1. Mindmaps and Heuristics
Tester's Best Friends in Fast Changing Environment
Lalitkumar Bhamare
STeP-IN Conference
June 18th 2014

2. Speaker profile
Lalitkumar Bhamare is currently working with one large investment bank as
a Test Analyst. He is also the Co-Founder and Chief Editor of most
popular software testing magazine Tea-time with Testers. Lalit‟s particular
specialties are his Testing Skills, Test Management, Teaching Testing and
providing testing related consultation to project teams.
He has been working as Assistant Instructor to AST's BBST foundations
courses and also conducts Rapid Software Testing full day trainings at his
workplace. Lalit regularly assists James Bach in his Rapid Testing Intensive
Online trainings.
Through is world famous magazine Tea-time with Testers, Lalit is active in his
personal mission of improving the state of software testing by collaborating
with leading authors, thought leaders and expert practitioners as well as by
volunteering his time to help fellow testers by writing his blog on software
testing. His tireless dedication to the advancement of software testing in
general is often referred to as a hobby in addition to a job due to the
enjoyment and satisfaction he gains from his efforts.
Contact Lalit on editor@teatimewithtesters.com or on Twitter @Lalitbhamare

3. Housekeeping
notes & requests…
• We all learn by sharing what we know. This tutorial is
based on my interpretation of ideas that are originally
brought up by other experts along with some of my own.
• Feel free to contribute your thoughts or ask the
questions you have at any point of time during this
session.
• If your question can be answered in short , we‟ll talk
about it readily else please wait until the session ends.

4. Index
1. Warming up
2. An approach towards Test Design
3. Introduction to Mind-mapping
4. Mind-mapping in Software Testing
5. Techniques and Tips
6. Heuristics
7. Summary

5. Warming up with ‘What is’ stuff
1. What is Testing?
2. What is Test Case?
3. What is Test Strategy?

6. What is Testing ?
Software testing is an investigation conducted to
provide stakeholders with information about the
quality of the product or service under test.
- Dr. Cem Kaner

7. What is Test Case ?
A test case is one particular instance or variation
of a test idea.
- James Bach

8. What is Test Strategy ?
A test strategy is the set of big-picture ideas embodying the
design of a test effort. It‟s the significant values that will inspire,
influence and ultimately drive your testing, and the overall
decisions you have made about ways and means of delivering
on those values.
Note that was “overall” decisions. A strategy is not a detailed
plan. It‟s the design behind the plan that you, as a skilled
tester, have thought about and developed.
- Fiona Charles

9. An approach towards Test Design
There are two different ways (approach) a tester
can design her tests :
1. Easy approach
2. Not so difficult approach

10. Easy approach
• I call it as Just Do It approach (aka lazy tester‟s approach)

11. Close look at Just do it approach
This is how unskilled testers design their tests -
1. Read FRD when it comes (without much questioning)
2. Hunt down mentioned requirements
3. Convert them in test scenarios
4. Use permutations/combinations for scenarios and write detailed test cases
5. Hurray…it‟s DONE !

12. Drawbacks of Just do it approach
• Poor test coverage
• Less scope for investigation of product.
• Can not be used effectively to present
information
• Does not give big-picture ideas that help
to design and develop test strategy.
• No scope for impact analysis
• Inadequate test ideas and much more ….
Still some testers follow this approach because they think….
• It saves their time.
• It helps to train new testers.
• It makes their number based reporting easy.

13. There is another (not so difficult) approach that…
Saves considerable time of test design
Ensures high test coverage
and can easily deal with changing requirements.
It‟s called Mind-mapping !

14. What is Mind-mapping ?
• A mind map is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts.
• It is a visual thinking tool that helps structuring information, helping you
to better analyze, comprehend, synthesize, recall and generate new
ideas.

15. Mindmapping in Testing :

16. Effective Requirement Review:

17. Effective Requirement Review:
 Easy requirement analysis and gap analysis
 Easy to highlight suggestions, feedback at relevant places
 Easy and quick mode of communication (where stakeholders can easily
relate your feedback/questions/suggestions to the topic without any confusion.)
 Relief from writing lengthy emails (and mail chains) to explain your
ideas and concerns

18. Impact analysis:
Mindmap/image credit – Darren McMillan [http://www.bettertesting.co.uk]

19. Impact analysis:

20. Impact analysis:
 Big picture view of integration points & influences.
 Easy impact analysis
 Can add extensive notes to describe important information /test conditions
 Easy to update and maintain
 As everything is visibly in front of you, your mind begins to naturally consider
more aspects of the feature in turn generating more and better test
conditions, that you might previously not have thought of when writing scripted
test cases in an excel spread sheet.

