16. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
“A tester is only a friend if
he/she acts that way and is
recognized as a friend”
I. H. Aegerter (just some tester)
17. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
“Quality Assurance”
18. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
As a tester it’s not your job to act as a sewage
plant @ilarihenrik at #SDSHelsinki #testing
19. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
The Bureaucrats are in
the hood
20. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
The Factory Analogy
21. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Years of bad testing
photo credit: http://j.mp/16EcmNI
22. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Everybody “knows”
how to test
photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefz/2311364930/sizes/o/in/photostream/
23. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Dunning-Kruger Effect
1. You tend to overestimate your own level of
skill
2. You fail to recognize genuine skill in others
3. You fail to recognize the extremity of your
inadequacy
4. You recognize and acknowledge your own
previous lack of skill, if you are exposed
to training for that skill
(Source: Wikipedia)
24. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Us against
Them
photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8631352@N05/2322701562/sizes/l/in/photostream/
25. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Are you
surprised it
does not
work?
26. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
“Quality Assurance”
Years of bad testing
Us against Them
28. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
„There is a standard
process„
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/timdrivas/6973202868/sizes/h/in/photostream/
29. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
„It is always obvious what to
expect„
=?
20 C
100 C
30. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
31. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Can you see it now?
32. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
„Documentation
will save you„
33. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
„You can automate
everything„
34. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Ok, let‟s see…
35. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Type: “2+2” and then “=“:
What do you expect?
(credit goes to James Bach for this little exercise)
Image credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/28419945@N00/129265742/sizes/l/in/photostream/
36. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
What if…
…the calculator took 1 hour for
the calculation ?
Would you report that as a
bug?
Image credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/28419945@N00/129265742/sizes/l/in/photostream/
37. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
What if…
…you discovered that it
calculates 2*2 instead of 2+2?
Would you report that as a
bug?
Image credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/28419945@N00/129265742/sizes/l/in/photostream/
38. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
What if…
…the calculator suddenly
became incredibly hot?
Would you report that as a
bug?
Image credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/28419945@N00/129265742/sizes/l/in/photostream/
39. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
What if…
…the calculator made weird
noises while calculating?
Would you report that as a
bug?
Image credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/28419945@N00/129265742/sizes/l/in/photostream/
40. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Tacit vs. Explicit
knowledge
41. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
42. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Standard Process
“It is Obvious”
Documentation
Automate Everything
44. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Automation
vs.
Manual
45. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/r80o/39304743/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/61091655@N00/6831352744/sizes/l/in/photostream/
46. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Useless Metrics
47. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
e.g. a metric like this:
„We want to automate 80%
of all test cases
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/malavoda/4203730212/sizes/l/in/photostream/
48. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
49. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
“Certifications”
A highly scalable money
generating business
50. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Certification
Sirens
Tester
Ulysses
51. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
52. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
53. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
54. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
55. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Automation vs. Manual
Useless Metrics
“Certifications”
57. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Physical proximity
Image credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarabossana/4425526595/sizes/o/in/photostream/
58. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Heterogenous teams
59. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
A good and shared
understanding of quality
60. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Physical proximity
Heterogenous Teams
Understanding of quality
62. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Share Ownership of “Quality”
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/letterlust/5399170806/sizes/o/in/photostream/
63. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
To promote an approach to software testing
that emphasizes value and the role that
skilled testers play in its delivery.
www.commonsensetesting.org
64. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
When hiring: Have testers
demonstrate their skills
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/acvbpr/5322231442/sizes/o/in/photostream/
65. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Is this the relationship
between testers and
developers in your
organization?
66. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Empathy
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hometowninvasion/302142708/sizes/o/in/photostream/
67. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Share Ownership
Demonstrate Skill
Empathy
68. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Don‟t forget:
Testers are your friends
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/merwing/530535214/sizes/o/in/photostream/
69. It is not always so obvious what
happens next
= first down,
then up
20 C
100 C
My name is Ilari Henrik Aegerter and if the name somehow sounds a bit Finnish to you then you are rightI was born in Riihimäki and then moved to Switzerland at the age of 4 Ever since I have been back to Finland on a reguar basis and it is a great honor to me to talk at a conference here in Helsinki
In my daytime I am Manager Productivity & Test Engineering Europe for eBayMy team is distributed and located in Zurich, Berlin, Paris and LondonWe are the world’s biggest market place with 116 million customers of which there are more than 60 million here in Europe
I am also the President of the ISSTwell…one of four presidents that isThe ISST advocates for good testing and my keynote is a small part in that endeavour
Ok, now I am interested who you are
Ok, it is early in the morning, let’s fresh up a bit
You all know this boring little eye illusionWhich one is longer?They are equal length, right?But, again, even in this casein order to not fool others, you first have to not fool yourself
Well, some of you are testersYou should know betterVerify your assumptions
ok, today’s topic is “Testers are your friends”apparently sometimes they are not, or not perceived as suchmaybe there are reasons for thatI believe there are some misconceptions about testers and about the tester/developer relationship out therelet’s have a look
And: for whatever I say, I suggest to apply Jerry Weinberg’s rule of three: Find 3 reasons why what I say is not trueBeing here In front of you does not make me the holder of the truthBut I have strong opinions, though
So what exactly is the problemMy talk’s title is “Testers are your friends” but apparently they are not viewed that way sometimesWhy is that so?
