.

Remember, if you own a company or if you are someone who has access to a lot of information, one slip up can mean losing your competitive advantage in the market. So we must all be attentive and vigilant in keeping all confidential things just that - confidential. This is so that we may avoid any potential dangers or fallouts later on.

client confidence entails keeping their trust in keeping things confidential
It was a great Saturday training. All in all, a very successful, fun, and knowledge-packed day! Cheers to more MLS's! :)

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Monthly Learning Session #1: Customer Sensitivity Training, Book Reviews, and Test Driven Development

Last January 31, 2015 was our first Monthly Learning Session (MLS) for the year.

While we have weekly learning sessions every Wednesdays, we do save the last Saturday of every month for our monthly learning sessions.

The first MLS included Customer Sensitivity Training conducted by myself. Me and Hilton went to a similar seminar last September 2014 and we wanted to share what we learned from that seminar to the team.

early morning Saturday morning training

The takeaways from this training are plentiful, but could be condensed into the following:
  • You have to be self-aware. Know yourself so that you may gauge your attitude towards your customers.
  • You have to be honest to yourself. Your weaknesses might be the one causing trouble in the workplace or with your customers, and not other people, as you are wont to believe.
  • You have to change these weaknesses and turn them into something positive.
  • If you feel good about yourself, you will also feel good about everything else. Customer Service is just the Golden Rule in practice.
  • Always be positive, open, sincere, and adopt a good attitude in all your dealings.
  • Diplomacy is the best approach to all things.

The team had a lot of fun doing the exercises:
What makes you happy? "I am most happy when I'm alone."

The boat is sinking, group yourselves into two's!

getting ready to attack the challenge

different strokes for different folks

FOCUS!
A couple of book reviews were also shared that day:

Nap doing the book review for "Linchpin - Are you Indispensable? by Seth Godin"
Nap learns from Godin's book that "artists change generic work into art by incorporating emotional labor in it." The book also largely talks about linchpins - those movers and shakers who may not be famous but are the building blocks of organizations and who are very hard to replace - who we should all aspire to become.

Sonito reviews "Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries by Peter Sims" 
Sonito learns that it is better to make methodical series of little "bets" - small goals that are easy enough to achieve - and learn from these when they are successful but more importantly, when they fail. This is more effective that planning the big picture of the project all at once.


And the rest of the afternoon was spent for the technical training done by CTO June on Test Driven Development for Python. This is kind of technical, so I can't explain in full detail only that Test Driven Development testing is important so that we can guarantee the quality of our products. There's gonna be lesser to virtually no bugs or errors, and we do this to make our clients happy!

listening intently

CTO June training the devs and testers on Test Driven Development

We spent the day learning new stuff and honing those things that we already know and we are the better for it. Learning never really stops, not when you graduate or when you stop studying; rather, it continues on and on because there are a lot of things in this world we need to know and learn for us to be better at what we do and who we want to be.
onwards and upwards, Ingeneers!

February Shenanigans

The IT industry and its denizens and kibitzers are always purveyors of all that is trending on the internet. And so, with all the #hugot (feels) memes out there, we decided to put up or own take of the "All These..." meme in time for Valentines Day 2015.

We present our Vday Hugot Memes for the Bitter Ocampos of the world:

















To date, this album has gotten 267 shares and 15,768 views on Facebook, aside from the individual likes and shares of each photo. We kinda didn't expect it would be a hit, but there you go. Either people are forlorn on love...or they just appreciate our biting wit, sarcasm, and irony.

Hope everybody had a great Valentines Day with your loved ones! Love wins!

Giving Love On Christmas

On the Saturday before we were all to take a break for Christmas, we went to the Harvest House Children of Christ Orphanage in Tibungco, Davao City bearing our little gifts for the kids who live there.

loading the toys, food, clothes we gathered

getting ready to leave for Tibungco to visit the orphans

We knew getting to the place would be quite a journey as we had a long drive ahead of us, but what we did not expect was how far the orphanage really was from the city. It was a hot and dusty December day, but with light and hopeful hearts, we made the trip because we wanted to spread the love and joy this Christmas.


Harvest House Orphanage living quarters for the kids

The Harvest House is a facility that caters to abandoned, neglected, and orphaned children with ages ranging from newborn to 16 years old. We were told they used to have a lot of benefactors before, but as these dwindled down (mostly due to budget constraints after the worldwide recession hit), they soon found themselves in want of more resources for the children. But the staff, house parents, and children are resilient and they continued to make do with what they have. Despite this, they were really grateful for the food, toys, and clothes we had for them.

orientation with one of the house parents and our DSWD Social Worker Margeena (in white)

We met the kids who have been through so much in their young life, and we were saddened to think how such wonderful, beautiful, intelligent angels could be abandoned and unloved by their parents and families.

the Harvest House kids

Even so, we saw in them the hope of a better future and the promise of becoming more than they are as they felt cared for and appreciated by those who are around them - even if their caretakers are not blood relation, they seem to us like they feel they belong to a real family. The team spent a good part of the morning with the kids, playing and letting them eat and share their stories with us. We also got a short tour of their living spaces.

Wilma, Justin, and Nikko giving out snacks

the kids enjoying their toys, books, and other presents (like toothbrushes, clips, bags, etc.)

