A presentation given at MTUG 2016. The recording is available on the Code Genesys website as well http://www.codegenesys.com/start-with-quality/
Some inspiration from Henrik Knibergs presentation. Just so happens we didn't know of this until we had implemented it. It was so similar. We give credit to his material in the slide deck as well.
Lessons learned from the use of the Scrum methodology at our Calgary office over the years. Presented to the rest of the company during a push for agile adoption by all our software groups.
Why communicated deadlines will always lead to bad quality, and why you should never communicate deadlines if you are working according to Agile values.
Agile Testing - presentation for Agile User Groupsuwalki24.pl
Agile testing was present on Agile User Group. Presentation covers all aspects of testing on agile process, highlight the role of automation and issues with managing it.
Lessons learned from the use of the Scrum methodology at our Calgary office over the years. Presented to the rest of the company during a push for agile adoption by all our software groups.
Why communicated deadlines will always lead to bad quality, and why you should never communicate deadlines if you are working according to Agile values.
Agile Testing - presentation for Agile User Groupsuwalki24.pl
Agile testing was present on Agile User Group. Presentation covers all aspects of testing on agile process, highlight the role of automation and issues with managing it.
The concept of “shifting testing left” in the software development lifecycle is not new. Shifting testing from manual to automated and then upstream into engineering is a driving factor in DevOps and agile software development. However, Michael Nauman wonders why test automation, DevOps, and agile software development still frequently fail to deliver on their promises? Aligning and hardening your DevOps and test automation—along with streamlining your agile processes—is critical to your project. Michael shares how AutoCAD’s shifting testing left enabled improvements within their engineering team. Learn how the team increased engineering reliability and velocity, and forced process changes upstream into design and research all the way through to product support. Leave knowing why the concept of separation of concerns with regards to quality is as fundamental as the separation of code quality from product quality. Learn how the AutoCAD web team used process dogma and ruthless prioritization to combat metric idolatry and the host of other evils that hold teams back from fully realizing their potential and going beyond agile.
In this webinar, Hans goes through a number of solutions a team can do to diminish this problem, and what actions to take when it happens. Hans discussed the following solutions on how one can apply better test design to drive better automation, a number of technical strategies, what developers and product owners can do to help, and how to handle the testing and automation work that is still left after a sprint has finished. A key item in handling the test automation work that is left over is that QA’s need to own the testing from the beginning, and should not get stuck in the work of previous sprints, since that will inhibit good cooperation with other team members, making matters worse.
Key Takeaways:
- Get more tests created and automated.
- Make automation manageable and maintainable.
- Keep the QA people in sync with their fellow team members.
View webinar recording - https://testhuddle.com/resource/how-to-get-automated-testing-done/
Agile QA: Redefining Quality in the Wild WestFord Prior
Agile has flipped the traditional software development lifecycle on its head. For the QA specialist, the waterfall-driven "testing stage"—where testers execute a pre-defined set of tests within a pre-defined timeline—has been redistributed and re-framed within Agile. I would even say it's been reborn.
Topics: Is Agile changing the quality game? How are QA thought leaders attempting to redefine our space? What are some tips/tricks/mindmaps I can use to do QA right on an agile team?
Agile Testing Alliance - CP-MAT program.(Certified Professional Master Agile Testing) is surest way to learn practical agile testing and is the 1st stepping stone for anyone trying to get into agile or DevOps Testing space
TestPRO is an independent testing service provider that can fulfill the majority of the test delivery work that can be carried out on-site and deliver the cost saving that only a dedicated test center can provide. We will prepare and execute the tests and reporting all results to you in a timely manner.
How to overcome agile methodology challengesBugRaptors
One of the most significant elements for QA in agile projects is having a good understanding of the agile development procedures and processes. Many agile companies follow the Scrum framework for delivering quality software.
Agile Transformation: People, Process and Tools to Make Your Transformation S...QASymphony
Many companies are currently going through Agile Transformation or thinking about making the transition to agile. While moving to agile can create great opportunity for organizations, the journey to get there can be highly challenging. If you don’t have the right people, process and tools in place, the true benefits of agile may not be recognized. In this webinar, Andrew Stickland, Head of Client Services, for Clearvision and Kevin Dunne, VP of Business Development and Strategy for QASymphony will discuss the best practices for making the agile transformation. In this webinar, we will try to answer the following questions:
- Who are the people I need in place?
