how to reduce the cost of software testing

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HOW TO REDUCE THE COST OF SOFTWARE

TESTINGANNE-MARIE CHARRETT

TESTING TIMES !

http://mavericktester.com

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DON’T TEST

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TESTING

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IS THAT PROBLEM SOLVED?

- - Cem Kaner

TESTING ASKS

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Software Testing is questioning a product in

order to evaluate it

—James Bach

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DISCOVERY

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CHECKING• Limited Information

• Doesn’t question

• Needs to be extensive

• Expensive to maintain

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CALCULATOR EXERCISE• Imagine a calculator

• You power it on

• You type 2 + 2 =

• What is the answer you see?

• Is that the answer you expect?exercise by James Bach

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WHEN 2+2 = 4 IS A FAIL• Smoke comes out of the calculator

• It emits a screeching sound

• a dancing bear moves across the screen • you get 0000000000004

• or the answer disappears after 2 seconds

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TESTING IS A SKILLED ACTIVITY

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HOW TO KNOW A TESTER• Modelling

• Critical Thinker

• Strategic Thinker

• Understands Risk

• Good Communication

(vs a checker)

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MAKING TESTING WORK FOR YOU

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TRAPS for the UNWARY• Replace all testers with 1 automated tester

• Outsource the problem

• Hire developers instead of testers

• Automate for quick tests not valuable tests

• Attempt 100% Automation

• Focus on tools instead of people

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HOW TO REDUCE COST?

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REMOVE WASTE

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QUALITY & DONE• Developers perform checking

• Testers perform Exploratory Testing

• Testers assist developers in testing

• Testers pair with developers

• Testers review stories (3 amigos)

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EXPLORATORY TESTING!

“a style of software testing that emphasises the personal freedom and responsibility of the individual tester to continually optimise the quality of his/her work by treating test-related learning, test design, test execution, and test result interpretation as mutually supportive activities that run in parallel throughout the project

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COST VS VALUE

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TESTER JUMPER• Share testers between teams

• Advise on Test Design

• Involved in User Stories

• Must be highly skilled

• Advise on risk

• Advise on heuristics

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SKILL

• Coach how to learn

• Coach developers on how to test

• Coach testers on how to ‘test’

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IDEAS ON TESTING• Reduce usage of costly license tools

• Focus on excellent strategy and test design

• Make checking a developer task

• Everyone is responsible for quality

• Invest in Exploratory Testing

• Invest in quality automation (Less is More Heuristic)

• Testers take on a coaching role

• Pair Testers with Developers

• Lightweight Regression Test Suite

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BE SKEPTICAL• Challenge your consultants

• How do you mean by x?

• How do you know x is true

• Does it matter to you?

• Demand consultants who understand testing

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THE FUTURE?

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Anne-Marie Charrett Testing Times

!Software Tester, Coach, Consultant

!Email: amcharrett@testingtimes.com.au

Thank you!