Ahoy Matey!

Since Talk Like A Pirate Day (TLAPD) seems to be recognized by a lot of tech companies I figured I would add some of my own thoughts on the matter.

Pirates have that certain nautical attitude that basically says "don't mess with me".  Or it may even be that certain aptitude to make things happen, or just do what they want, damn the consequences, Piratitude if you go by the original creators of TLAPD. That is an attitude that can help in testing as well, as others have noted specifically Phil Kirkham there is such a thing as Pirate Testing, take what you want and steal the rest, that is a common trait that I have seen in testers and I think its a good one.

First the attitude, when your job revolves around testing and the basic premise of your job is to find faults in others work (mind you this it not my total thinking on the matter just a realistic view on part of it) then you need to have a sense of humor about it.  Who has a better sense of humor about life than pirates?  When your time is spent wenching, drinking and fighting you better be able to find enjoyment in anything cause when your time comes that's it, if you haven't enjoyed the ride on the way there then you are missing out.  Being able to come into work with a smile on your face, and a skip in your walk, every day or even when facing down a Developer for a specific bug, having a devil-may-care attitude is sometimes your best friend.  Giving difficult news is tough enough, but when you can come in with an "Arrrrr Matey" and a cutlass at your side, its amazing how the levity and sharp blade can turn things around to your advantage.  Pirates have it all, and they never let you forget it.

Testers are like pirates in another way as well, as the Beastie Boys once said, "What do you call Pirate's Trease?  BOOTY!!".  What's Test Booty?  Well its not that hot chick/guy who just got hired out of college.  No.  It's the treasure and self satisfaction you can get from a job well done, cause after all treasure is just a pirate's way of saying "we took that ship unawares with its cannon locked up and its sails limp".  Test Booty can be anything from writing a script that catches bugs, to that program you need to write which once you get it working and see it doing its job are able to sit back and say "my job just got 10% easier".  You can shoot for more, but lets keep those goals realistic, we are pirates after all, men in the real world, not philosophers who look towards some Eternal Truth.  Unless you can find it at the bottom of a cup of grog.

Yes, Testers are like Pirates, because we go our own way, earn our booty and still at the end of the day can enjoy a nice cup of grog.