For our friends and clients around the world, welcome to our April newsletter.

Before we start the newsletter itself, I want to say two things, on behalf of the RBCS team.  First, we are all thinking about the victims, families of victims, and friends of victims of the Boston marathon bombing.  Some of us at RBCS have run marathons, and know the triumphant feeling that comes with crossing the finish line, whether you finish first or last.  It's tragic that a place where people should be enjoying a personal moment of victory would be turned into a place of sadness, fear, and death. 

Second, we want to extend our thanks, gratitude, and admiration to the people who brought the perpetrators to justice, starting with the young man who, having lost his legs in the bombing, immediately identified one of the suspects upon regaining consciousness.  The FBI and the state and local police took it from there, in one case making the ultimate sacrifice, putting a stop to the terrorists. 

To paraphrase a Tweet I saw right after the bombing, "If you want to despair for humanity, watch the video of the bombs exploding. If you want to hope for humanity, watch the video of people running towards the smoke and mayhem to help the victims right after the bombs exploded."  I wish I remembered the author of that, but thanks for writing it, whoever you are, and shining a light on the good that ultimately outweighed the evil and prevailed.

At RBCS, we've been trying to make some contributions to the greater good, too.  I was asked to contribute a short article--well, elevator pitch, almost--about why testing is a good career choice.  This article was for high school kids attending a local career day, hosted by one of our clients.  I've included the letter below, and maybe you can use it to inspire some of our future colleagues.

On a longer-term basis, we've established a partnership with Sharp Decisions to do something important for returning US military vets.  We have long looked for people with military experience on our projects, finding that the US military teaches skills that translate over into other parts of life, such as organization, time-management, prioritization, and teamwork, all of which are essential attributes for successful testers.  You can read more about how we're helping the current generation of veterans below.

As some of you already know, our free webinar series continues to be a big success.  But did you know that next month is the four year anniversary of our webinars?  Yep.  I've covered 48 topics, in 96 presentations, for over 24,000 registrants, reaching 10,000 live attendees, since May 2009.  These webinars are 100% free, always have been, always will be, as a service to the software testing profession.  Learn how to sign up for future webinars, and catch up on past webinars below. 

Finally, in addition to the usual news about RBCS and what we're up to in terms of events, you'll find some information about our e-books in this newsletter.  E-books are becoming more and more popular, and we think they are a good way to deliver ideas to our clients and readers.  If you agree, you'll like what you see below.

I hope you enjoy this newsletter, and have a safe, peaceful, and successful spring.

Regards,

Rex Black, President