thinking skills - eurostar conference · 2019-07-25 · i started to see the skills outside of a...

Thinking Skills

Bridging Skills from Theory to Practical Use

Karen N. Johnson

About me ~

Thinking Skills v5 © Karen N. Johnson 2014

Software Test Consultant

Published Author

Teach Software Testing

Speak at conferences

Co-founder of WREST, the Workshop on Regulated Software Testing

Website: www.karennicolejohnson.com

Twitter: @karennjohnson

http://www.karennicolejohnson.com

What’s the purpose of this workshop?

In a field that is continually evolving, why would we train testers on specific current skills? Why not train testers on how to think which

in turn would leave testers more able to learn and adapt when the circumstances and technology invariably change.

In 2012, I read the book Sparks of Genius: The 13 Thinking Tools of the World’s Most Creative People by Robert and Michele Root-

Bernstein. The book changed my perspective on skills needed in testing. I started to see the skills outside of a work or project

context. I started thinking about skills in broader terms such as observation and pattern recognition where previously I may have

thought of skills needed on a project, a project like a data migration or a feature such as A/B testing being added to an e-

commerce site. Now I believe the value in seeing skills in a broader way, less project based is beneficial because I can see ways to

improve skills in more ways.

The only challenge in this perspective is having testers I work with, colleagues I speak with – be able to make the connection

between a thinking skill and a skill needed on the job. If people cannot see the immediate connection than they are less inclined to

consider improving their skills. Understandably so, people need to see a connection to see a value.

So I ask, give this a try …


This workshop focuses

on the following thinking skills:

Observing

Imaging

Focusing

Body Thinking

Empathizing

Abstracting

Modeling

Recognizing Patterns

Analogizing

Playing


Thinking Skills: Observation


ob·serve

A look at the

definition.

Verb

Notice or perceive (something) and register it as being

significant.

Watch (someone or something) carefully and attentively.

Synonyms

watch - notice - remark - note - keep - perceive


A mind map on the word observe

Image from VisualThesaurus


How this skill applies to testing

Notice the word observe is a verb; testing and observing are active processes.

We observe software to discover defects. We observe the programs we test.

When we observe beyond confirming expected results of a test case, we begin to observe whatever it is there is to see.

If we test with an eye only on confirming what a test case instructs us to test or to check for, that is all we may notice.


Quotes on Observing

“We only see what we know.” - Goethe

“Look at things for the very first time.” - Perez de Ayala from Advice for a Young Investigator

“These things were not observed because they were not expected or specifically looked for.” - Perez de Ayala from Advice for a Young Investigator

“The medical ear must be properly trained to hear stories – a medical history, after all, is a short story.” - John Stone in Sparks of Genius


Improving Observation Skills

Log into an application. What if an error message appears? Are you ready to notice?

If you practice Exploratory Testing and you use the concept of "tour" testing - how would you (or why would you?) tour an application without being observant?

Take a look at the following videos:

Selective Attention Tests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo

Test Your Awareness : Whodunnit? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNF9QNEQLA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNF9QNEQLA

Why this skill matters

Having an investigatory approach to testing means we have to be ready to observe, otherwise the “experiments” we conduct with software may fall flat.

The longer we work with an application or product the more challenging it can be to be observant of a product. Next time you test software you have worked with for awhile, try to look at the product again as though for the first time. Do you observe anything different?


Some examples of unexpected errors


Expedia


Yahoo


Twitter


Games to improve observation skills

Both the games “Spot It” and "Set” are designed to improve observation skills.


Interesting reading on "observing”We can learn from other disciplines. Look to these sources for other professions where skills of observation are valued.