- What are the core processes that I need to change?
- What tools do I need?
View the On-Demand webinar here: http://pi.qasymphony.com/agile-transformation-best-practices-webinar-lp060?utm_source=slideshare&utm_medium=slideshare&utm_campaign=Agile%20Transformation%20Webinar
How to Build in Quality from Day 1 using Lean QA and Agile TestingAtlassian
If you're struggling to implement QA methods that fit with agile's core principles, you're not alone. Join Giancarlo and Maurizio as they explain how their teams found a sweet spot at the intersection of agile and QA engineering. They'll share common pitfalls and how to avoid them. Plus, get tips and tricks on how to capture requirements and link JIRA to test repositories for complete traceability.
Lars Wolff - Performance Testing for DevOps in the Cloud - Codemotion Amsterd...Codemotion
Performance tests are not only an important instrument for understanding a system and its runtime environment. It is also essential in order to check stability and scalability – non-functional requirements that might be decisive for success. But won't my cloud hosting service scale for me as long as I can afford it? Yes, but… It only operates and scales resources. It won't automatically make your system fast, stable and scalable. This talk shows how such and comparable questions can be clarified with performance tests and how DevOps teams benefit from regular test practise.
As well synthesized by Meg Whitman (CEO at Hewlett-Packard) “we’re now living in an Idea Economy, where the ability to turn an idea into a new product or service has never been easier”. This impact is pervasive on all industries, any company has to achieve enough agility to respond to market opportunities and threats and quickly turn ideas into reality.
For some years now, the “digital”-driven projects have become a priority for all the Insurance Groups. Let me add that here the term “digital” refers to several important aspects starting with a digitalized customer experience, which is completed by digital/technological processes aimed at improving the relationship with the clients and with the mid-term objective of maximizing the single client’s profitability.
Insurers are beginning - and those who are not doing so should start – to give serious thought to how they can build their strategy to incorporate the IoT into the insurance value chain.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is “the interconnection via the Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data.” The most important factor in the IoT “equation” is the data – which is the main element providing value to the insurance company if harvested and analyzed in an adequate manner. In product development there should be a data collection & analysis approach embedded in the business model itself, otherwise the strategy will lack in bringing the desired added value. Having a “data mindset” in all the stages of the business will ensure that the implemented model will have the capacity to gather and analyze the high quantity of data provided by the interconnected devices and environments.
As Matteo Carbone who is an expert in the field says in his article, ultimately telematics is the integrated use of informatics and telecommunications; it is about registering, storing and analyzing data via telecommunication devices.
“Telematics could be one of the most relevant digital innovations in the insurance industry directly impacting the technical results. Due to the pervasive diffusion of the Internet of Everything, this approach could be extended from motor insurance to other insurance businesses.”
The concept of “shifting testing left” in the software development lifecycle is not new. Shifting testing from manual to automated and then upstream into engineering is a driving factor in DevOps and agile software development. However, Michael Nauman wonders why test automation, DevOps, and agile software development still frequently fail to deliver on their promises? Aligning and hardening your DevOps and test automation—along with streamlining your agile processes—is critical to your project. Michael shares how AutoCAD’s shifting testing left enabled improvements within their engineering team. Learn how the team increased engineering reliability and velocity, and forced process changes upstream into design and research all the way through to product support. Leave knowing why the concept of separation of concerns with regards to quality is as fundamental as the separation of code quality from product quality. Learn how the AutoCAD web team used process dogma and ruthless prioritization to combat metric idolatry and the host of other evils that hold teams back from fully realizing their potential and going beyond agile.
In this webinar, Hans goes through a number of solutions a team can do to diminish this problem, and what actions to take when it happens. Hans discussed the following solutions on how one can apply better test design to drive better automation, a number of technical strategies, what developers and product owners can do to help, and how to handle the testing and automation work that is still left after a sprint has finished. A key item in handling the test automation work that is left over is that QA’s need to own the testing from the beginning, and should not get stuck in the work of previous sprints, since that will inhibit good cooperation with other team members, making matters worse.
Key Takeaways:
- Get more tests created and automated.
