Matt Heusser

“I am extremely grateful for finding Matt and his podcast, and would not be where I am currently without his help. After skimming through several podcasts on the topic of testing, I was ecstatic to come across The Testing Show with Matt and Mike because of the clarity and realistic perspective they provided on the topic of testing in today’s ever-changing technological landscape. Matt himself is a great mentor, extremely selfless and humble, as well as a brilliant mind. He is the type of person you will learn something from by spending time with them. I consider his experience invaluable and anyone would be lucky to have the chance to work with him in any capacity.”

“Matt changed my life. I had gotten laid off from Sun Microsystems in 2009 and started blogging about QA Management in the hopes of finding another job. Matt, a well-respected author in the field of software test gave me a recommendation as a site editor for SearchSoftwareQuality (a TechTarget site.) I got the job and from there was able to continue to work with Matt, who contributed regularly to the publication, as well as many other thought-leaders in the industry. This ultimately resulted in me being able to become a highly paid consultant. Matt, not only has talents in the areas of software test, QA, and writing but he is a master networker. He pairs people in need with those who need them. He recognizes potential and helps those around him meet their true potential. The combination of his technical know-how, his people skills, and his drive give him the ability to conquer any challenge and deliver above and beyond expectations.”

“I've worked with Matt on a number of projects including client assessment/training and content generation. Matt's extraordinarily centered on what's right for the client. He takes a very humanistic approach to helping clients, particularly around skills and process uplifting: he works out what's right for the client given their constraints and goals. He never pushes the methodology/tech of the day, instead focusing on what's best for the organization in the long run. Matt's also terrific at managing client relationships. He's always calm, professional, and empathetic to clients' true needs. Open, honest, and early communication is his mantra, and I've personally watched him walk clients through situational changes and arrive at new goals based on what's best for the client, not what's best for his team. I enjoy working with Matt and have no hesitation recommending him to organizations looking for help--which I've done several times!”

“Matt really is that star that you're looking for on your team. He's got a hands-on style and there is no challenge that he's not ready to tackle head-on. His expertise is not limited to testing, although he's a great tester; he's also an amazing coach and helped with numerous team issues including planning, teamwork, communication, training, continuous improvement, and team development.”

“I had the distinct pleasure of working closely with Matt for almost a year. While his focus was on supporting our team effort to build high quality software, his lasting legacy was with his mentoring of me and others at my company. Matt was always quick to volunteer his expertise in testing, mentoring and his candid insight. I really appreciate the work that Matt has done with my cross-functional agile team and for the testing community. While at my organization, Matt proved himself to be a knowledgeable and fearless tester. He was able to quickly come up to speed in a challenging and complex domain with minimal assistance. His can-do attitude was extremely appreciated. I look forward to our paths crossing again in the future.”

“I've worked side by side with Matt for over 6 months, and though he has made quite a name for himself in the testing community, I can vouch that his expertise extends into every aspect of building quality software. He applies his many years of development, testing, and management experience to help guide a team along the road of continuous improvement. In addition, his skills in software are matched, if not surpassed, by his strength of character, making a Matt an excellent choice as a coach, mentor, and teammate for your organization.”

“Matt was a developer who wasn't afraid to interact with non-developers! He was always patient and willing to explain things to me, as a non-developer. His helpfulness in all areas to understand the "whys" and "hows" of our company's software packages greatly aided my in my duties as a QA Analyst.”

“Matt was the sort of QA leader that manages to both have the big picture in mind as well as the incredible attention to detail that gave those of us in the core development team the ability to sleep at night. Matt's view of process was extremely pragmatic, but principled and always focused on maximizing quality and efficiency across the entire engineering process. Matt is a "self-starter" and is the type of person who is willing to roll up his sleeves and jump into any problem. A great team player and a real asset to any team.”

“Matt is one of the best software testers I've had the pleasure of working with. His professional attitude, persistence and pragmatic skill are great attributes I could always trust to get our work done. Even in the face of an ever-increasing work load, Matt has held and then exceeded my expectations. I *highly* recommend Matt for any software testing position.”

“"Having an excellent QA team is like driving with a first-grade GPS navigation system :)" -- I uttered this sentence a year ago, when I just joined Socialtext, and was immediately in awe of the top-notch holding environment crafted by Ken, Matt, and several other testers. Very quickly they uncovered a bug in that utterance -- Instead of "first-grade", I should've said "first-rate". But perhaps that was a Freudian slip; maybe I did mean "first-grade" after all, a feeling most personified in day-to-day working with Matt. For Matt is as meticulous as he is creative when teasing apart (il)logical flaws in the system, steadily focusing on elements constantly overlooked by developer's prejudices, revealing inconsistencies and mis-assumptions by reducing everything to its basic elements. To work with Matt, then, is to enjoy an ongoing flow of Sherlock-esque moments -- "Excellent!" I cried. "Elementary." said he. :-)”

“I consider Matt a colleague and a friend in this profession. He is one of only a handful of people on this planet that I turn to when I want to test and discuss ideas in Software Testing and Quality Assurance. He has an inquisitive mind, a passion, an openness, and sound experiences, talent and judgment that make him a valuable member of the Software Development and Testing Communities. We need more people like Matt to help improve the state of the art of our profession, and to raise the quality of the products and services received by customers all over the world!”

“I've worked with Matt as a volunteer on three projects now. Most recently, I reached out to Matt to volunteer with publicity for Agile2009 (as I am managing that for the conference), and his response exceeded the expectation I would have for a paid PR person. Simply put: If Matt takes on a task, he will excel at it.”

“I had the opportunity to witness Matt's passion for testing and his willingness to share his knowledge and perspective at STAREAST 2007. His insights were invaluable.”