Yale University's School of Medicine uses fine art to improve observation and diagnostic skills

http://www.dermatology.yale.edu/education/braverman/description.aspx

New York cops use a class at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to teach cops how to improve their observation skills.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Teaching-Cops-to-See.html

The Science Education Resource Center promotes an online activity for improving observation skills for geophotography students http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/geophoto/activities/71114.html


http://www.dermatology.yale.edu/education/braverman/description.aspx

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Teaching-Cops-to-See.html

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/geophoto/activities/71114.html

The Stroop Effect


“ In psychology, the Stroop effect is a demonstration of interference in the reaction time of a task. When the name of a color (e.g., "blue," "green," or "red") is printed in a color not denoted by the name (e.g., the word "red" printed in blue ink instead of red ink), naming the color of the word takes longer and is more prone to errors than when the color of the ink matches the name of the color. The effect is named after John Ridley Stroop who first published the effect in English in 1935.”

- Source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ridley_Stroop

The Stroop Effect


Art & Observation“In fact, many believe that what the hand cannot draw, the eye cannot see. This point was made by Henri Matisse, who taught himself to draw people in motion on the streets of Paris. He and a friend would sit outside and in just a few seconds try "to draw the silhouettes of passers-by, to discipline our line. We were forcing ourselves to discover quickly what was characteristic in a gesture, in an attitude.”

“The importance of such observational powers in a writer should not surprise us. The development of a "true-seeming" plot depends upon a wide knowledge of how others respond to words, gestures, and deeds. ”

“Thus the mind must be trained to observe just as much as we train the eyes, the ears, the nose, or the hands. Clues as to how to do this come from one of the greatest fictional observers of all time: Sherlock Holmes”

Excerpts From: Robert Root-Bernstein. “Sparks of Genius.”


Science & Observation

“Observation is equally the bedrock of the sciences. And, like Georgia O'Keeffe, many scientists believe that the secret to it lies in time and patience. Karl von Frisch, who decoded the dance language of bees, wrote that his ability to observe came from simply lying "for hours between the cliffs, motionless, watching living things I could see on and between the slimy green stones just below the surface of the water. I discovered that miraculous worlds may reveal themselves to a patient observer where the casual passer-by sees nothing at all.”

“Thus the real skill in hunting for fossils, according to paleontologist Elwyn Simons, is prompt and penetrating visual discrimination: "It's seeing order in a random background.... ”



This is one of the paintings

used in the class for teachers

in NY.

What do you notice in the

painting?


Kim’s Game

HOW THE GAME HELPS A TESTER

When we test, we often need to recall many facts such as the data we used, the step we were on in a process, what environment was used and so forth, improving our memory skills is one way to improve as a tester.

In testing software, we need to observe issues both large and small. Being able to recall details is sometimes essential, other times details can be a distraction, as you played the game were you better able to recall a large percentage of the items or the details of items?

What other ways do you think improving memory and observation skills improve a tester?


HOW TO PLAY KIM’S GAME

The leader collects about a dozen items such as spoons, pencils, pens, stones, and so on, and

places the items on a tray. The leader covers the items on the tray with a cloth.

The group sits in a circle where each person can see the tray.

The leader uncovers the items for one minute.

Each person makes a list on a piece of paper of all the items they can remember.

The one who remembers the most item wins the game.

Source: http://www.macscouter.com/Games/bp_chapter2.asp#heading57


http://www.macscouter.com/Games/bp_chapter2.asp#heading57

Thinking Skills: Imaging


im·age

A look at the

definition.

noun \ˈi-mij\ : a picture that is produced by a camera, artist, mirror, etc.

a mental picture : the thought of how something looks or might look

the idea that people have about someone or something



Having the ability to imagine an application and/or a feature without having the software "to touch."

To understand, to be able to imagine and in turn be able to find the flaws in the design and development - sometimes before the software is even built.


An example on the use of imaging

When a design specification is explained on a white board or napkin, we may begin to imagine the flow and implementation of a feature.