- Make automation manageable and maintainable.
- Keep the QA people in sync with their fellow team members.
View webinar recording - https://testhuddle.com/resource/how-to-get-automated-testing-done/
Agile QA: Redefining Quality in the Wild WestFord Prior
Agile has flipped the traditional software development lifecycle on its head. For the QA specialist, the waterfall-driven "testing stage"—where testers execute a pre-defined set of tests within a pre-defined timeline—has been redistributed and re-framed within Agile. I would even say it's been reborn.
Topics: Is Agile changing the quality game? How are QA thought leaders attempting to redefine our space? What are some tips/tricks/mindmaps I can use to do QA right on an agile team?
Agile Testing Alliance - CP-MAT program.(Certified Professional Master Agile Testing) is surest way to learn practical agile testing and is the 1st stepping stone for anyone trying to get into agile or DevOps Testing space
TestPRO is an independent testing service provider that can fulfill the majority of the test delivery work that can be carried out on-site and deliver the cost saving that only a dedicated test center can provide. We will prepare and execute the tests and reporting all results to you in a timely manner.
How to overcome agile methodology challengesBugRaptors
One of the most significant elements for QA in agile projects is having a good understanding of the agile development procedures and processes. Many agile companies follow the Scrum framework for delivering quality software.
Agile Transformation: People, Process and Tools to Make Your Transformation S...QASymphony
Many companies are currently going through Agile Transformation or thinking about making the transition to agile. While moving to agile can create great opportunity for organizations, the journey to get there can be highly challenging. If you don’t have the right people, process and tools in place, the true benefits of agile may not be recognized. In this webinar, Andrew Stickland, Head of Client Services, for Clearvision and Kevin Dunne, VP of Business Development and Strategy for QASymphony will discuss the best practices for making the agile transformation. In this webinar, we will try to answer the following questions:
- Who are the people I need in place?
- What are the core processes that I need to change?
- What tools do I need?
View the On-Demand webinar here: http://pi.qasymphony.com/agile-transformation-best-practices-webinar-lp060?utm_source=slideshare&utm_medium=slideshare&utm_campaign=Agile%20Transformation%20Webinar
How to Build in Quality from Day 1 using Lean QA and Agile TestingAtlassian
If you're struggling to implement QA methods that fit with agile's core principles, you're not alone. Join Giancarlo and Maurizio as they explain how their teams found a sweet spot at the intersection of agile and QA engineering. They'll share common pitfalls and how to avoid them. Plus, get tips and tricks on how to capture requirements and link JIRA to test repositories for complete traceability.
Lars Wolff - Performance Testing for DevOps in the Cloud - Codemotion Amsterd...Codemotion
Performance tests are not only an important instrument for understanding a system and its runtime environment. It is also essential in order to check stability and scalability – non-functional requirements that might be decisive for success. But won't my cloud hosting service scale for me as long as I can afford it? Yes, but… It only operates and scales resources. It won't automatically make your system fast, stable and scalable. This talk shows how such and comparable questions can be clarified with performance tests and how DevOps teams benefit from regular test practise.
As well synthesized by Meg Whitman (CEO at Hewlett-Packard) “we’re now living in an Idea Economy, where the ability to turn an idea into a new product or service has never been easier”. This impact is pervasive on all industries, any company has to achieve enough agility to respond to market opportunities and threats and quickly turn ideas into reality.
For some years now, the “digital”-driven projects have become a priority for all the Insurance Groups. Let me add that here the term “digital” refers to several important aspects starting with a digitalized customer experience, which is completed by digital/technological processes aimed at improving the relationship with the clients and with the mid-term objective of maximizing the single client’s profitability.
Insurers are beginning - and those who are not doing so should start – to give serious thought to how they can build their strategy to incorporate the IoT into the insurance value chain.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is “the interconnection via the Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data.” The most important factor in the IoT “equation” is the data – which is the main element providing value to the insurance company if harvested and analyzed in an adequate manner. In product development there should be a data collection & analysis approach embedded in the business model itself, otherwise the strategy will lack in bringing the desired added value. Having a “data mindset” in all the stages of the business will ensure that the implemented model will have the capacity to gather and analyze the high quantity of data provided by the interconnected devices and environments.
