Failing:The Very Human Side of Testing

Simon Morley

@YorkyAbroadhttp://testers-headache.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, May 22, 13

This is about failure....

My experiences

Some learnings

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Being Wrong (testing)

Anybody ever been wrong?

How did it feel?

Wednesday, May 22, 13

My take

Frustrating - at first

Then - liberating

Wednesday, May 22, 13

But first frustration...

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Communication

Test Strategy Communication

Talking about a less linear approach - and more focus on business needs and information flow.

What could possibly go wrong????

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Moving from...

Wednesday, May 22, 13

To...

Wednesday, May 22, 13

“But surely if we had clear requirements...”

The requirements can’t always be known upfront

Clear is very subjective

And so are requirements

It’s a form of not dealing with the problem - what will satisfy the customer?

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Lessons?

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Different Audiences

Familiarity

Adoption

Refusal / Not prepared

Wednesday, May 22, 13

“But surely if we had clear requirements...”

Wednesday, May 22, 13

And there’s more....

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Thinking & Models

Attention to details - too focused

Problems with notetaking

Questions / Not getting started quickly enough

Getting stuck in a rut

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Attention to details - too focused

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Browsing or client?

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Causes

Focus

Excited

TunnelVision

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Lessons

Pair-up

Remind yourself:Is it time to switch between

focus-defocus now?

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Note TakingI filed a bug report - and missed out a configuration element (parameter setting) that turned out to be decisive.

Kneejerk reaction: Take more notes!

Or: Take better notes... How?

Practice observation & Notetaking

Smith: How to be an explorer of the world

Wednesday, May 22, 13

And more...

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Not starting / Too many questions...

How? When?By when?

Who? Who more can I talk to?

What do you mean by test?

Anything more?

Anything more?

Configuration?

Data?

Architecture?

Team?

Priority?

Risks?

Known problems?

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Reaction?

Suspicion

Frustration

Impatience

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Lessons?

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Start with context-free questions

Can I ask some questions?

Is now a good time for questions?

Ref: Exploring Requirements: Quality Before Design (Gause, Weinberg)

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Sitting with a problem for too long...

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Result?

Dis-appointment

Delay

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Causes

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Lessons?

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Balance

Celebrateyour

ignorance

Wednesday, May 22, 13

LessonsFail “well”

“The chief trick to making good mistakes is not to hide them - especially not from yourself. Instead of turning away in denial when you make a mistake, you should become a connoisseur of your own mistakes, turning them over in your mind as if they were works of art, which in a way they are.”

Dennet: Intuition Pumps and other Tools for Thinking

Wednesday, May 22, 13

More Lessons

Celebrate your own failures

They are a case study opportunity

Ask trusted colleagues for signs

Fear of failure = Fear of learning

Creativity is bound up with failure

Wednesday, May 22, 13

More lessonsKnow your audience

Synch with them

Context-free questions to start with

Remember to focus & de-focus

Take a step back

Explain the problem to someone new

Learning is a heuristic activity - implies trial and error

Wednesday, May 22, 13

References

Thinking, Fast and Slow (Kahneman)

Exploring Requirements: Quality before Design (Gauss, Weinberg)

How to Be an Explorer of the World (Smith)

Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking (Dennet)

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Questions & Comments

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Image creditshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/34120957@N04/4199675334

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/8252655811

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fairyfeet/30860040/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedevelopmentofbirmingham/4160702095/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mknott/130350679/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wfryer/1342355056/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewpescod/1355751357/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stolensnapshot/3611391087/sizes/m/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilmoralee/6872205942/

Wednesday, May 22, 13

Image creditshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/flex/26197327/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/safetyfreak/498421785/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdconnell/5209509848/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/billsophoto/5243121852/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zyphichore/95961996/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aquilaonline/2055376852/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rvoegtli/7662328952/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/betsyweber/3307988944/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cainnmosni/3065256470/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66720528@N04/8476511518/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/3718891/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vblibrary/8484917890/

Wednesday, May 22, 13