Quotes on imaging

“Some people need to close their eyes, apparently because seeing interferes with their visual imagination.” Sparks of Genius

“I think that not all scientists have to have a visual image, but I do. I can’t do a problem unless I have a visual image. That’s how I solve problems.” Margaret Geller in Sparks of Genius

“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see. ”- Leonardo da Vinci


A Ted Talk on Imaging

David Bolinsky: Visualizing the wonder of a living cell

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_bolinsky_animates_a_cell.html

Medical animator David Bolinsky presents 3 minutes of stunning animation that show the bustling life inside a cell.


http://www.ted.com/talks/david_bolinsky_animates_a_cell.html

How to improve skills on imaging

Ask to review the error messages

for an application and imagine

the steps and/or condition

needed to make each error

message appear. Can you

imagine?


Art & Imaging

“Samuel Coleridge wrote to one friend that "a whole essay might be written on the danger of thinking without images.”

“Nabokov counseled that good readers, who are as necessary to art as good writers, must actively "see" as they read; they must "visualize the rooms, the clothes, the manners of an author's people.”



Science & Imaging

“In fact, in a study of forty scientists, including several

Nobel laureates, we found a high correlation between

artistic avocation, visual thinking ability, and scientific

success.”

Excerpt From: Robert Root-Bernstein. “Sparks of Genius.”


The Tester's Notebook Testers I meet are often not sure what notes to

record. Notes can help you:

• Keep track of the process and/or steps you have taken

• Keep note of what data was used while testing

• Notice patterns

And one of the most important reasons to take notes is to record your test ideas!

Remember that notes don't have to be words, they can be doodles that might help you envision a data workflow or feature to feature interaction.


Mind Mapping

Many testers use mind maps to explore test ideas, track status and to record notes.

Learn more about mind mapping from the originator Tony Buzan or search for books and resources on mind mapping.


Resources for more information

The next time you are learning about a new feature or something you need to test, try imagining the system through your own mental images instead of relaying on words or a linear approach.

Look to the following resources for more on imaging and being able to draw.

Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo

Books By David Sibbet: Visual Teams, Visual Leaders and Visual Meetings

The Mind Map Book by Tony Buzan


Exercise: Build a Mind Map


Using any subject you would like ( a work problem,

a personal issue, etc.), build a mind map.

Thinking Skills: Focusing


fo·cus

A look at the

definition.

noun \ˈfō-kəs\ : a subject that is being

discussed or studied : the subject on

which people's attention is focused

: a main purpose or interest



In testing we need to intensely focus in order to not

only confirm software works as expected but to watch

for other sometimes unpredictable ways that software

does work.


Quote

“We can’t get good at something solely by reading about it. And we’ll never make giant leaps in any endeavor by treating it like a snack food that we munch on whenever we’re getting bored. You get good at something by doing it repeatedly. And by listening to specific criticism from people who are already good at what you do. And by a dedication to getting better, even when it’s inconvenient and may not involve a handy bulleted list." ~ Merlin Mann


Focusing


These are issues we all battle: procrastination, distractions and

stress.

The skills that help overcome these obstacles are: discipline,

mental toughness and deliberate practice.

Insights into procrastination


• I don’t understand what I am supposed to do.

• I don’t want to do what I’m supposed to do.

• I resent having to do the task.

• I don’t know where to begin.

• I’m afraid.

• I want the work to be perfect and with that criteria in mind,

• I can’t start or I can’t finish the task.

• I have other tasks I’d prefer to do.

• I don’t want to work at all (right now).

Try a practical maneuver

Give yourself a small reward for each task completed.

Use an alarm clock and limit the time for the task.

Try some of the time boxing activities to keep you moving.

Reduce the task size.

Look for simple tasks that can draw you

back to the work.

Realize a single task accomplished is better than no tasks touched.


11 Steps to becoming an expert

1. Slow down

2. Start with a goal

3. Chunking

4. Practice at the edge of your

ability

5. Get feedback

6. Repeat

7. Vary your approach

8. Count good repetitions

9. Record the data and review

10. Make it harder

11. Find someone who is better.

http://expertenough.com/2327/deliberate-

.‐practice-.‐steps


Constraints

There are constraints on nearly all projects. Typical

constraints:

Time

Money

Resources

Deadlines


For more information on focusing

In the Fall of 2012, I gave a keynote on the topic of

discipline, you can find more on my website and on

Slideshare.


