Do testers have to code... to be useful?

Do Testers Have to Code…

Quality in Agile Conference Vancouver, Canada April 2015

Lisa Crispin Janet Gregory @lisacrispin @janetgregoryca

to be useful?

A li7le about us

Janet First agile team: 2000

Currently coaching, training TwiGer: janetgregoryca

Email: [email protected]

Agile TesJng; 2009 More Agile TesJng: Oct 2014

Website: www.agiletester.com www.agiletester.ca

Lisa First agile team – 2000

Currently tester on Pivotal Tracker team TwiGer: lisacrispin

Email: [email protected]

We’ve heard it since the dawn of “agile”…

Everyone on the team should be able to do everything, including writing production

code

We need to automate everything!

Let’s hire some SDETs!

But shouldn’t we be trying to build quality in?

Reality Check…

•  Many (if not most) job ads ask for programming skills

•  Managers think test automaJon is a silver bullet

•  Technical skills help testers communicate with devs, ops, others

Our take

•  TesJng skills such as exploratory tesJng are a must •  Competencies trump roles •  The whole team must take responsibility for quality •  TesJng starts at the beginning •  Know what you need to add value •  There is no room for zombie testers!

It’s a Mindset Switch

Instead of • We’re here to find bugs … or ensure requirements are met … or break the sobware …

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Think – How do we “bake quality in”?

–  ..and how can we help deliver sobware successfully?

Testers need Technical Awareness !!

Agile teams already have coders, but…

Feature (with

examples) User Story

High-‐Level AT

Fix Defects

Code, test & automate story

ATDD Acceptance Test Driven Development

Accept Story Explore

Examples

This means learning…

•  TesJng framework your team selects •  and the DSL (domain specific language)

•  Common language with programmers •  Common language with customers •  Code to read & understand •  Code to write? – can’t hurt, but not

absolutely required

Frameworks / languages / terminology

Example of BDD format Given the user has no exisJng account

When she requests to create a new account

And she enters a valid user name and valid password (rules defined)

Then the informaJon is saved upon submilng.

Understand Programming Concepts

Common vocabulary

IDEs (integrated development environment)

If you use same tools as

teammates… …they can more easily help you

Maintain your own •  Linux/Unix •  Windows •  Mac •  Deploys

Maintain Test Environments

Examples: Share Stories

Workflows, Journeys

Know Your Domain

Thinking Skills

CollaboraRng, CommunicaRng

•  Ubiquitous language •  Examples

•  QuesJon

Delivering InformaRon

•  Oben bad news! •  CollaboraJve approach – “Show me”

1.  Form groups of three

2.  Who has the most unusual hobby?

3.  Explain it to the other two in one minute.

SJcker by Brian Marick

Testers add unique value

•  Delivery teams already have coders

•  But may not have tesJng skills such as: •  Exploratory tesJng •  SpecialJes such as security, performance, UX

tesJng •  EliciJng examples from customers, turning into

tests that guide coding

MulJ-‐ discipline skills

Expert Discipline skills

T-‐Shaped Skills

Breadth of Skills

Dep

th o

f Ski

lls

Square-‐shaped Team

See links for more by Rob Lambert and Adam P. Knight

Cube-‐shaped Skills!

Idea from Marcelo Leite

Where to get the skills?

Experiment! •  Study group, book club •  Community of PracJce •  Online resources •  What fits your learning

style? •  Find the wonder!

What skill do you need?

•  Get back with your group of three

•  IdenJfy one skill that would help you collaborate with team members to build quality in

•  Think of an experiment that could help you learn the skill

So, do we need to be coders?

•  Dev teams already have coders!

•  Technical awareness is a must •  Thinking skills enable our contribuJons

•  Specialized tesJng skills add huge value

There’s not one right way

Find ways that you can add value to your team

And then …. keep learning

More Learning •  Adzic, Gojko, Specifica5on by Example: How Successful Teams Deliver the Right SoAware, Manning, 2011 •  Adzic, Gojko, Impact Mapping: Making a Big Impact with SoAware Products and Projects, 2012a hGp://impactmapping.org

•  Gärtner, Markus, ATDD By Example: A Prac5cal Guide to Acceptance Test-‐Driven Development, Addison-‐Wesley, 2012a •  Karten, Naomi, "Are You Listening?", hGp://www.agileconnecJon.com/arJcle/are-‐you-‐listening, Agile ConnecJon, 2009 •  Keogh, Liz, hGp://lunivore.com -‐ look for her posts on BDD, Real OpJons •  Knight, Adam P., "T-‐shaped Tester, Square Shaped Team", hGp://thesocialtester.co.uk/t-‐shaped-‐tester-‐square-‐shaped-‐team/, 2013 •  Lambert, Rob, "T-‐shaped Testers and Their Role In a Team", hGp://thesocialtester.co.uk/t-‐shaped-‐testers-‐and-‐their-‐role-‐in-‐a-‐team/ , 2012 •  Levison, Mark, "The Beginner's Mind -‐ An Approach to Listening", hGp://www.infoq.com/news/2008/08/beginners_mind, InfoQ, 2008 •  McMillan, Darren, "Mind Mapping 101", for TesJng: hGp://www.beGertesJng.co.uk/content/?p=956, 2011 •  PaGon, Jeff, User Story Mapping, 2014 •  Wynne, MaG and Aslak Hellesoy, The Cucumber Book: Behavior-‐Driven Development for Testers and Developers, PragmaJc Programmers, 2012

Agile Tes5ng: A Prac5cal Guide for Testers and Agile Teams

More Agile Tes5ng: Learning Journeys for the Whole Team

By Janet Gregory and Lisa Crispin www.agiletester.ca www.agiletester.com

Contact info www.janetgregory.ca Email: [email protected] TwiGer: janetgregoryca

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lisacrispin.com Email: [email protected] TwiGer: lisacrispin

Technology

Do testers have to code... to be useful?