As Matteo Carbone who is an expert in the field says in his article, ultimately telematics is the integrated use of informatics and telecommunications; it is about registering, storing and analyzing data via telecommunication devices.
“Telematics could be one of the most relevant digital innovations in the insurance industry directly impacting the technical results. Due to the pervasive diffusion of the Internet of Everything, this approach could be extended from motor insurance to other insurance businesses.”
Online Business; What is E-commerce; What are the points to be considered whi...Rohan Byanjankar
What is E-commerce? What are the major strategies that must be overviewed while initiating a online business? Online business in Nepal is one of the contemporary issues. There are many online business websites in Nepal. What are they currently doing, how are they rendering services?
What things must a business person consider then doing online business? Online Business; What is E-commerce; What are the points to be considered while starting online business?
This presentation describes a prototype web service (RAMP) that accurately counts file downloads from institutional repositories (IR). The slides begin with the problems associated with current web analytics methods such as page tagging and log file analysis, and describes how the reporting from four IR dramatically improved through the use of RAMP. Research conducted for this study was funded by IMLS, and partners include Montana State University, OCLC Research, the University of New Mexico, and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The presentation was given at the ARL Assessment Forum at the American Library Association 2017 midwinter conference in Atlanta, GA.
Session 5 Everything You Should Know About PMP & CAPM CertificationsSeshne Govender
This series will help Project Management Professionals to learn more about the scope of the certifications and shed more light on the intricacies surrounding the PMP® and CAPM® certifications.
Learn more about PMP® and CAPM® and the positive impact they may have on your professional career. Both PMP® and CAPM® from PMI could help you achieve that elusive promotion or get you that golden ticket to joining your dream organization.
Registration Link: https://bit.ly/42iE5rJ
Session Dates: 15th November'23 / 20th December'23 / 17th January'24
Session Timings: 09:30 AM - 10:30 AM (BST) / 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (CEST/SAST) / 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM (EAT/AST) / 12:30 PM - 01:30 PM (GST) / 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM (IST) / 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM (ICT/WIB) / 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM (SGT/PHST) / 07:30 PM - 08:30 PM (AEDT)
Only final registrants to the event in the link (https://bit.ly/42iE5rJ) can avail of a 50% discount on all online PMP/CAPM programs of vCare Project Management conducted by Seshne Govender PgMP, PMP, DASM, DASSM, PDM, BSc Eng in 2023 & 2024.
Agile software development methodology is sweeping the IT Industry. Many organizations are experimenting with Agility and there are many “brands” of Agile including Scrum, XP, Lean, Crystal Clear and DSDM. Adoption of one of these methodologies could be wholesale in the case of a small well defined project that has no dependencies on other projects and can be completely delivered by a trained and motivated team. As these types of adoptions are rare organizations are looking for ways to ease into Agile practices without losing productivity.
This session is designed to discuss and identify ways that agile enablers can facilitate the transition to Agile practices. Participants learn basic Agile practices as well as techniques for introducing them to the software delivery team. This session will present common software delivery problems and the Agile path to solutions.
XBOSoft runs through the Top 10 Agile Metrics revealing the most fundamental data points Agile methodology requires to work effectively, and will put you on the highly targeted path to successful implementation of your Agile processes.
XBOSoft and Go2Group run through the top data points you should be measuring in your Agile Workflow. We’ll show you what to track, when and how often, and most importantly – why. Many believe that metrics are useless, but unless you measure, how can you systematically improve or know how you are doing? And with velocity as an overarching objective in agile, you should be tracking other things so that you know what else you could be impacting by going faster. But, with all the metrics so readily available to us today, how do we filter through to the most meaningful?
5 Lessons Learned in Product Management by Twitch Senior PMProduct School
Main takeaways:
- How to take a non traditional path to product management
- How to leverage your unique background to differentiate yourself as a Product Manager
- Steps you can take to build your product management skills/portfolio while in other fields
Gerlof Hoekstra - OMG What Have We Done - EuroSTAR 2013TEST Huddle
EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference 2013 presentation on "OMG What Have We Done" by Gerlof Hoekstra.
See more at: http://conference.eurostarsoftwaretesting.com/past-presentations/
Testing for agile teams . What's the difference between this and other testing ? What are the goals for such testing ?