I found this quote and I think it describes the problem quite accuratelyAnd there are other influences that might be problematic, too
Yes, I know many among you have “QA” in their job title or even see themselves as suchBut let me ask you this:How many among you QAs have full hiring or firing rights for all people involved In the project?See?By the way, this is a map of Zurich and you can see the sewage plant on itQuality Insurance insinuates that you get something dirty or of at least questionable quality an then it passes your “Quality Insurance Sewage Plant” and out comes a clean, pure productOh, come on
A little courtesy by me: a pre-fabricated tweet for you guysBy testing the product you deliver information, you don’t magically clean it up
I have observed organizations where the bureaucrats seem to have taken overThere are more paper documents (ie test case documents) and process description flying around than anything else
Please, if anything, remember that developing software (an that includes testing) is by no means similar of what a factory producesThis here is knowledge work, not commoditized packing of tomato soup over and over againIt is applied problem solvingIt is using your brain, not rote repetition of optimized subtasks
all this has lead to years of bad testingineffective, bothersome, bottle-necky, annoying
When have you last time argued with the surgeon on how she should operate your overstressed heart?But everybody seems to know how to testWhat’s the fuss about it, “just check that it works”, right?
If you are a tester, nothing good comes out of talking bad about developersPlease be aware that you as a tester might be a victim of the Dunning-Kruger EffectYou might simply not understand the complexitiy of getting something to runDo you think the develpers put the bugs in there just for fun?
And, I believe there are quite many misconceptions about testing
Yes, if you pack tomato soup, there certainly is a standard process Get SoupPack it in tinsShip it
This isespeciallyprevalent in theclassical „testcase“ productionExpectedbehaviourObservedbehaviourPut a thermometer in boilingwater, thecolumnrises, right?It‘sobviousWe‘llcome back tothat
Creating a pile of paper is not testing
Don’t get me wrong: Automation has huge merrits and it is indispensable for skilled testingHowever, you need to understand its strengths and weaknessesAutomation is very strong in:1. accellerating repetitive processes2. checking facts3. finding anticipatable errors4. acting as a security net for refactoringsand automation does not always mean full fledged end-to-end automation(e.g. the small item generation tool for eBay)
I want to exemplify what I mean by “You can’t automate everything”
I promised my son Marvin that one day I will include one of his drawings in my presentations, so here we go
It is like riding a bicycle:sit on the saddleTurn the pedals
Whenmeasuringsomethingyouhavetotakegreatcarethatthethingyoumeasureis in linewiththequestionyouwant an answerfor
I get a skinrashfromthis real lifeexample (I am not goingtonamewhere I haveitfrom)
MeasurementDysfunction
One question you might want to investigate:How high is the percentage of people on certification boards, who have a business with vested interest in certifications
So, MattBarcomb and I started to mock the whole ideaand on this year’s PSL we came up with an alternative
And by that I do not necessarily mean you should employ a bunch of hippies
Quality is the perceived relationship between a product and its usersAsk around in your organization “What does good quality mean to you?”
at eBay we the whole team – devs and testers – have shared responsibility for good quality
If you hire a juggler for a children birthday, you want to see him/her juggleYou won’t ask for a juggler certification
Every person does what he/she does for good reasonsNobody on the planet aims to act irrationally (unless you’re an adolecent in party mood)but then – of course – you are excused
by working together we will create products our customers are excited about
Maybetherelationshipbetweentestersanddevelopersfirsthadtogo down in ordertogoupEnjoytheconference, askquestionsand I recommendtoapplytheRuleofThreewheneveryouhearsomethingLet‘sspread a bitoflove, won‘twe?