Quality through the
lens of Astrophysics
Adam Goucher

Astrophysics
The branch of
astronomy that deals
with the physics of the
universe, including the
physical properties of
celestial objects as
well as their
interactions.

Quality
Value to some person
that matters through
their relationship with
our software or
service

The Celestial Bodies

Quality-centrism
The object at the
centre of the solar
system controls
everything around it
•Geo
•Helio
•Quality
Everything revolves
around Quality

The Golden Copy
•Everything of Value is
version controlled
•If it is not of Value,
why is it produced?
•Email is a not a
document
management solution

Developer Tests
•Test Driven
Development (TDD)
•Evolutionary design
•Ensure testability
•Regression security
blanket
•Fast! No disk, no
database

Continuous
Integration
•Thou shalt not break
the build
•Dynamic Tests
•Unit
•Functional
•Static Tests
•Bug patterns
•Conventions
•System of Record

Functional Testing
•Manual
•Mindmaps
•Checklists
•Exploration
•Automated
•Selenium
•Integration
•Performance

Monitoring
•Intelligent log
monitoring
•System heartbeat
•Host environment

Support
Client relationships do
not end at launch
Be:
•Proactive
•Ongoing
•Timely

Small Solar System
Bodies

Awesome
Organizations...
•Do one thing really
well
•Care
•Are trustworthy
•Are joyful

People...
•Have the right skills
•That are kept up to
date
•Are doing the right
things

The Physics
(or the glue that holds
everything together)

Communication
•Honest
•Open
•External
•Internal

Timeboxes
•Deliver Quickly
•Deliver Often
•Short(ish) since we
can’t predict the
future
•Have a clear
definition of Done
•Constant stream of
Value

Technical Debt
•Debt is a tool
•Use it wisely
•Eventually it needs to
be paid back

Realistic Expectations
•Bug free software is a
myth
•Just because all the
tests pass, doesn’t
mean all the bugs have
been found
•100% coverage does
not mean 100% tested

Data That Is
•Accurate
•Timely
•Relevant
Background photo by anastaza1a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/madomaratzki/2111541354/)