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Isabel Evans

Isabel Evans
Profile picture for user IEVANS
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelevans/

Member for

10 years 2 months

Isabel is a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She received the 2017 Testing Excellence Award, at the EuroSTAR conference, Copenhagen November 2017. She is honoured to have been the Programme Chair for the EuroSTAR Conference 2019, in Prague. She graduated with a PhD from University of Malta in 2026. Her research is about the experiences of software testers, including examination of stereotyping, common challenges with test tools, and heuristics to improve the design of test tools.

Job Function
Consulting
Industry
researcher, writer, speaker, story teller
Interests
Agile
Leadership
Lean
Measurement & Metrics
Process Improvement
Project Management
Release Management
Requirements/Business Analysis
Software Development
Test Automation
Testing/QA
HCI, UX
Country
United Kingdom
Profile picture for user IEVANS
Isabel Evans

Isabel is a Fellow of the British Computer Society. She received the 2017 Testing Excellence Award, at the EuroSTAR conference, Copenhagen November 2017. She is honoured to have been the Programme Chair for the EuroSTAR Conference 2019, in Prague.  She graduated with a PhD from University of Malta in 2026. Her research is about the experiences of software testers, including examination of stereotyping, common challenges with test tools, and heuristics to improve the design of test tools.

All Articles by Isabel Evans

All Stories by Isabel Evans

critical thinking light bulb with scattered blocks Arts, Crafts, and Critical Thinking: Redefining the Software Tester Persona

Testers are not stereotypical IT people, and those differences benefit your teams, organisations and society. While software engineering graduates make useful testers, you will reap benefits from also including artists, social scientists, scientists, crafts people and domain experts from many disciplines as testers, SDETs, and quality engineers in your teams.
piano player playing a piano Test Tools, Shelfware, and the Illusion of Usability

Superficial software usability can mask long-term operational failures in tools to support testing (TsST). Backed by empirical research, this analysis exposes the "illusion of usability" —where tools look marketable but lack the vital operability, learnability, and portability needed to prevent them from becoming expensive, abandoned shelfware.
woman working on a computer The Lived Experience of Testers with Their Tools (and Why It Matters)

Empirical research reveals that software testing tools profoundly impact practitioners' emotional well-being and professional identity. Beyond technical or usability hurdles, poorly implemented automation triggers negative emotional responses and demotivation. Organizations must consider the totality of "Testers' Lived Experience" (TX) to prevent project failure and role erosion.
Just a Tester? A Report Part Way Through Data Analysis Just a Tester? A Report Part-Way Through Data Analysis

Testers come from a wider range of backgrounds, and have complex multifaceted roles. People who test are not “just testers…” At present, many testers do not feel well-supported by their tools. As my research uncovered stories of frustration, fear, and anger, I realized the illusory role of usability in tool adoption and the importance of understanding who is using those tools.