Mind, Map and Strategy 1

Fiona Charles, Quality Intelligence

Mind, Map and Strategy Mindmapping a Test Strategy

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Mind, Map and Strategy Mindmapping a Test Strategy

Fiona Charles EuroSTAR

November 8, 2012

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A Test Strategy is the set of big-picture ideas embodying the overarching direction or design of a test effort.

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“Quality is value to some person or persons.”

Gerald M. Weinberg

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A test strategy includes:

Significant values that will inspire, influence and ultimately drive your testing

Stakeholders’ values = product/project business goals

What quality means to stakeholders in practical terms

Overall decisions you have made about ways and means of:

delivering on those values (translated for testing)

addressing the major constraints and risks affecting your testing

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Who are your stakeholders?

Who is paying for this system?

Who expects to benefit from implementation of this system?

If something goes wrong with this system, who could suffer harm or loss?

Of these, whose interests are most significant to include or represent in your test strategy?

Don’t forget the development team and other IT stakeholders

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Are there silent or absent stakeholders who could be significantly impacted?

• Anonymous customers

• Your customer’s customers

• Bystanders

You may need to ensure their interests are represented

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Strategy vs. Tactics

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There are four levels of warfighting- Policy, Strategy, Operations, and Tactics. Strategy is the marriage between the political ends and the military means. Tactics, to give a boiled-down definition, is what is done when in combative contact with the enemy- the manuevers, attacks, timing, etc…

In military terms:

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To elucidate with an historical example – In WWII, the policy was the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. One of the strategies to achieve that policy was to knock out the German industrial capacity through aerial bombing runs. (Probably rather an operation) There were many operations, or organized collections of missions, meant to ensure that the bombing strategy was successful. The tactics involved in the operations include the decision to bomb at night, non-evasive flying to increase the accuracy of the bombing, and dogfighting manuevers by the fighter escorts.

From Augean Stables blog

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Business Goal: Turn the tide and increase Baking Soda sales.

Strategy: Devise new reasons for their current customers to pick up that yellow box at the supermarket and use more baking soda. Specifically, sell Arm & Hammer as a deodorizer for the fridge.

That’s a big, strategic idea that led Arm & Hammer in a completely different direction. They’re now marketing a whole line of environmentally friendly cleaning products. Every current Arm & Hammer product, from toothpaste to cat litter, originated with that strategy of finding new ways to use baking soda. And in the process, an old-fashioned brand has managed to stay relevant.

Marketing example (Arm & Hammer):

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Tactics: TV advertising. Magazine ads. Infomercials. Retail promotions. Website dedicated to all the various uses of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. All the traditional marketing tactics were employed.

John Furgurson

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Test Strategy vs. Military

A Test Strategy incorporates the Operations level as well as the Strategy level.

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Example of a Mindmapped Test Strategy

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You can watch me present this example on video: http://tinyurl.com/bwu7whx

Or see an image of the entire mindmap: http://tinyurl.com/br4lyww

Fiona Charles

fiona.charles@quality-intelligence.com

www.quality-intelligence.com

Twitter: @FionaCCharles

Images and text ©Fiona Charles 2012