What does Technical Testing mean? For Alan, it means going beyond requirements and using Technical Information about the implementation and an understanding of the technologies used in the building of the system to add to the risk profile and use to help derive test approaches. Using Web Testing as an example we explain how approaching testing from a technical perspective changes how you view the system and how you test. Also explained, how a technical understanding leads to a different use of tooling an automation. This webinar presented 1st April 2015 to Tabara De Testare

1. Technical Testing Webinar 1st
April
2015 for Tabara de Testare
4 Romanian Cities, 1 Webinar
http://www.eviltester.com
http://www.meetup.com/Tabara-de-Testare-Cluj/

2. ●
On 1st
April 2015, this webinar was presented
live via Google Hangouts to the Tabara de
Testare Romanian Testing Group
● An audience spread across rooms in 4
Romanian Cities, with 70+ people tuning in from
the comfort of their own home and workplace
● The Webinar consisted of the slides and talky
bits, a hands on demo, followed by a Q&A
section

3. Blogs and Websites
● CompendiumDev.co.uk
● SeleniumSimplified.com
● EvilTester.com
● JavaForTesters.com
● Twitter: @eviltester
Online Training Courses
● Technical Web Testing 101
Unow.be/at/techwebtest101
● Intro to Selenium
Unow.be/at/startwebdriver
● Selenium 2 WebDriver API
Unow.be/at/webdriverapi
Videos
youtube.com/user/EviltesterVideos
Books
Selenium Simplified
Unow.be/rc/selsimp
Java For Testers
leanpub.com/javaForTesters
Alan Richardson
uk.linkedin.com/in/eviltester
Independent Test Consultant
& Custom Training
Contact Alan
http://compendiumdev.co.uk/contact

4. But first some surface structure
examples:
● Non-Technical Testing of a Web App
– Tester → Browser
● Technical Testing of a Web App
– Tester → Browser → Proxy → Server → DB

5. Non-Technical Testing of a Web App

6. Technical Testing of a Web App

7. Technical Testing of a Web App
● Log monitoring
● DB access
● DB monitoring
● Profiling on the server
● Etc.

8. Surface Structure
● What it looks like from the outside
● Not a deep model
● It's not just addition of tools
● Attitude
● Philosophy

9. What do I mean by Testing?

10. All the normal stuff we learn
● Testing Techniques, Testing Object Oriented
Systems
● Boundaries, Equiv, Domain Testing, Graphs,
Entities

11. All the Lessons we've learned over
the years
● Testing Computer Software, Lessons Learned
in software testing

12. Over the years we build up models
of what we do
● Heuristics,
● Mnemonics
● Rapid Software Testing,
http://www.qualityperspectives.ca/
resources_mnemonics.html
http://www.satisfice.com/info_rst.shtml

13. Build your own model
● Observe what you do
● Reflect on why you do it
● Ask yourself how else you could do it

14. 14
MORIM
● Model
– What I think I understand. Different viewpoints.
● Observe
– at different points to corroborate/invalidate model
● Reflect
– find gaps, lack of depth, derive intent
● Interrogate
– Focussed, deep dive observation with intent
● Manipulate
– Hypothesis exploration and “how we do stuff”

15. 15
MORIM from Psychotherapy
● Model
– “Work with the client you have, not the client you
want”
● Observe
– What language patterns do people use?
● Reflect
– Remodel. Figure out what questions to ask next
● Interrogate
– Specific questions to ask
● Manipulate
– To effect change, manipulate - Hypnosis

16. 16
Tools
● Systems Thinking & Modelling
– Modelling,
– Cybernetics,
– Psychotherapy,
– ...
● Testing Knowledge
– Techniques,
– Exploration,
– Note Taking,
– etc.

17. 17
Fundamentally, everything I do is
modelling and model exploration.
● 'Technical' means going deeper into the models

18. 18
MORIM & Technical Web Testing

19. 19
Web Context: A Browser Model

20. 20
Web
Context: A
Browser
Model –
Technical
Risks

21. 21
Generic Web Application Model
Browser ↔ Server ↔ Database
What happens where?
What could we observe where?
Where could we manipulate?

22. 22
Generic Web Application
Browser ↔ Server ↔ Database
HTTP Traffic
Cookie Creation
JSON, XML
Files: img, pdf, etc.
Rendering
CSS
Cookies
JavaScript
HTTP Logs
Application Logs
Schema
Data

23. 23
Modelling & Reflection lead to
tooling to augment our testing
● What can we observe?
– How would that help me?
● How can I observe it? → tools
● What can I manipulate?
– Why would I manipulate it?
● How can I manipulate it? → tools

24. 24
Web Context:
A Browser
Model –
Technical
Tooling
Augmented

25. 25
What tools could we use?
● What can we observe?
– Http traffic, cookies, javascript execution, log files,
data in the database, DB schema used
● What tools do we need to observe?
– HTTP Proxy (Burpsuite, ZAP Proxy, Fiddler),
Browser Developer Tools (in browser), DB Tool
(mysql, mysql workbench), Text Editors, Log File
Viewers (tail -f)
● What can we manipulate?
– HTTP Traffic, DOM, Cookies, DB, Config
● What tools do we need to manipulate?
– All of the above

26. 26
Tools lead to new ideas
● Don't start with tools
● But once you have tools
– Tools are technology
– Look at their features – expand your models
– How could you use that?
– What does that teach you?

