Presentation from the EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference 2013 - 'Test Strategies are 90 % waste' by Remi Hansen, Promis Qualify. Fighting test strategy anti-patterns, and a fresh perspective on test strategy vs test plans.

1. Test Strategies Are 90% Waste
Remi Hansen, PROMIS AS
www.eurostarconferences.com
@esconfs
#esconfs

2. 
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Me and my message
Anti-patterns
Recommendations
Photo (Flickr): Spiroll

3. 
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Senior PM in PROMIS, a leading provider of agile
project and test management services in Norway
(www.promis.no)
20+ years in IT Consulting business
◦ Primarily Project Manager and Business Consultant
on strategic projects in both private and public sector
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Presenter on local and international conferences
B.Sc. in SW Engineering, M. Sc. in Industrial Economics
Certified Project Management Professional (PMP), PRINCE2
Practitioner, IT Project Professional (ITPP), CSPO, ISTQB
Foundation and ITIL
no.linkedin.com/in/remihansen/
Q U AL I F Y

4. 1.
2.
3.
Dare to break the test strategy anti-patterns
Test strategies are for communication
– not for documentation
You will receive a limited amount of management attention –
use it wisely - to gain the mandate you need to do your job
effectively
Foto (Flickr):
Jordan McCullough

5. Photo (Flickr):
thegift73

6. An anti-pattern is a pattern used in social or business
operations or software engineering
that may be commonly used
but is ineffective and/or counterproductive
in practice

7. Can you think of any
test strategy anti-patterns?

8. Use a template based on an international standard
- make sure to fill in something in every section

9. Write as if the document exists
without any context at all

10. Write as if the reader has never heard of
the concept of testing

11. Do not communicate any of the content
until the document is complete, in perfect condition
and formally approved

12. Volume = Quality

13. Write for the test management community
– Stick strictly to the test vocabulary!

14. Include a snapshot of the risk,
to have it declared once and for all

15. Write excessively about what the SW developers should do
in their unit tests

16. Additional anti-patterns?

17. If you follow these anti-patterns you should keep occupied
for a long time
producing an impeccable document
of at least 50 pages
With close to zero value
because nobody can endure reading it
-
And if anybody does read it
it’s certainly not the ones who should read it
-

18. Photo (Flickr):
thegift73

19. 
Build support from management
for the most important choices,
which gives you a clear boundaries
to manage within
Photo (Flickr):
Michele M.F.

20. Be very clear on the distinction between
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the strategy = what you must have management backing for
and
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the plan = what you as a test professional and manager will
take responsibility for
and management shouldn’t really worry too much about
 management by exception

21. Present the strategy incrementally – build consensus
around the essential choices before moving on to
more detailed issues
 Presentation is more effective than documents
 Create discussions and common conclusions
 Do we need the traditional test strategy document?

22. 
Put forward the important choices in an
understandable way
◦ Don’t let the important drown in details
◦ Don’t make the readers relate to issues they need not
worry about – that will only dilute the message
◦ Don’t waste space and attention on matters covered
elsewhere
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The document has no value in itself
– it’s the shared understanding and direction it
gives that creates value

23. Don’t underestimate the level of test knowledge out
there
 A decision maker without test knowledge will not
become knowledgeable even if you write a lot of
details
– don’t write a textbook on test management!
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24. What would you include
if you were to write a test strategy
on five slides?
Photo (Flickr):
Captain Tenneal

25. 
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Which tests will we perform?
When (in what phases) do we test?
Who (what roles) will perform the tests?
In which environments will we test?
What test techniques are required?
What are the test objects?
What are the acceptance criteria?
What tools will we use?
What documentation is needed?
What metrics do we need?

26.  Distinguish
clearly between
Test strategy – the overall policies, guidelines and priorities that
Project Management and Steering Committee must support
(contract between project management and TM)
and
Test plans – everything you as a Test Manager can take responsibility
for yourself

27. 
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Which tests will we perform?
When (in what phases) do we test?
Who (what roles) will perform the tests?
In which environments will we test?
What test techniques are required?
What are the test objects?
What are the acceptance criteria?
What tools will we use?
What documentation is needed?
What metrics do we need?
What’s missing?
Tabular / graphics
presentation
Do we need this in
the strategy?
Consider moving to
test plan

28. 
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Test objectives / Business risk assessment
Strategy for test automation
Clarifications on scope, ambition and responsibility for more
«peripheral» tests, like non-functional test incl. performance
tests, regression tests, operational tests, quality assurance of
documentation and training, usability tests, static testing, code
quality, etc.
Resource requirements – type and amount

29. What you should remember
1. Dare to break the test strategy anti-patterns
2. Test strategies are for communication
– not for documentation
3. You will receive a limited amount of management attention
– use it wisely - to gain the mandate you need to do your job effectively
Photo (Flickr):
ILhan Gendron

30. Emancipate yourself from bloated test strategies!
Photo (Flickr):
Jake Gagne

31. Photo (Flickr):
Horia Varlan
Reachable on remi.hansen@promis.no