Is agile testing needed at all ? Why ?
You will find some answers inside and mist likely will be directed to the right way.
Aubrey Smith, Sparked Advisory
In this training, we will build on the foundation established in Lean Startup 101 and 201 by delving into examples and cases of the Lean Startup concepts in action. Attendees of Lean Startup 301 will be exposed to cutting edge work from thought leaders and experts using Lean Startup in practice today — at startups and within the enterprise. Participation in this session is essential: You will be asked to help design an MVP and experiment to test critical Leap of Faith Assumption(s) in groups and will be encourage to share experiences. The session is designed to allow attendees to stretch their skills and to push one-another to ‘learn by doing’. The session will also include:
Sample cases and live interviews with practitioners highlighting the application of core concepts;
Exercises designed to bring the concepts to life and challenge participants to deepen their skills;
Discussion of advanced topics such organizational culture and governance as well as industry-specific concepts such as using Lean Startup in heavily regulated markets.
Thanks to Lean Startup Co.’s law firm, Orrick, for being the sponsor for this track.
This is a presentation that was given to the Project Management Institute of Metrolina. The goal is exposure to the fundamental ideas of Lean/Agile/Scrum software development.
CTO Summit NASDAQ NYC 2017: Creating a QA StrategyRainforest QA
Creating a QA Strategy - a 20m talk presented originally at CTO Summit NASDAQ NYC 2017. You should learn how to think about QA, measure it, not test too much, etc.
Similar to Start with Quality - an Agile Tester's Case Study (20)
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Elevating Tactical DDD Patterns Through Object CalisthenicsDorra BARTAGUIZ
After immersing yourself in the blue book and its red counterpart, attending DDD-focused conferences, and applying tactical patterns, you're left with a crucial question: How do I ensure my design is effective? Tactical patterns within Domain-Driven Design (DDD) serve as guiding principles for creating clear and manageable domain models. However, achieving success with these patterns requires additional guidance. Interestingly, we've observed that a set of constraints initially designed for training purposes remarkably aligns with effective pattern implementation, offering a more ‘mechanical’ approach. Let's explore together how Object Calisthenics can elevate the design of your tactical DDD patterns, offering concrete help for those venturing into DDD for the first time!
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
Kubernetes & AI - Beauty and the Beast !?! @KCD Istanbul 2024Tobias Schneck
As AI technology is pushing into IT I was wondering myself, as an “infrastructure container kubernetes guy”, how get this fancy AI technology get managed from an infrastructure operational view? Is it possible to apply our lovely cloud native principals as well? What benefit’s both technologies could bring to each other?
Let me take this questions and provide you a short journey through existing deployment models and use cases for AI software. On practical examples, we discuss what cloud/on-premise strategy we may need for applying it to our own infrastructure to get it to work from an enterprise perspective. I want to give an overview about infrastructure requirements and technologies, what could be beneficial or limiting your AI use cases in an enterprise environment. An interactive Demo will give you some insides, what approaches I got already working for real.
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
Generating a custom Ruby SDK for your web service or Rails API using Smithyg2nightmarescribd
Have you ever wanted a Ruby client API to communicate with your web service? Smithy is a protocol-agnostic language for defining services and SDKs. Smithy Ruby is an implementation of Smithy that generates a Ruby SDK using a Smithy model. In this talk, we will explore Smithy and Smithy Ruby to learn how to generate custom feature-rich SDKs that can communicate with any web service, such as a Rails JSON API.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 4DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 4. In this session, we will cover Test Manager overview along with SAP heatmap.
The UiPath Test Manager overview with SAP heatmap webinar offers a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the role of a Test Manager within SAP environments, coupled with the utilization of heatmaps for effective testing strategies.
Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities, challenges, and best practices associated with test management in SAP projects. Additionally, the webinar delves into the significance of heatmaps as a visual aid for identifying testing priorities, areas of risk, and resource allocation within SAP landscapes. Through this session, attendees can expect to enhance their understanding of test management principles while learning practical approaches to optimize testing processes in SAP environments using heatmap visualization techniques
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
Topics covered:
Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
2. Agile mindset
Before:
Product changes based on internal SME’s knowing what changes needed to be made,
which was usually based on noisy customers, gut feel and stabs in the dark.
