joseph ours - keynote - redefining the purpose of software testing

www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

Joseph Ours

Redefining the Purpose of Software Testing


Introducing Joseph Ours

About Joseph

• Owns development and delivery of Cohesion's Quality Assurance and Testing Services

• More than 15 years of IT experience spanning several industries and roles

• Successfully managed multi-million dollar initiatives while introducing innovative solutions for Fortune 1000 companies, resulting in improved quality, increased client satisfaction, cost avoidance, on-time delivery, and establishing a true team culture

Contacting Me

@justjoehere

[email protected]

614.423.5253

www.linkedin.com/in/josephours

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.linkedin.com/in/josephours


REDEFINING THE PURPOSE OF SOFTWARE

TESTING


Our experience today

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What causes that?

Unappreciated

Overworked

Undervalued

Unhappy!


Methodologies

• Waterfall

• Agile

• Iterative

Methods • Manual

• Automated

Objectives

• Functional

• Performance

• Security

• Regression

• Usability

Categories

• Unit

• System

• Integration

• End to End

We have a

proliferation of

approaches, tools,

techniques that we

must manage

Work is generated in your world by

Examples


You know the security guards by name

You are exhausted all the time

The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.

You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated

Every day is a bad day

Are You Overworked?


Viewed as too slow

People don’t understand what you do (or why)

Belief that anyone can do your job

Desire to automate us out of existence

Conversations are more argumentative than not

Are You Unappreciated?


Your work estimates being questioned

Having your concerns just be ignored

Always pressured to do more with less time

Never receiving the product for testing on time

Not being a part of the process

Being blamed for defects found in production

Are You Undervalued?


How we feel How we want to feel

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How do we change the way things are?



• ap·pre·ci·ate

• To be thankful or show gratitude for: I really appreciate your help.

• To admire greatly; value

• sat·is·fac·tion

• The fulfillment or gratification of a desire, need, or appetite

• val·ue

• Worth in usefulness or importance to the possessor; utility or

merit:

Appreciation and Satisfaction



Here is a secret

VALUE and SATISFACTION

transcend to the source, not

just the product


To Be VALUED - we must SATISFY

We must fulfill our customer needs

With a product they deem important

So that we and our actions are seen as valuable


Building a Deck


OK, SO WHERE TO START?


Where should I spend my budget?

Can I get full ROI as is?

Should I fix this now?

Can I compete with this?

Will this tarnish our name?

What Needs Are We Fulfilling


LET’S EXAMINE OUR WORLD


Get requirements

(stories)

Create Tests

Run Tests

Log our defects

Produce our test report

Consider our typical approach


Get requirements

(stories)

Create tests

Run tests

Log our defects



Usually from the business or

product owner via Business

Analysts


Get requirements

(stories)

Create tests

Run tests

Log our defects



A tester’s cave


Get requirements

(stories)

Create tests

Run tests

Log our defects



Our primary means to

communicate with the

developers


Get requirements

(stories)

Create tests

Run tests

Log our defects



Our primary means

to communicate

with everyone else


We perform our work – hidden away 1

We haven’t asked our stakeholders what they want to know

2

We primarily communicate with “everyone” through test status reports

3

We tend to inflate our authority (e.g. Quality Gates, Go/No-Go decisions)

4

What is creating a lack of appreciation and satisfaction?


We tend to focus on what we do – not what we produce

Meeting Requirements

Detecting Defects

Evaluating Product

Preventing Defects

We wear many hats

and are responsible

for many things


Redefining ourselves

Provide information

About a product

To stakeholders

So that informed decisions can be made


Is to communicate

information to our

stakeholders to

allow them to make

informed business

decisions

So, our purpose…


• in·for·ma·tion/ˌinfərˈmāSHən/

• Facts provided or learned about something or someone

• bro·ker/ˈbrōkər/

• A person who buys and sells goods or assets for others

• We gather and communicate information

Information Broker


We must understand our customers (and their needs)

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Business

• Business workers

• Business Managers

• Executives

• Users

Project

• Project process owners

• Business Analysts

• System Analysts

• Developers

• Other Testers

Others

• Integrated Applications

• Support/Operations

Who are our customers?


What are the top 3 things to do and stop doing?


