slides from conference session. 5 core values to focus your regression testing

1. Manual Regression
Testing Manifesto
Brendan Connolly
@theBConnolly
http://brendanconnolly.net
Senior Quality Engineer
Procore Technologies, Santa Barbara CA, USA

2. What’s A Tester
To Do At Release
Time?
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3. “ Regression:
movement backward to a previous and
especially worse or more primitive state
or condition
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4. Does Your Team
Understand?
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5. A Foundation
for
Understanding
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6. A Regression
Testing
Manifesto
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7. Behavior Over
Bugs
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8. “ Bug:
an unexpected defect, fault, flaw, or
imperfection
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9. Why Not Bugs?
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Quality Bug Free
Existence Fix Required

10. “ Behavior:
the way in which something functions or
operates
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11. The Personality of
Software
Behavior is software Personality
It’s more than what your software
does.
It’s HOW your software does it.
Bugs Are Personality Flaws
Some are deal breakers
Some are just frustrating
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12. Boundaries of Trust
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Would you Party
With your Software?
Know Your Role

13. There’s not Time for
Rediscovery
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Who’s doing the testing?
Avoid time Travel, Learn on Production

14. Intent Over
Implementation
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15. “ Implementation:
The process of putting a decision or plan
into effect; execution.
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16. Why Not
Implementation?
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Detail Understood
Decouple Wants from their construction

17. “ Intent:
the state of mind with which an act is
done : volition
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18. “ Volition:
the power of choosing or determining
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19. User Needs Vs.
Tech Choices
Implementation is the method of satisfying intent
When changes are not visible to our users
we want the effects of those changes to be
exactly that, invisible.
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20. You Know What I
Mean?
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Don’t lose the forest looking
at the trees
Maintain the Unspoken
Mutual understanding of
intent

21. Common Over
Complete
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22. “ Complete:
having all parts or elements; lacking
nothing; whole; entire; full
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23. If not complete
then what?
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Mitigate the most risk in
the least time.
Elucidate actions and their
motivations

24. “ Common:
Just satisfying accustomed criteria
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Lacking Refinement

25. Delightfully
Unrefined
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Respect the boundaries
of previous testing
Assess rather than
Investigate

26. Know Your
Elevator Pitch
You will get asked if you tested EVERYTHING
Desire for complete testing is rooted in uncertainty about change.
Let Strategy assure that risk is being managed
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27. Conformity Over
Complexity
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28. “ Complexity:
The state or quality of being intricate or
complicated
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A whole made up of complicated
or interrelated parts

29. What about all my
Testing Powers?
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It’s not time for merit badges
Quality through Stability
Ensure the established norms are
maintained

30. “ Conformity:
To act in accordance with prevailing
standards or customs
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Bring into harmony or accord

31. Doctor or Mechanic?
Issues found in regression only raise uncomfortable
questions
Don’t let your motivations as a tester be one of them
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32. Multi-Point Quality
Inspection
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Evaluate by using Existing Standards
Clear Measurable guidelines avoid
blame

33. Consistency Over
Correctness
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34. “ Correctness:
The quality or state of being free from
error; accuracy.
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To scold, rebuke, or punish in
order to improve

35. You’re not always
Right...
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But once you ship...

36. “ Consistency:
Agreement or harmony of parts or
features to one another or a whole
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37. Sources of Truth
In feature testing, the benchmark is
specifications
In regression testing, the benchmark is
production
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38. Consistency is
Comfort
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Changes in consistency
require more than
verification.
Customer expectations
need to be managed

39. We Have Come to Value
Behavior over Bugs
Intent over Implementation
Conformity over Complexity
Consistency over Correctness
Common over Complete
While there is value in items
on the right...
We value the items on the left
more.
@theBConnolly

40. Be Well, Create, Share
Connect With Me
Twitter / LinkedIn : @theBConnolly
Blog: http://brendanconnolly.net