I don't find bugs, I only describe behaviour. In this talk I'll tell you a story of how changing the conversation about bugs changed my whole approach to testing

1. I see no bugs!
Behaviour OVER bugs,
or how solving a problem changed my whole approach to testing
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

2. A word from our sponsors
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

3. A quick favour – Joanne
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

4. Shameless plugs
The big test theory.com
mobro.co/adystokes?mc=1

5. From this story you will
• Hear why I don’t find bugs, I
only describe behaviour
• Why I think bugs have no real
intrinsic value
• How changing the
conversation changed my
whole approach to testing
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

6. Once upon a time
2005 – England win ashes
New way to pay, chip and pin
Jerry Springer the Opera on the
BBC
Dr Who revived – played by
Christopher Eccleston
400th Celebration of Guy Fawkes
night
and…
A new test manager…
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

7. The hope
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

8. The reality
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

9. Metric madness:
Tester metric: Bugs good
Developer metric: Bugs bad
Result:
Arguments – is/is not a bug
Almost instant reduction of
quality / speed of delivery
Disciplined for talking to a
developer! Yes really!!!
picture from placementindia.com@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

10. The rebellion
As a – tester who finds an issue
When – I find ‘bugs’
Then – I’ll talk about behaviour
instead
And – there shouldn’t be an
argument, just a useful
discussion
AND, I still talked to developers!
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

11. The new reality
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

12. The realisation
As an entity ‘bugs’
• have no intrinsic value,
• are divisive
• and a hindrance to collaboration
• So, I will see no bugs. I will only
describe behaviour
Eureka!
Bugs have
no value!
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

13. The reasoning, behaviour over bugs part 1
Bugs - No intrinsic value:
Reports are almost always incomplete
Infers someone is wrong or has done wrong
Duplication of effort as a conversation or demos is
needed anyway
Records can be used (wrongly) by someone as a
measurement
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

14. The reasoning, behaviour over bugs part 2
Behaviour
Intrinsic value: Describing the behaviour adds value
allowing us to discuss, clarify and if necessary make
some alterations or refactors
Risk: Describing impacts adds value in deciding the
priority
Actionable Insights: alternatives adds value in
contributing to the overall quality of the system
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

15. Behaviour query decision tree
Describe
/some/
Behaviour
Undesirable
Desirable
Address / Fix
Leave
(forever or
address
later)
Shut
up Ady
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

16. My conclusions
Once I stopped looking for ‘bugs’ a few interesting things
happened which changed my whole approach to testing
Describing behaviour made it about users, risks and outcomes
– not about anyone being wrong
Users are more important than requirements so I tested
everything not just what the requirements said
Risk includes everything, usability, testability, accessibility and
so on
Behaviour has impacts which can make the software useless
to some
@cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes

17. @cricketrulz – adystokes@sky.com - linkedin.com/in/adystokes