AXIOMS Paul Gerrard THE TESTING OF

Paul Gerrard

THE

TESTINGOF

There is no agreed set of laws.

Is our profession based on weak foundations?

I REPEAT….

American Heritage Dictionary:

Test: (noun)• A procedure for critical evaluation;• A means of determining the presence,

quality, or truth of something;• A trial.

Many books on software testing…

And there appear to be 713 of them …

Testing as a lifecycle activity

Model-based testing

Test-obsessed

Testing as exploration

Business goal-based testing

Agile testing

Test-first, test-driven

Risk-based testing

Testing as learning

Practices are always

context-sensitive

“Murder is wrong” is axiomatic.

ALL the Axioms have been compared with the writings of the folk who

have objected.

Too many schools push dogma, demand obedience to school

rules and mark people for life. They put up barriers to entry and exit and require members to sing the same school song. No thanks.

The Axiom

Axioms are one-liners that succinctly state the

principle.

Testing has no meaning without

stakeholders

You need a source of knowledge to

select things to test

Test needs a source of

knowledge to evaluate actual

behaviour

Your sources of knowledge are

fallible and incomplete

If you don’t manage scope, you may never

meet stakeholder expectations

Test design is based on models

Testing requires a coverage model or models

The usefulness of the intelligence

produced by test determines the value of testing

Test execution requires a

known, controlled

environment

Testing never goes as planned

The most important tests are those that uncover the

best intelligence, fast

Run your most important tests first – you may not have time to run them

later

Repeated tests are inevitable

Acceptance is always a

compromise

Testing never finishes; it

stops

The value of intelligence is

independent of who produces it

Suggestions?

TestStrategy

Risks

Goals

ConstraintsHuman resourc

e

EnvironmentTimescales

Process(lack of?)

Contract

Culture

Opportunities

User involvement

Automation

De-Duplicatio

n

Early Testing

Skills

Communication

Axioms

Artefacts

Design

Coverage

ValueScope

Prioritisation

Fallibility

Event

Oracle

Never-Finished

Good-EnoughEnvironment

Basis

Repeat-Test

Delivery

Sequencing

Stakeholder

Sequencing

Stakeholder

What tests do the different stakeholders value most?

What information do the different stakeholders want first?

Much better than generic ‘maturity models’ that

MUST BE context-dependent

Who are they?What intelligence do they want?

What do they need it for?When do they want it?

In what format?How often?

Etc.

RiskManagement

Coverage

Stakeholder

Event

NeverFinished

• Managing Uncertainty• Facilitation, influencing and reporting• Expectation management• Crisis management

The words software, system, technology,

methodology, v-model, entry/exit criteria, risk – do

not appear

Testers test software, systems, interfaces,

documents, processes, buildings, people etc…

(Should they apply to testing anything? Discuss!)

• A procedure for critical evaluation

• A means of determining the presence, quality, or truth of something

• A trial.

RefinementExamples

Applications

www.gerrardconsulting.com

Thank-You!

THE

TESTINGOF