The presentation was delivered at the National Software Testing Conference on 17th May. It draws on lessons learned from various forms of fast, brief and systemic psychotherapy. With a few simple points: * Why? is a question that targets beliefs * How, What, Where, When, Who - all target structure and process * We all have models of the world and our questions reflect that model * Answers we give, reflect our model * Responses to answers give information on how well the models of the question asker, and answering person, match up * Testing can be modeled as a questioning process * Improving our ability to ask questions improves our ability to test, manage, and change behaviour.

1. "The Art of Questioning
to improve Testing, Agile,
and Automating"
Alan Richardson
Test Consultant
CompendiumDev.co.uk
EvilTester.com
@EvilTester

2. Asking Questions to...
● Build a model: risks, issues, gaps
● What questions expose the risks?
● What questions trigger action?
● What questions foster responsibility?

3. 5 Whys
● Common 'management' questioning
● Toyota
● (Lean) Six Sigma Tool
● Root Cause Analysis

4. Fritz Perls on Why
If we spend our time looking for
causes instead of structure we may
as well give up the idea of therapy
and join the group of worrying
grandmothers who attack their prey
with such pointless questions as
“Why did you catch that cold?” “Why
have you been so naughty?”
Fritz Perls,
The Gestalt Approach
“
”

5. “Why?” is a Belief Question
● Beliefs about causes
● Reinforces a model
– Justification
● Leads to:
– Because...

6. How? What? Where? When? Who?
● Explore a model
● Build a system
● Lead to
– Experiments
– Action
– Responsibility

7. Dear Evil Tester
Q&A Agony Aunt for Testers

8. Sometimes we don't know what to
do and just need some advice.

9. Q: Should I pretend to test?
“In the past I have worked with project
managers who have only pretended to
manage. Just in case I come across this
sort again in the future, I want to know;
should I only pretend to test too, as a
form of self-preservation?”
Eliza

10. A: No
Dear Eliza,
...
"NO".
...
All the best,
Uncle Evil

11. Q: Should I pretend to test?
“In the past I have worked with project
managers who have only pretended to
manage. Just in case I come across this
sort again in the future, I want to know;
should I only pretend to test too, as a
form of self-preservation?”
Eliza
Questions
have a model
of the world
embedded in
them.

12. Q: Tester not pulling their weight?
Dear Evil Tester,
What's the best way to deal
with a fellow tester who is not
pulling his/her weight?
Anon

13. A: Delegate Upwards
Dear Anon,
...raise your concerns to your
manager, after all your lazy
manager usually has plenty of
time on their hands, and it is
their responsibility to deal with
your light-weight under
performing co-workers.
Yours,
Team Spirit Coach Evil
Answers also
have a model
of the world
embedded in
them.

14. A: Delegate Upwards
Dear Anon,
...raise your concerns to your
manager, after all your lazy
manager usually has plenty of
time on their hands, and it is
their responsibility to deal with
your light-weight under
performing co-workers.
Yours,
Team Spirit Coach Evil
Answers also
have a model
of the world
embedded in
them.

15. Q&A
Provocation

16. Some Questions are Practical

17. Q: How to Track Exploratory Testing
Dear Evil Tester,
Do you recommend any tools for
note-taking and managing test
sessions?

18. Dependency Danger

19. What do I do next?

20. What do I do next again?

21. Consultancy Job Security
● Job Security – 'the answer person'
● Consultants / Managers / Leads
– Aim to go 'out of business'
● build flexibility
● not dependency

22. Dependency
● Asking questions for 'answers' rather than
to build a model to increase understanding
● A step by step model has no flexibility
● Not learning to ask questions that help
when expert is not present

23. Avoiding Dependency
● Lead by example
– “asking the right questions”
● Ask questions
– which expose underlying model
– to prompt exploration of model
● Gaps, risks
– to prompt comparison of model to system
● Issues, bugs

24. Modelling Testing as Questioning
● Given a model, does the System
match the model?
● Requirements say X, can I do X?
● System 'looks like' I should be able to
do Y, can I?

25. Modelling Testing as Questioning
● Under this model:
– Test == Ask a Question
– Answer -> Expand/Confirm Model
– Reporting == Communicate Model

26. Modelling Agile as Questioning
● Agile
– responding to change
– Change based on learning
– Learning == changes to models &
understanding

27. Modelling Agile as Questioning
Agile requires asking a lot of questions
– What are we doing?
– Why?
– How Well?
– Could be better?
– How much?
– Minimum acceptable?
– constantly

28. Automating as Questioning
● Automate putting system into a specific
state
● Codify specific pre-defined questions
● Assert on the answers
...Repeat

29. Automating as Questioning
● Automate putting system into a specific
state
● Codify specific pre-defined questions
● Assert on the answers
...Repeat Questions
have a model
of the world
embedded in
them.

30. Meta-Model

31. Meta-Model
http://compendiumdev.co.uk/nlp

32. Meta-Model

33. Meta-Model

34. Summary
● The questions we ask reveal our model of the
world.
● We can ask questions of 'the world' to explore
and expand our model.

35. @EvilTester 35
Ask The Questions!
● Alan Richardson
– @EvilTester
– www.EvilTester.com
– www.JavaForTester.com
– www.SeleniumSimplified.com
– www.CompendiumDev.co.uk