The only metrics measured where budgeted sales vs actual
sales, and churn. Team was accountable for missing targets.
Missed release deadlines blamed for missed sales targets, and poor
developer productivity blamed for missing delivery deadlines.
Development cycle of about 15 weeks of development, 3-
5 weeks of testing and then a release.
Team took no responsibility because the team was held accountable to deadlines they
didn’t agree to, and for solutions & features they weren’t consulted on.
What we saw often was short term solutions, ending up in long term problems.
5. Agile mindset
Now:
Autonomy and accountability. Manager’s role is to embrace collective responsibility and to help their
team excel and develop into leaders.
Measure our economic progress: Understand what we value: customer growth, revenue growth, user
engagement, higher employee retention.
Do a value proposition canvas and lean canvas business model for all new products and
large features. Is this the right action at the right time?
Have a hypothesis for each new feature and compare progress metrics with actual
outcomes. Have metrics indicating business health (LTV, CAC, LTV:CAC, MRR, Churn,
Customer Happiness Index).
Experiment with changes to the way we work then measure to test our hypothesis. Constraining the
feature pipeline, ready criteria, done criteria, agile testing methodology, moved towards continuous
testing and deployment.
Limit work in progress: Agile testing, deployment to test servers every week, deployment to production every
sprint (2 weeks).
Distributed leadership and responsibility where we help each other excel.
Digging deeper to find systematic causes, allowing us to come up with more permanent solutions.
6. Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Release
Test Fix %&@#!
Before: Test at the end
Test
Fix %&@#!
Test Fix Time
Saved
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Release
Test Fix %&@#!
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Release
What we do now: test all the time & release after every sprint
Release Release Release
Next: Test after each sprint and at release time
8. How do you ensure that your product works?
1.Understand the
problem
2.Iterate until
you’ve solved it
Who are the
stakeholders?
How will we know
when we’ve solved it?
What need do they have
that we want to solve?
How will we know if we’re
moving in the right direction?
Minimise the distance to MVP
Deliver, measure, adjust
continuously
Henrik Kniberg
9. The Value Proposition CanvasDocument
Plan
Constrain
Pipeline
Prioritise
Build
MVP
Iterate to
PMF
Optimise
10. The Business Model CanvasDocument
Plan
Constrain
Pipeline
Prioritise
Build
MVP
Iterate to
PMF
Optimise
11. Constrain the Feature Pipeline
Document
Plan
Constrain
Pipeline
Prioritise
Build
MVP
Iterate to
PMF
Optimise
12. Make sure the backlog items are testable & valuable
As a Consultant
I want to assign soil sample collection jobs to a
user
so that collectors know what jobs are assigned to
them.
Prototype: How to demo/test done:
1) Select one or more or jobs from
the unassigned jobs list.
2) Click “assign jobs”
3) Start typing a user’s name
and/or
4) Select the user from the list of
users
5) Click “Assign to selected user”
17. Henrik Kniberg
Set working agreements for test automation &
explicitly plan testing during sprint planning
18. Test backlog
Step 1: Decide what needs to be tested
● Add new sample job
● Delete sampling job
● Assign sample job to a user
● Unassign sample job from a user
● Mark a sample job as complete
● Filter sample jobs
● Sort sample jobs
● Which jobs do I have to do?
● Viewing a sample collection job
● Editing a grid on a sample collection
job
19. Step 2: Classify each test
Test Case Risk Manual Test
Cost
Automation
Cost
Add new sample job High 0.5 hrs low
Delete sampling job High 0.5 hrs low
Assign sample job to a user Med 2 hrs low
Unassign sample job from a user Med 0.5 hrs low
Mark a sample job as complete High 0.5 hrs low
Filter sample jobs Med 0.5 hrs high
Sort sample jobs Low 0.5 hrs low
Which jobs do I have to do? Med 2 hrs high
Viewing a sample collection job High 2 hrs low
Pay every
time
Pay once
20. Step 3: sort the list
Test Case Risk Manual Test
Cost
Automation
Cost
Viewing a sample collection job High 2 hrs low
Assign sample job to a user Med 2 hrs low
Mark a sample job as complete High 1 hr medium
Add new sample job High 0.5 hrs low
Delete sampling job High 0.5 hrs low
Unassign sample job from a user Med 0.5 hrs low
Sort sample jobs Low 0.5 hrs low
Filter sample jobs Med 0.5 hrs high
Which jobs do I have to do? Med 0.5 hrs high
Automate first!
