I was wrong and we missed out

So, it was the office Christmas Party on Friday. 

A few beers and laughs were had, much discussion on our testing world but on reflection I missed a great opportunity.

I need to be vague but chatting to a person (currently a programmer, who will remain nameless) who said that someone who he knew 'took a step down the ladder and decided to be a tester.'

Now, my response contained more than a little indignation. I put together a polite but scathing comeback, wallowing in my own righteousness.

I was wrong. I had a chance to have a reasoned debate around why this person thought what he thought about testing as a craft. I could have asked:

• Why do you think its a step down?
• Is working with a tester valuable to you?
• What skills do testers you know have?
• What skills do you think they should have?

I let that slip away when we could have learned something from each other. And another chance to progress the debate of the value of testers and what we bring to the world.

Shame.