Be service minded

Focus on activities that drive to the end result

Provide useful information


Presenting data as information

Providing information that isn’t wanted

Overstepping our roles


Again

Provide information

About a product

To stakeholders



Observe O

Understand U

Review R

Serve S

OURS is a

possessive

pronoun.

Embrace it,

own it, live it.

A tool – The OURS method


• Inquire

• Be concise

• Be aware it indirectly communicates your intentions

• Focus on uncovering possibilities

• Spawns brainstorming

Observe


• Seek understanding

• We all know what assume means

• Will help reveal motivations

• Evaluate, interpret, and understand what is said

• Probe deeper

• Confirm interpretations

• Collaborate for understanding

• Set common goal

• Work together to achieve it

• This is a great opportunity to associate cost with

information gathering

• Achieve the hidden benefits

Understand


• All customer’s needs are different

• Gain buy-in

• Promote transparency

• Be the Information Broker

• Learn from each other

Review


• When your product is viewed as valuable, so are you

• Ensure the right information goes to the right customer

• Your interaction sets the tone of the relationship

• Be committed to customer achieve satisfaction

• Don’t overpromise and under deliver

• Be accessible to your customers

Serve


• Be information brokers

• “Sell”/provide information

• Consumers must want it or they won’t pay for it (or value it)

• The right information for the right audience, information of value, information

they want

Information Broker

Provide information

About a product

To stakeholders



Get requirements

(stories)

Create tests

Run tests

Log our defects


Circling back O • See them in action

U • Know the why

R • Review your

approach

S • Give them what

they need and want


Get requirements

(stories)

Create tests

Run tests

Log our defects



What we do, why we do it,

is now much more

transparent – and valued


Get requirements

(stories)

Create tests

Run tests

Log our defects



Helps ensure the right

people get the right

information.

Remeber

There are technical and

non-technical impacts of

defects

Not all defects have the

same costs


Get requirements

(stories)

Create tests

Run tests

Log our defects


Circling back

O • Relevant information to

make informed business decisions

U • Nothing unexpected

R • Feedback, were

expectations met

S • Serve them, not

ourselves


WORKING WITH INFORMATION


A sample conversation – about Functionality

What would you like to know

about this application?

I want to make sure it works

Tester Business

Works in what way?

No defects


A sample conversation

If you had to go to production

with an issue, would you?

Depends

Tester Business

What would make you say

yes and what would make

you say no?

Hopefully,

<Insert detailed criteria that’s

important to the business>


A sample conversation – Not usually considered items

Does the site need to be ADA

Accessible?

No

Tester Business

Does the application need to

be up certain hours of the

day/week?

Yes, normal-expanded M-F

business hours on the east

coast.


A sample conversation – Not usually considered items

I know we have requirements

for redundancy, but during

that time, we can’t lose any

business.

Tester Business

Testing failover and recovery

is expensive <insert

cost/time>? Would you like

us to validate it?

Uhhh, that’s a bit much, but I

think we need to squeeze it

in.


Security

Are you concerned about

external unauthorized access? Not really, I’m more

concerned about employees

mis-using the system. We

already have audit

requirements

Tester Business

We’ll test audits as functional

requirements, but if you like

we’ll add role permission

compliance. It’ll add some

effort <insert amount>

Yes, please do that.


Performance conversation

Are you concerned about

performance of the

application?

Not really, I just don’t want

the site to take forever

Tester Business

What portions of the site and

what is forever?

Full blown performance

testing could be quite

expensive.

This is really for internal

employees. If it takes a

while, they’ll deal with it.

We don’t have enough

budget to validate

performance


A sample conversation

Wow! This is great

information! Thanks. I know

that was a lot of work.

Tester Business


One action recap

• Ask what information your customer wants

• Provide information your customers can use

• Take ownership in being collaborative


• Be information brokers

• You “sell”/provide information

• Consumer must want it or they won’t pay for it

• The right information for the right audience, information of value, information

they want

Information Broker

Provide information

About a product

To stakeholders



Thank You

joseph ours - keynote - redefining the purpose of software testing

Technology

typical approach

test reportour primary

test status reports4we

product owner

time delivery

informed business

increased client satisfaction

improved quality