Don’t bother
automating
Automate later!
21. Bug fixing process
Bug found!
Before
Log it
Release
test
Fix bugs
Bug found!
Now
Don’t log it.
Fix it NOW!
24. Metrics Before and After
• Defects
• Customer Satisfaction
• Employee Satisfaction
• Customer Retention
• Sales
• New Customers
• Less Work Better Results
25.
26. Agile is a direction, not a place
The important thing isn’t
how you work.
The important thing is
how you improve the way you work!
28. Training Events are Listed on our website including Agile
Testing
http://www.codegenesys.com/training-events
Editor's Notes
When I started at Agworld I was told that the company followed an agile approach. When I started work what I discovered was:
Because the development team had sprints and standups and sprint retrospectives etc. they said they are an agile development environment when in fact there were no inspect and adapt feedback loops because a few individuals in the company decided what features needed to be done (based on speculation) and by when it had to be done (based on when the company would suffer commercial consequences).
Much of this can be clearly seen in our metrics and stats that we have tracked over the last couple for years.
Defects created is red and defects fixed is green
Much of this can be clearly seen in our metrics and stats that we have tracked over the last couple for years
There are many more things that we have seen change as a result of the changes in the way we work:
Tester discovering requirements before coding begins rather than when code is finished
Finding problems earlier
40% less defects than previous 12 months so more successful at preventing defects, allow us to spend more time on other things.
Develops say they are better able to just get on with developing because defects are found earlier, so the code is still fresh in their minds. This is making the turnaround of fixes much quicker.
Although we still choose to release with known minor defects we have had release with zero known defects
Customers regularly phone with unsolicited feedback on how happy they are with the product and have noticed improved quality
We are always looking for ways to improve the way we are working and will always find things we can do better
LTV – Lifetime Customer Value
CAC – Cost Customer Acquistion
MRR – Monthly Recurring Revenue
We needed to close the distance between coding and testing. We’d code often for 14 weeks before any testing. We closed this gap by testing the previous sprints’ work at the beginning of the next sprint, but only logged the bugs in our defect tracking system and still left the bug fixing to final release testing time.
We didn’t really connect with the fact that the work wasn’t complete when there were known defects and we still saw finding bugs as QA’s responsibility. We had to move our mindset to defect prevention, bugs take priority over new code and quality is everyone's concern.
We had many of the team attend an agile testing course run by Nick Zdunic from aboutagile and that helped us start taking the shift to bug prevention.
Where we are now is continuously testing as developers are done with stories, fixing bugs takes priority over new code and releasing at the end of every sprint. There are no more bug fix releases because all the changes we have made have lead to less defects in product and prevent new defects rather than finding and fixing them, which has meant that the release every sprint includes bug fixes and is is frequent enough .Now every sprint includes 20% bug fixing from the outset and a percentage for technical debt. I hope to share some of our journey.
What we ended up doing was testing the development build every week and logging the bugs in our defect tracking system but still not fixing them until all the coding was complete and we were ready for release testing. We didn’t really connect with the fact that the work wasn’t complete when there were known defects and we still saw finding bugs as QA’s responsibility. We had to move our mindset to defect prevention, bugs take priority over new code and quality is everyone's concern.
We had many of the team attend an agile testing course run by Nick Zdunic from aboutagile and that helped us start taking the shift to bug prevention.
Where we are now is continuously testing as developers are done with stories, fixing bugs takes priority over new code and releasing at the end of every sprint. There are no more bug fix releases because all the changes we have made have lead to less defects in product and prevent new defects rather than finding and fixing them, which has meant that the release every sprint includes bug fixes and is is frequent enough .Now every sprint includes 20% bug fixing from the outset and a percentage for technical debt. I hope to share some of our journey.
This is the general steps in building a product and there were some things that we needed to do better. Specifically understanding the problem, and when we are done and have shipped the MVP to product, remembering that we need to iterate to product market fit. Basically we couldn’t test whether the product did what was intended because we started building the product before fulling understand what what we were solving for our customers, which meant we didn’t really have a definition of done and therefore testers didn’t know how to test whether the requirements where met.
