Mike Talks

Mike combines practical testing experience with accessible writing, talks and learning exercises for newcomers and practising testers. How To Test introduces the profession, while TestSheepNZ offers activities for exploring software, practising automation and planning testing with a team. These contributions support software quality by helping people develop observation skills, communicate testing work and practise testing decisions.

Mike Talks is a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer at Air New Zealand, based in Auckland. Early work in science teaching, laser research and programming led Mike into software testing, spanning manual and automated testing, requirements gathering, release management and team coaching. Practical testing connects directly with a broader understanding of how software is developed and delivered.

Through TestSheepNZ, Mike shares exercises that make testing skills approachable. The Number Guessing Game invites practice in observation and exploration, while the Basic Calculator provides a place to practise automated testing. Workshop materials also cover team planning, approaching a new application and making testing visible, giving learners concrete opportunities to explore software behaviour and discuss testing decisions.

Mike also wrote the book How To Test to introduce newcomers to the profession. Speaking appearances include TestBash talks such as Rediscovering Test Strategy and The Testing Game, alongside blogging for Agile Testing Days and participating in WeTest Wellington. Writing, speaking and hands-on teaching remain central to opening up software testing and helping people put core techniques into practice.