Exercise: $100 Matrix

1. Complete the $100 Test.

2. Imagine you have $100 to spend and more than

$100 of items to “fund.”

3. You need to choose what to fund and what not

to fund.


Thinking Skills: Body Thinking


Body thinking

A look at the

definition.

Kinesthetic learning (also known as tactile learning) is a learning style in which learning takes place by the student carrying out a physical activity, rather than listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration. People with a preference for kinesthetic learning are also commonly known as "do-ers". Tactile-kinesthetic learners make up about five percent of the population.

Proprioception (/ˌproʊpri.ɵˈsɛpʃən/ PRO-pree-o-SEP-shən), from Latin proprius, meaning "one's own", "individual" and perception, is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement




As we test, we build mind/body connections. Even our

ability to recall our steps, the details, the variables

improves over time. While we look to other fields –

most readily sports – we believe their deliberate

practice helps their mind/body connections – are we

sure the same is not happening to us?

Examples

• Muscle memory

• Gaining a feel for something

• Learning through experience


Mind/Body Connection

I hear and I forgot.

I see and I remember.

I do and I understand.

Chinese Proverb


Art & Body Thinking

“Musicians are proprioceptive thinkers, but so are mathematicians—and not just because they move, but because they feel with their skin and in their gut.”

“The motor aspect of creation is particularly obvious in Jackson Pollock's work. Art museums often hang his "drip" paintings on the wall as if they were simply canvases to be experienced visually. But Pollock's work cannot be fully experienced just by looking—it is necessary to feel as well. ”

“If you do not feel the physical sensations involved in Pollock's artistic process, then you do not understand his art.”



Science & Body Thinking

“Thinking with the body depends on our sense of muscle movement, posture, balance, and

touch. This general sense, discovered in the 1890s by the neurobiologist C. S. Sherrington and

called proprioception, is fundamental to our experience of the body.”

“When you no longer have to think about how to hit the ball, you can actually start to enjoy

playing tennis. When you no longer have to remember where and how to move your fingers to

play a piece, you can begin to make real music. Pianists speak of muscle memory for the notes

and dynamics of a sonata; they store these memories in their fingers, just as actors store

memory of pose and gesture in all the muscles of their body.”

“As Jean Cocteau said of the great dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, "His body knew; his limbs had

intelligence.”



Ted Talk on Body Thinking

Wayne McGregor

A choreographer talks about moving ideas from our mind to our body.

http://blog.ted.com/2012/09/14/tips-for-thinking-like-a-dancer-from-acclaimed-choreographer-wayne-mcgregor/


http://blog.ted.com/2012/09/14/tips-for-thinking-like-a-dancer-from-acclaimed-choreographer-wayne-mcgregor/

Thinking Skills: Empathy


em·pa·thy

A look at the

definition.

noun \ˈem-pə-thē\ : the feeling that

you understand and share another

person's experiences and emotions : the

ability to share someone else's feelings



When we work with software developers, user interface designers or business owners and ask questions, some of the questions we ask help us to understand someone else’s point of view; we are empathizing with developers who are interpreting requirements, user interface designers who are trying to design with the user in mind and business owners who are championing product development to suit either their needs or needs of other people.


Quotes on empathy

“A musician cannot move others unless he too is moved.” Bach

“Empathizing is "a key skill for the practice of any helping relationship," asserts E. A. Vastyan, a medical educator at Pennsylvania State University.”

“The medical ear must be properly trained to hear stories – a medical history, after all, is a short story.” John Stone in Sparks of Genius

Excerpts From: Robert Root- Bernstein. “Sparks of Genius.”


Applying this skill to UX design

Building user personas is about empathizing with

users. We build personas to understand the context,

the mindset and the needs of a user. We design,

develop and test from a user perspective.


Empathizing and other disciplines

According to the book Sparks of

Genius, Tom Hanks wanted to

know how it felt to be an

astronaut so he would walk on

the bottom of his pool breathing

through a hose, pretending to

train for weightlessness.

