Bringing Empathy to Tester-Developer Relationships

TESTER LOVE DEVELOPER
Karen N. Johnson
Oredev 2014

About this talk …
Want tighter collaboration and better working rapport between testers and
developers? Enough of the antagonistic images and comments of the tester and
developer relationship, sure testers find code issues and point out the flaws of
developer’s work but testers are also “helpmates” to developers. Karen identifies
seven specific areas to build collaboration during development and testing of a
product. She also explains how having an empathic approach can improve a tester/
developer relationship.
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014

Karen N. Johnson
• Software Test Consultant
• Published Author (Beautiful Testing)
• Co-founder of WREST: Workshop on Regulated Software Testing
• Website:
www.karennicolejohnson.com or www.karennjohnson.com
• Twitter: @karennjohnson

Bringing empathy to the tester/developer relationship

The tester/developer relationship
Of all the people on a team, it is the tester and developer that have
the most unique relationship. Why? Because testers often have to
mentally walk down the same path as developers (in order to test)
and so, we can gain the most empathy for what work someone else on
the team must accomplish. And we can help.

Why empathy?
“Emphasizing is “a key skill for the practice of any
helping relationship” asserts E. A. Vastyan, a
medical educator at Pennsylvania State University.”
Source: Root-Bernstein “Sparks of Genius.”

How to develop empathy
When testers work with software developers, UI/UX
designers or product owners we begin to understand the
concerns and needs of the other people on our team. In
addition to getting answers we need for our own work, we
can empathize with the challenges each person faces.

this map may have
been built to think
through a customer’s
view but the same
map can be used to
think through other
relationships

Empathy in action
Following are seven specific opportunities in which
a tester can help a developer.

Resolve design gaps
Offer to resolve missing information. When information is missing, volunteer to research.
Oredev - Tester Love Developer 1 © Karen N. Johnson 2014

Resolve design gaps
“Expressing requirements in different formats can help
you find missing requirements.”
Source
http://businessanalystlearnings.com/blog/2013/10/23/how-to-discover-missing-requirements
Sometimes it is not until development that the details of
design are realized as missing or not understood.

Share the gear
Offer to share test equipment – from BYOD to the test lab.

Share the gear
As testers we often have a test lab and/or test
equipment that others on the team do not have. Share
your equipment so developers have access.

Test together
Offer to pair test.

Pair testing resources
1. More powerful pair testing @CAST 2013 - Rachel Carson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoWmfldDOs8
2. Better Story Testing through Dev-Tester Pairing – Abby Fichtner
http://www.slideshare.net/HackerChick/better-story-testing-through-devtester-pairing?
qid=859c6262-f863-4b4c-878c-66eb7df0f6c0&v=qf1&b=&from_search=6
3. Sherlock Holmes and Pairing @Romanian Testing Conference 2014 - Adi Bolboaca
http://www.slideshare.net/adibolb/sherlock-holmesandpairing-adibolboaca?
qid=43361e9d-e407-4c2c-90cd-1511179075d4&v=qf1&b=&from_search=5

Test “what if” scenarios, boundary & error conditions
Test ahead, test to learn and share what you learn.

Test ahead, test to learn and share what you learn.
In recent years, we (as an industry) have focused on pair
testing but at times, there is an advantage in working solo
as a tester to be the person who can test early, test ahead
and discover what happens when a user … We can work
with developers by working alone and ahead to discover.

Review auxiliary code
Offer to review auxiliary bits of code: HTML, SQL, stored procedures, etc.

Review auxiliary code
Code is typically reviewed but there are often times
“auxiliary” code that may escape typical review. As
testers we can offer to review SQL, HTML, stored
procedures, triggers and more. Ask. Offer.

Build test data sets
Offer to build sets of data to help test both positive and negative conditions.

Build test data sets
Both you and the developer may be aware of the data as well
as the environment setup needed to test a feature in both positive
and negative approaches. You could volunteer to build test data
sets and/or the needed test environment.

Share test ideas
Share your test ideas throughout the development process.

Share test ideas
There are many opportunities to share test ideas. There are
also many opportunities to offer encouragement and
empathy to developers and to other people on the team.
Using an empathetic ear you can find opportunities for
both.

Working with developers across distances

Working with developers across distances
Without the convenience of working in the same office,
it is harder to be empathetic. It takes more effort to
be a helpmate from a distance. The awareness of
needing to try harder is a good start.

Karen N. Johnson
Email: karen@karennjohnson.com Twitter: @karennjohnson

Bringing Empathy to Tester-Developer Relationships

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