Software Development Summit, Helsinki, 10 December 2013

1. Testers Are
Your Friends
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2. Who am I?

3. Ilari Henrik Aegerter
Manager Productivity &
Test Engineering Europe
@

4. Ilari Henrik Aegerter
President of
www.commonsensetesting.org

5. Ok, let‟s see
who is here…
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6. Who does
testing?

7. Who
writes
production
code?

8. Who manages
product(s)?
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9. Who does something else?
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10. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Ok, let‟s see…

11. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Which horizontal line is
longer?

12. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
A good tester challenges
assumptions

13. Today‟s Menu
1. What‟s the problem?
2. Misconceptions
3. What is damaging?
4. What is helpful?
5. What YOU can do

14. Apply Jerry Weinberg‟s
Rule of Three:
Find 3 reasons why what
I say is not true

15. What‟s
the
problem?

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
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22. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Everybody “knows”
how to test
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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
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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

27. Misconceptions

28. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
„There is a standard
process„
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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)
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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

43. What is
damaging?

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
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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
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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”

56. What is
helpful?

57. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Physical proximity
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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

61. What
YOU
can do

62. What’s the problem? // Misconceptions // What is damaging? // What is helpful? // What YOU can do
Share Ownership of “Quality”
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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
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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
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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
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69. It is not always so obvious what
happens next
= first down,
then up
20 C
100 C

70. Ilari Henrik Aegerter
www.commonsensetesting.org
@intsst
myself@ilari.com
@ilarihenrik
www.ebay.com
iaegerter@ebay.com
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