The fish eye lens was built by Robert

Wood, a physicist who wanted to

know how the world looked through

the lens of a fish.

Acting Photography


Stanislavsky method

Two of the suggestions for improving an actor’s ability to empathize and to be able to draw emotional reactions from memory:

Practice “inner attention.” Observe your responses to the world and remember your physical and emotional memories of your responses. Being able to call upon these reactions and being able to reenact feelings is what actors do.

Practice “external attention” to people and things. Study other people and things closely.



“The key to empathizing is learning to perceive the

world through someone else's mind and body.” Excerpt From: Robert Root-Bernstein. “Sparks of Genius.


More on empathizing

For Better Social Skills, Scientists Recommend a Little Chekhov

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/i-know-how-youre-feeling-i-read-

chekhov/?_php=true&_type=blogs&hpw&_r=0

A suit developed by MIT to understand how aging feels. http://agelab.mit.edu/agnes-age-

gain-now-empathy-system

The movie, The Horse Whisperer- “Buck Brannaman, the trainer who inspired the novel and

movie The Horse Whisperer, employs the same sort of empathic understanding. Brannaman

speaks of "thinking harmony with horses" and achieving "true unity" between man and animal.

He therefore "starts" rather than "breaks" horses by imaginatively perceiving the world from

their point of view.”



Art & Empathizing

“The French novelist Blaise Cendrars confessed that he was unable to write until he knew everything there was to know about his fictional characters "from the day of their birth to the day of their death," as his notebooks and dossiers demonstrate.”

“A musician cannot move others unless he too is moved. He must feel all the emotions that he hopes to arouse in his audience, for the revealing of his own humour will stimulate a like mood in the listener." ”

“Dustin Hoffman is said to work in the same immersive way, "being" rather than "acting like" or "imitating" a character.”



Science & Empathizing

“Empathizing is "a key skill for the practice of any helping relationship," asserts E. A. Vastyan, a medical educator at Pennsylvania State University.”

“Empathy is not simply a psychological concept. Every fictional character who has the ring of authenticity was created by an author who could, through his imagination, so deeply live that character's experience that he could bring it to life also for the reader. Literature, we have repeatedly found, provides a rich resource for freeing a student's imagination, a necessary accomplishment if the skill of empathy is to be mastered.”



Building Personas (1)


A persona is more than a model, a persona becomes a personalized embodiment of a model. For example instead of thinking of a “user” for software we can build a persona; we give the persona a name, an identity – we personalize the model and then from the persona’s perspective we can design, develop and test an application.

Personas were introduced several years ago and are used extensively at some companies and not at by other companies.

When a persona is built we use a picture, name the person and create a sketch of what the person’s life and needs are – needs from an application point of view.



For example, imagine a Yelp user as:

Bernard, a 28 year old man taking a women out for a first date. Bernard may be new to a city and not familiar with restaurants. He may be seeking a romantic restaurant.

With this sketch of a persona we begin to understand other needs Bernard may have such as walking or driving directions to a restaurant or being able to reserve a table.



For example, imagine a Yelp user as:

Lisa, a 36 year old women is traveling on business. Lisa may be meeting clients and needs a restaurant suitable for a business luncheon.

With this sketch of a persona we begin to understand other needs Lisa may have such as a restaurant accessible to transit or being able to reserve a quiet table.

Exercise: Build a Persona

Elements of a Persona


Persona Group (i.e. web manager)

Fictional name

Job titles and major responsibilities

Demographics such as age, education, ethnicity, and family status

The goals and tasks they are trying to complete

Their physical, social, and technological environment

A quote that sums up what matters most to the persona as it relates to your mobile app

http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/personas.html

http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/personas.html

Persona Images


Lisa Bernard

Thinking Skills: Abstracting


ab·stract·ed, ab·stract·ing, ab·stracts

A look at the

definition.

1. To take away; remove.

2. To remove without permission; filch.

3. To consider (a quality, for example) without reference to a particular example or object.

4. (bstrkt) To summarize; epitomize.