Kuya Nikko's flashcard game

Junec, Justine, Nikko, Jefford, and Jonie interacting with the kids

Justine, Chanly, Mancio, and Jefford get ready to hand out the toys
one of the rooms where the kids sleep

With these interactions, we felt so grateful for our own lives and how lucky we are to be part of families that cared for us and loved us. We left with a different perspective on things and a prayer of hope for the children at Harvest House -- that one day, we wish they become more than what their circumstances are.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!


Harvest House Orphanage
Purok 8, HHMIM Compound, Upper Communal, Tibungco, Davao City
(082) 301-7463
Ms. Jeanette Leyva - President


Monday, February 23, 2015

Ingenuity Christmas Party 2014

Inspired by the great work we did the whole year of 2014 where everyone stepped up their game to be 'gangsters of coding,' we aptly chose the 1920's Gangster/Flapper/Great Gatsby theme for our Christmas Party for 2014. (Secretly, it was also an homage of sorts to Angels with Filthy Souls - the fictional gangster movie watched by Kevin McAllister in Home Alone 2, and Al Pacino's Scarface ---because we aspire to be kickass all the time)

Designer Shannen did a great job doing all the backdrop art and photo tarp for the party

Look how dapper the Ingenuity boys were and how lovely the ladies in their feathered, sparkling headpieces! It was, after all, Christmas, and people were in the mood to dress up.







The evening started out with a serenade from the Davao acoustic band Korde, singing era-appropriate tunes and jazzy, Frank Sinatra-esque renditions of classics like Fly Me to the Moon and Moonriver, among others.


Then an impromptu jam from our very own Ingenoobs, Nikko and Chanly, singing Starship's Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now. Who would have known that they had it them to perform in front of everybody!? Cheers were overflowing from the moment they took the stage, down to the last note of their song. Yes, we have a very supportive team!

the #ChaNik ship is sailing!
We had 2 very ebullient hosts and a very efficient party organizer (who worked very closely with me and granted my every request and went above and beyond what was agreed! So perfect!) from Creative Kings who kept the night's energy level up all throughout the program until we ended at almost midnight.

our efficient team of organizers and emcees from Creative Kings
They were so effective, in fact, that after the party, John said it was the best ever Christmas Party Ingenuity has ever had to date.

A video montage, lovingly prepared by Jefford and myself was shown to everyone, highlighting every single victory great and small we had in the year. It was a fitting summary of the rollercoaster ride Ingenuity has had this year - an amalgamation of the thoughts, ideas, actions, and decisions contributed by each and everyone on the team that would propel us further into success.

John our CEO was asked to speak (he wasn't ready but gave a nice speech anyway!) and he expressed his gratitude to everybody who has pitched in to everything Ingenuity has accomplished in the past year.
"I would like to thank the Academy Awards..."

And what Christmas party would be complete without games? Of course, being the fun-loving people that we are, our party is never dull as we have a lot of fun playing parlor games.

pre-game huddle for Christmas Carol Battle
Koon gets ready to face off with JA on the 1st round of Name That Tune (complete with buzzer!)
And because they can't name that tune, losers were asked to dance as a consequence of losing! What great fun!
Koon, Ray, Nap

Marc and Russel

After this very funny interlude, everyone got to vote for the best #OOTN (Outfit of the Night), the winner of which would win a special prize. As everyone went the extra mile to clean up and look good that night, it was very hard to choose a winner! Gia, myself, and Nap were the top 3 and I won. Maybe because it was Christmas and it was everybody's way of thanking me for the (hopefully) great job I've been doing as HR (or maybe it was the glittery dress!). LOL

Gia, Nap, Gik - top 3 OOTN's
The team also wrote random notes (some anonymously) to those people they wanted to thank for doing a great job for the year, or just to say random sweet nothings to. These dedications were read by the hosts and as usual, rounds of teasing and laughter ensued.

At dinner, we were once again serenaded by the band, this time playing more contemporary upbeat songs. Everyone had a great meal as we had our favorite Edgar's lechon there among all the rest of the hotel catering. The desserts were nice, too.

After we've had our fill, it was time to present the group AVP presentations. Everyone was assigned to groups of 6-7 members and they were tasked to come up with an entertaining skit, song, or dance number. They were allowed full creative rights and we were all blown away by everybody's talents!

You may click here, here, here, here, and here to watch the videos!

As the judges were summing up the scores for the AVP presentations, a rousing round of Battle of the Brainiacs was played by the team.




And then the most awaited part of the night came which was the Secret Santa. People were asked to describe their Kris Kringles with only 3 adjectives and everybody would warrant a guess as to who it was.




After exchanging gifts, the prizes for the raffle and announcement of the winners of the presentation and other special awards were done.

just some of the raffle prizes, deeply coveted by such techie kids as the ones in the office

We then partied the rest of the night away!
check out their moves...so smooth!

Our pictures could be found on our Facebook page. You can click HERE, HERE or HERE to view them!

Everybody had a lot of fun - a fitting end to the year that was full of challenges, but was also full of successes, fun, friendship, new experiences, and learning! Onward to a great 2015 ahead!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us! :)