27. 27
e.g. Fuzzing
● Fuzzing – repeating requests while varying data
● Some proxy tools have Fuzzers
● Traditional use as templated security testing...
● We could 'repeat requests while varying data'
– Quick tool supported exploration of a controlled
data set
– Fuzz data sets as data we would never use

28. 28
Reflections on Technical Testing

29. 29
A description of Technical Testing
● A reminder to keep “going deeper”
● Tool Augmentation
● Technical details will:
– inspire more testing
– identify more risks
– Identify different problems
● Not limit our testing to Acceptance Criteria

30. 30
It means "Tool Augmentation"
● Is not automation, it uses automation
● Tools to passively observe, maintain history of
observations
● Tools to alert on specific conditions
● Tools to observe the unobserved, and
interrogate the inaccessible
● Tools to help me model and reflect
● Tools to help me manipulate
● ... etc.
Never tools to control. Tools to augment.

31. 31
How I describe what I do
● Not a definition
● A description of my current approaches
● I try get as deep and technical as I can
● I need to keep learning so that I can understand
the technology

32. 32
Go Beyond the surface structure
● Transformational Grammar
– Surface & Deep Structure
– Chomsky
– Multiple surface structures
– Single Deep structure
● Filtered, biased, distorted → Surface Structure
● Questions operate as tools to investigate
Surface to Deep mapping people

33. 33
Go Beyond the surface structure
● A Blueish Ball
● A Silvery round
object
● A Bean Bag
● A Shiny Juggling
prop

34. 34
Go Beyond the surface structure
● It's An Alien
● A Silvery round
object
● A Bean Bag
● A Shiny Juggling
prop

35. 35
It's not an alien
“'Say whatever you choose about the
object, and whatever you might say is
not it.' Or, in other words: Whatever you
might say the object “is”, well it is not.'”
Alfred Korzybski, Science and Sanity, 5th
ed, pg 35

36. 36
How to do Technical Testing?
● Identify tools to work with System Surface
Structures
● Questioning Systems at different Surface
Levels
● Learning System Structure Technology
● Model System Surface Structures
● Observe System Surface Structures

37. 37
Technical Testing Risks & Issues
● Take responsibility for your testing
● Is anyone really going to stop you from doing
the best testing you can?
● You can learn, as you add value. Take small
steps.
● You can learn, as you pair. Ask questions, take
notes. Apply your 'testing super powers' to the
information you get.
● Use technical testing to 'push' for more access
to environments and system internals

38. 38
Resources

39. 39
Resources - Testing
● Books
– Testing Techniques (Beizer)
– Testing Object Oriented Systems (Binder)
– Testing Computer Software,
– Lessons Learned in Software Testing
● Mnemonics lists
– qualityperspectives.ca/resources_mnemonics.html
● Rapid Software Testing
– by James Bach & Michael Bolton
– satisfice.com/info_rst.shtml

40. 40
Resources - Modelling
● Rethinking Systems Analysis & Design
– by Gerald M. Weinberg
● Domain Driven Design
– by Eric Evans
● Diagnosing the System For Organisations
– by Stafford Beer
● Software Requirements & Specifications
– by Michael Jackson
● Principles of Experimentation And
Measurement – by Gordon M. Bragg

41. 41
Resources - Observation &
Interrogation
● Observation
– The Structure of Magic Volumes 1 & 2
● by Richard Bandler and John Grinder
● Interrogation
– The Web Application Hackers Handbook
– Provocative Therapy by Frank Farrelly
– NLP For Testers, by Alan Richardson
● compendiumdev.co.uk/page/nlp

42. 42
Resources – Reflection &
Manipulation
● Reflection
– Quantum Psychology by Robert Anton Wilson
● Manipulation
– How to Break Software, How to Break Web
Software, How to Break Security
● by Whittaker (and others)
– Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton
Erickson
● by Richard Bandler & John Grinder
– Changing with Families
● by Bandler, Grinder & Virginia Satir

43. 43
● Thank you to Tabara De Testare for organising
the webinar
● And thanks to everyone who attended at the
various venues and from their own homes and
workplaces
● http://www.meetup.com/Tabara-de-Testare-Cluj/