5. To create artistic abstractions of (something else, such as a concrete object or another style)



Being able to see past the features of an application and focus on what the core purpose of the program does.

Being able to recognize the essentials of a program; being able to pick out a programs essentials helps to keep testing risk-based and “in sync” with the business needs.


Mental Decluttering

Find the simple concepts hiding among complex expressions.

When a complex program is explained to you, can you see past all the “bells and whistles” and remain focused on the primary solution the product hopes to provide?


Art & Abstracting“e. e. cummings, produced a similarly puzzling work. In his case, the work was made of words rather than lines, and it looked like this:

I

l(a

le

af

fa

ll

s)

one

l

Iness”



Science & Abstracting

“Physicist Werner Heisenberg defined abstracting as

"the possibility of considering an object or group of

objects under one viewpoint while disregarding all

other properties of the object. ”



Thinking Skills: Modeling


mod·el

A look at the

definition.

noun \ˈmä-dəl\ : a usually small copy of something

: a particular type or version of a product (such as a car or computer)

: a set of ideas and numbers that describe the past, present, or future state of something (such as an economy or a business)


Comments & Snip-its:

Physical representation – renders immediate perception and view

Gaming often relies on the use of modeling.

“…a condensation of time and place.”

“…to test decision making and strategy. … to make mistakes, find weaknesses and explore possibilities”



Examples

The tailor’s dummy

Crash test dummies

Dolls, airplane models, train models, ship models

The alpha helix

Architecture models

Civil engineering: bridges

Personas in design and development



Similar to abstracting or imaging, our ability to “wrap our heads” around designs, products and concepts that are not fully realized helps us perform as part of the team that builds and provides a solution for customers, not just test according to the requirements.

The ability to devise a mental model or a physical representation or functional model in order to:

Understand

Make something accessible

Test decision-making or hypothesis

To make mistakes

Or as Picasso said, to possess something.


War Games

One of the most known uses of modeling is “war games.”

Modeling provides an opportunity for simulation. This is especially valuable when the actual scale of what is being modeled is so large that a full representation may not be feasible.

“Knowing the limitations of a model is as important as knowing its valid uses.” from Sparks of Genius

Search on the “von Reiswitz” game for more information on war games.


Payne’s Mental Model

The following information, taken from Understanding Learning: the How, the Why, the What by Dr. Ruby K. Payne, explains the characteristics and purposes of mental models.

Mental models are how the mind holds abstract information, i.e., information that has no sensory representation.

All subject areas or disciplines have their own blueprint or mental models.

Mental models tell us what is and is not important in a discipline. They help the mind to sort.

Mental models often explain the “why” of things working the way they do.

Mental models tell the purposes, structures, and patterns of a discipline.

Mental models are held in the mind as two-dimensional pictures, movements,

stories, or analogies.

Mental models “collapse” the amount of time it takes to teach/learn something.

Mental models of a discipline are contained within the curriculum.


Art & Modeling

“Artists use a similar range of representational models. The most common form of modeling in the visual arts is the preliminary sketch.”

“Architects, of course, often build small physical models of their design plans to give clients a better notion of what the building will look like than can be gleaned from blueprints or drawings, or to envision some of the construction problems they may encounter.”



Science & Modeling “War gaming has now in fact developed into an instrument of scientific research.”

“Models can be formulated only after a real system or situation has been intensively observed, simplified by abstracting critical features, rescaled for human manipulation, and embodied physically or expressed in some verbal, mathematical, or artistic form. Its actual construction, whether the model is a physical or an intellectual one, requires experience with different mediums and careful analysis of their relative strengths and weaknesses. ”

“Nearly all models utilize dimensional-thinking skills as well. ”

“Because it requires figuring out how things work, modeling is a great way to learn, no matter your age. Make modeling a lifelong habit, and you hold a key to a lifetime of fun and learning.”