21. Adding more test ideas/test types (enhanced
coverage):
Mindmap/image credit – Darren McMillan [http://www.bettertesting.co.uk]

23. • Test conditions/cases can be split into different types of testing.
• Can have generic template of all testing types so that you would at least
attempt to consider if any conditions need to exist for that testing type.
• From splitting these test conditions into different types of testing, you’ll find that
you think more, thereby generating much better test cases for that functional
area, since you are paying much more attention to what you’ll need to test.
• You can also add in a rules section for everything that the requirements expect,
say for example pre-conditions, dependencies etc.
Adding more test ideas/test types (enhanced
coverage):

24. Test Planning:
Mindmap/image credit – Darren McMillan [http://www.bettertesting.co.uk]

25. Test Planning:
Mindmap/image credit – Bernice Neil Ruhland [http://thetestersedge.com]

26. Project Dashboard:
Mindmap/image credit – Bernice Neil Ruhland [http://thetestersedge.com]

27. Test Planning:
 Works as a platform to generate ideas more efficiently resulting in better
planning
 Discussing the scope with stakeholders the map will quickly evolve, with
new tasks being added and unneeded ones being de-scoped.
 Easy to convert into a formal plan, or list of tasks on a task
management system [QC, TFS or other tools]

28. Easy and quick test reporting:
Session Report
Mindmap/image credit – Darren McMillan [http://www.bettertesting.co.uk]

29. Daily Test/Status Report
Mindmap/image credit – Darren McMillan [http://www.bettertesting.co.uk]

30. Test Completion Report
Sample Test report by Lalit

31. Focus/Unfocus: Filters

32. 20/06/2014
12 | Mind-maps in Software Testing | 27
September 2012
32
Focus/Unfocus: Filters

33. Nodes on mindmap
easily get converted
to such tree structure
that you can dump in
your test management
tool.
Alternative to detailed scripted test cases:

34. Alternative to detailed scripted test cases:
Mindmap/image credit – Darren McMillan [http://www.bettertesting.co.uk]

35.  Mind-map shows path through the application/feature (similar to steps in a test case)
 Mind-map can easily be dumped into a (tree like) structure that can serve as a „stepwise‟
guide to your test.
 Requirements change they always do & often are not strictly followed. It‟s easier to
change & add conditions in the map as compared to do so once they‟ve reached your test
management tool.
 With the addition of a better testing mindset using the mind map you‟ll be more aware of
the impact of a requirements change, so you‟ll be able to write better conditions around it.
Alternative to detailed scripted test cases:

36. Heuristics

37. What is heuristic?
A fallible method to solve a problem or making decision.
- Rapid Software Testing by James Bach

38. There are heuristics for almost all testing problems.
Testing heuristics empower you to think beyond your initial ideas…
Image credit – https://www.designheuristics.com

39. Heuristics for Critical Thinking/Requirement Analysis:

40. 1. MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB
- from “Are Your Lights On?” by Jerry Weinberg
Mary had a little lamb --- it was hers, not someone else’s
Mary had a little lamb --- but she doesn’t have it anymore
Mary had a little lamb --- just one, not several
Mary had a little lamb --- it was very, very small
Mary had a little lamb --- not a goat, a chicken, etc
Mary had a little lamb --- but John still has his

41. 2. HUH? REALLY? SO??
- Heuristic for Critical thinking by James Bach
Huh? – Do I understand it?
Consider this requirement/statement:
System operates on input voltage range of 100-250 VAC
Really? – How do I know what you (requirement/statement) say(s) is true?
So? – Is that the only solution? What can I do next with that information?

42. Heuristics for Test Coverage/Design :

43. A signed in user should be able to search for stock price
How will you test this?

44. 1. San Francisco Depot (SFDIPOT)
Image credit – http://mgphoto.de
- From Heuristic Test Strategy Model by James Bach

45. Structure - everything that comprises the physical product.
Function - everything that the product does.
Data - everything that the product processes.
Interfaces - every conduit by which the product is accessed or expressed.
Platform - everything on which the product depends (and that is outside your project).
Operations - how the product will be used.
Time - any relationship between the product and time.

46. 2. Touring Heuristic (FCC CUTS VIDS)
- Heuristic for product touring by Michael Kelly

47. Heuristics for Mobile Apps Testing:

48. 1. I SLICED UP FUN!
- Heuristic for Mobile Apps Testing by Jonathan Kohl

49. 2. COP FLUNG GUN
– Created by Dhanasekara Subramanian (Moolya Testing)
• Communication
• Orientation
• Platform
• Function
• Location
• User Scenarios
• Network
• Gesture
• Guidelines
• Updates
• Notifications
Referrence: http://www.moolya.com/blogs/2012/04/121/Test-Mobile-applications-with-COP-who-FLUNG-GUN

50. Oracle Heuristic for problem finding :

51. (F)EW HICCUPS:
- Heuristic by James Bach and Michael Bolton
Will there be a problem if product‟s behaviour is (in)consistent
with…
Explainability?
World?
History?
Image?
Comparable Products?
Claims?
User Expectations?
Purpose?
Product?
Statutes and Standards?
Familiar Problems?

52. Oracle Heuristic for Defect Reporting:

53. DISCCOH:
– Created by Jyothi Rangaiah
D - DISCOMFORT
I - INQUISITORY
S - SOME CASES
S - SUGGESTION
C - CASE CLOSED
O - ORIGINALLY
H – HISTORY
Heuristic approach to bug reporting
(Tea-time with Testers magazine – February 2014 issue)

54. Heuristic for creating your project specific Oracle
Heuristic:
Once you find out failure patterns with your systems/products it can
serve as Oracle Heuristic for future…

55. HEEENA: – Created by Lalit Bhamare

57. Thank You
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