Slides from my "Cynefin & Software Testing" workshop. I've swapped out my description of the framework & added a video of Dave describing his framework in slide 3 (the black slide) This allows me to get to the workshop element sooner. Duplicate slides towards the end of the deck provide a reference point during the workshop element.

1. Cynefin & Software Testing
Making sense of your situation

2. Dave Snowden
Liz Keogh

4. Image courtesy of Cognitive Edge

9. Dynamics
Image courtesy of Cognitive Edge

10. Cliff of Complacency
Image courtesy of Cognitive Edge

11. Testing (execution)
Cause & effect relationship is
obvious
Categorise
Execution of automated checks
Obvious
Complicated
Cause & effect relationship
separated over space & time
Analyse
Manually executing scripts
No cause & effect relationships
perceivable
Act
3rd party outages e.g. GitHub
Chaos
Complex
Cause & effect relationship only
coherent in retrospect
Probe
Exploring with test charters

12. Bugs
Cause & effect relationship is
obvious
Categorise
There is no submit button
Obvious
Complicated
Cause & effect relationship
separated over space & time
Analyse
Clicking the button opens the
wrong page
No cause & effect relationships
perceivable
Act
Clicking the button randomly
deletes the Customers account
Complex
Cause & effect relationship only
coherent in retrospect
Probe
Clicking the button crashes the
site after 30 minutes

13. 1. Just about everyone in the world has done this
2. Lots of people have done this, including someone on our
team
3. Someone in our company has done this, or we have access
to expertise
4. Someone in the world did this, but not in our organisation
(and probably at a competitor)
5. Nobody in the world has ever done this before
Estimating Complexity
Courtesy of Liz Keogh

14. Estimating Complexity
5 4
3
2
1
Trying
things out
Breaking
things
down
Image Courtesy of Liz Keogh

15. Image courtesy of Cognitive Edge

16. Your Turn…
• Silently write up a couple of stickies of work related
situations, past or present
• Place stickies in relevant domain on blank Cynefin framework
• Each group member tells the story of one of their stickies to
the rest of the group, explaining reasons for the position of
the stickie
• Discuss the situations - dis/agree with position? Any similar
experiences in the group?
• Ideas for moving stickie into another domain

17. Domain Attributes
Obvious Complicated Complex Chaos
Cause & Effect
relationship
Obvious Separated over
space & time
Only coherent in
retrospect
None
perceivable
Practice Best Good Emergent Novel
Constraints Tight Light Enabling Lacking
Focus Categorise Analyse Probe Act
Rumsfeld Known
knowns
Known
unknowns
Unknown
Unknowns
Unknowable
unknowns
Doing the work Exploit Explore
Control Creativity
Management Leadership

18. Dynamics
Image courtesy of Cognitive Edge

19. Wrap Up
• Identify which domain your situation is in and act
accordingly
• Ideas for moving your situation include:
– Seek expertise (e.g. to move from Complex to
Complicated domain)
– Question the system constraints (including the original
requirements)
– Split the problem into parts so that it can be divided
between different domains as applicable
• Clockwise movement through the framework is
not the only dynamic

20. Resources
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin
• http://www.duncannisbet.co.uk/cynefin-in-software-
testing
• http://www.duncannisbet.co.uk/cynefin-software-bugs
• http://lizkeogh.com/2013/07/21/estimating-complexity/
• http://cognitive-edge.com/blog/perspectives-on-cynefin/
• http://cognitive-edge.com/blog/some-thinking-about-
decisions/
• http://paul4innovating.com/2014/06/19/the-use-of-the-
cynefin-model-for-innovation/