Resources for more

Book: "The Design of Everyday Things” Donald Norman 1988)

Movie: Lorenzo’s Oil

YouTube: Rebecca’s example of Payne’s Model http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0sRH1GG2GE

Ted Talk. Sendhil Mullainathan: Solving social problems with a nudge. When a mental model does not work: http://www.ted.com/talks/sendhil_mullainathan.html

Research Paper, http://mentalmodels.princeton.edu/papers/2005HistoryMentalModels.pdf

See the following for class exercises:

http://www.geocities.ws/dustinbaier805/assignment3.htm

http://www8.cs.umu.se/kurser/5DV048/VT09/utdelat/F8.pdf


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0sRH1GG2GE

http://www.ted.com/talks/sendhil_mullainathan.html

Exercise: Modeling

Using the persona created with your team, sketch out a feature for your user. (You do not have to draw, you do not have to use the mobile wireframe.)

After your team designs a feature, consider what might need to be tested using the perspective of the persona developed.


Thinking Skills: Recognizing Patterns


recognize patterns

A look at the

definition.

rec·og·nize

verb \ˈre-kig-ˌnīz, -kəg-\ : to know and remember (someone or something) because of previous knowledge or experience

: to accept or be aware that (something) is true or exists

pat·tern

noun \ˈpa-tərn\ : a repeated form or design especially that is used to decorate something




When we test software, we may find some error conditions only occur after a

series of steps or only under specific conditions, being able to discern this

information can be essential in finding and being able to replicate a software

defect.

UX & Gestalt

The gestalt effect is the form-generating capability of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a collection of simple lines and curves.

There are several visual Gestalt principles including patterns of grouping, closure and proximity.

Edward Tufte and Stephen Few are two authors who review the concepts of Gestalt effects in their work.


Roadblocks

Clutter can prevent us from noticing patterns.

The expression: can’t see the wood through the

trees.

Being preoccupied can block us from recognizing

patterns and from observing.


Pattern Recognition & Culture

Pattern recognition is influenced by our society and culture. In the book, Sparks of Genius, the author explored the children’s game of hopscotch around the world and found that while the game exists in many countries, the form varies.


Art & Recognizing Patterns

“One of the great masters of pattern recognition was the graphic artist M. C. Escher, who apparently practiced this skill daily.”

The artist Max Ernst created several forms of art from pattern recognition.

frottage, in which paper is placed over an object and rubbed with pencil or crayon to pick up the texture;

grattage, in which paint is scraped onto a canvas placed over rough or textured objects; and decalcomania, in which images made, for instance, from random splotches of paint on one paper are transferred to another by laying the second piece on top of the first and gently rubbing.

In literature, Aural pattern recognition exists in many poems – especially in poems that rhyme.



Science & Recognizing Patterns


“When enough data and concepts cohere, and conceptual puzzles become conceptual patterns or "pictures," scientists call them theories or natural laws.”

Scientific puzzle solving is like jigsaw-puzzle solving in another way as well. When enough pieces have been fitted together, they may define either a whole or a hole. Both are valuable.

“One notable application of these words has been made by philosopher Ann Kerwin, an expert in the origins of ignorance, and surgeons Marlys and Charles Witte at the University of Arizona Medical School. They have developed a "curriculum ” on medical ignorance" specifically to train medical students how to ask questions and recognize blank spots in the map of medicine. Such a curriculum would obviously be useful in every discipline.”


Exercises

• Playing chess

• Jigsaw puzzles

• Rubik's cube

When we look for patterns in clouds, we are attempting to recognize items we may find familiar and look for similarities in the clouds.


HOW TO PLAY SPOT IT.


This game contains 55 illustrated cards with eight symbols on each disc.

There is always one, and only one, matching symbol between any two cards.

For today’s workshop well adapt the rules based on the number of attendees. Each group will take some number of cards and experiment with the game.

Thinking Skills: Analogizing


anal·o·gy

A look at the

definition.

noun \ə-ˈna-lə-jē\ : a comparison of two things based on their being alike in some way

: the act of comparing two things that are alike in some way

From Wikipedia

Analogy (from Greek ἀναλογία, analogia, "proportion”) is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject (the analogue or source) to another particular subject (the target), or a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_(linguistics)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language



Having the ability to learn and apply knowledge

from one discipline or one experience or one context

to another, gives us more options, more insight.

Analogies allow us to use our interdisciplinary learning

to our work.

Quotes on Analogy


“…the power to recognize analogies is an excellent

test of intelligence.” Helen Keller

“Metaphors does more than adorn our thinking. It

structures our thinking.” Sources of Power, Gary

Klein

Edward deBono, Lateral Thinking

In deBono’s book Lateral Thinking, he highlights a value of analogies is if the comparison to something else has a solution, than perhaps a similar “solution” can be applied and thereby solve the current issue at hand. This type of strategy is similar to Polya’s when Polya offers the question: has a similar problem been solved?


Building Connections

“The critical part of interesting analogies is that they reveal not mere resemblances but inapparent relationships between abstract functions.”From Sparks of Genius


Practice


Look for the similarities in objects, in situations and see if you can draw relationships where you thought there was no correlation.

Exercise: Try It!

Find one or more ways a

Monoploy title deed an

be compared to testing

ecommerce.


Resources for more


Sparks of Genius By Robert & Michele Root-Bernstein

Lateral Thinking By Edward deBono

Mind Performance Hacks By Ron Hale-Evans

How to Solve It By George Polya

Thinking Skills: Playing


play

A look at the

definition.

noun \ˈplā\

a particular act or maneuver in a game: as (1) : the action during an attempt to advance the ball in football (2) : the action in which a player is put out in baseball

the action in which cards are played after bidding in a card game

the moving of a piece in a board game (as chess)

one's turn in a game <it's your play>

recreational activity; especially : the spontaneous activity of children

absence of serious or harmful intent : jest <said it in play>


http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/player

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/played

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jest


• Highlighting a few

words:

• Exploit

• Role play

• Wreak

• Encounter

• Compete

• Use

• Exercise

• Take On

• Contend

• Apply

• Exercise

A mind map on the word play

Proof on the value of Play


“Einstein described his scientific method as combinatory play. He famously used thought experiments, which are essentially elaborate analogies, to come up with some of his greatest discoveries. By bringing together what we know and what we don't know through analogy, metaphorical thinking strikes the spark that ignites discovery.”

Quoted from Ted talk -- Metaphorically speaking, by James Geary.

Art & Play

“M. C. Escher mastered his pattern

recognition and pattern forming

skills by finding images in

wallpaper. ”


Science & Play


“Alexander Fleming gave two demonstrations at the Second International Congress of Microbiology in

London. In the first he presented his discovery of an odd mold called Penicillium,”

“First, practice play can exercise and develop any thinking tool by enhancing skill through practice.”

“…game playing teaches the making of rules within externally bounded situations that define how we may

behave or think, as well as the breaking of those rules. H. G. Wells played games when he modeled wars in

miniature.”

Galumphing around with the materials, techniques, and rules of any endeavor generates novel behaviors,

observations, and ideas…”

“Feynman's combination of play mixed with serious work was, like Fleming's, a deliberate strategy”


Ted Talks


Tim Brown: Tales of creativity and play

http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_on_creativity_and_play.html

Tim Brown: Tales of creativity and play


James Geary: Metaphorically Speaking

http://www.ted.com/talks/james_geary_metaphorically_speaking.html



http://www.ted.com/talks/james_geary_metaphorically_speaking.html

More on Play


YouTube, video called Sunday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUxMm8aj3gs

Facebook: See the National Institute for Play

WordPress site

http://stevemccurry.wordpress.com/2013/01/2

/power-of-play/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUxMm8aj3gs

http://stevemccurry.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/power-of-play/

http://stevemccurry.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/power-of-play/

www.karennicolejohnson.com and @karennjohnson on Twitter

Karen N. Johnson


http://www.karennicolejohnson.com

thinking skills - eurostar conference · 2019-07-25 · i started to see the skills outside of a...

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