A couple of things we felt we were not doing as well as we could was building the right features, or at least building them in the right order. And, we were always trying to do more than our capacity would allow and therefore always overwhelming the team. What we believed was a way to think better about:
whether we really understand the problem and had done the critical thinking required
whether working on a specific feature was the right thing to do at that point in time
whether what had been learnt while doing the previous two items could be easily and effectively communicated to the rest of the company, so that when product was being built there was clear understand of these things and therefore clearer understand of how to test.
This also led to other side effects.
Using the MVP thinking process we discovered that many features not actually used as a by product. Removed a feature, 800,000 lines worth of code.
We realised we were building stuff no one wants and created bloated code base which we though maintain. Example fixing failing tests on upgrade of Ruby.
Saved time – take that to the bank. This talk is about testing and removing this feature meant we were not regression testing a feature that nobody used, leaving more time for exploratory test during development.
How we did it
We started looking at some of the tools people have been using to help with these things and adopted the ones we felt would work for us. We started using the Value Proposition Canvas and the Lean Canvas to help us do the learning and critical thinking required to decide if a certain action was the right action at that time. These tools are also great ways to simply communicate the process of discovery that has happened and a summary of what was discovered.
This process naturally helped constrain the feature pipeline because rather than trying to build everything we could think of, we first decided whether it was the right action at the right time.
Running Lean.
Do the steps? Structured. Previously arrogantly thought we understood the problem.
Our attitude was ‘Yeah we get it’
Do we have a value proposition?
This is a structured way to help design, test and build the value proposition during the process of designing a business model. It is supposed to offer an easy to understand overview of: what a customer needs and why; the pains and aspirations of the customers; whether the designed solution truly solve the customers problems and fulfil the promise of doing something in a better way.
For Problem Solution fit, the value proposition should neatly map to customer needs. First, the product should accomplish the majority of the customer’s jobs. Second, the product should eliminate the customer’s pains. Last, the product should enable to customer to do more than they could before.
The Value Proposition Canvas should be completed in a way that shows how the designed products and services map to customers jobs and pains so that it serves as a clear communication tool to stakeholders. This document service as the highest level specification for the solution.
Assuming we have decided that it is a problem worth solving, what metrics will you use to track our progress?
This is a structured way to help design, test and build a business model for the value proposition. If we have determined through the Value Proposition Canvas that we have a customer value proposition, we then need to determine whether there is a business model to sell this value proposition to customers and make money. The objective of the Business Model Canvas is to make the business model as actionable as possible – a ground up tactical plan to guide us as we navigate our way from idea to building a successful product. How we help to make this more actionable is to try to capture that which is most uncertain (and also most risky).
Anecdote: We don’t always get it right. There is a need but how much of a need? Metrics are know giving us a better idea.
Survey Anecdote: Farmers given 10 options. Each option scored 10%. Not always easy. We decided to do nothing.
Kanban is a method for managing knowledge work with an emphasis on just-in-time delivery while not overloading the team members.
The throughput of the pipeline as a whole is limited. Kanban in its simplest form limits work-in-progress, at each step in the process. This prevents over production at any point in the process and reveals bottlenecks dynamically so that you can address them before they get out of hand.
At our current size Agworld can only work on 3 initiatives simultaneously and we need to constrain the number of initiatives entering the operational and implementation phases. Existing features constantly require maintenance and improvement and one of the three initiatives in progress will always be improving existing features. Therefore it is possible for only two new initiatives to be in progress simultaneously with improving existing features work.
Development Board had several columns, discovered work building up in Code Review. Put in a WIP limit to ensure flow. Change to a mindset of focusing on completion. We started reaching sprint goals.
We can make a difference by small changes. WIP limit is small but a significant difference.
Customers can look at features whilst in development – decreasing the feedback loop.
First demo is the User Story Map.
Build a Minimum Viable Product and Verify
We should have already determined that there is a problem worth solving and designed a high level solution, however, we don’t know whether that solution will resonate with the majority of customers. Therefore we want to do the least possible amount of work to reach a point where we can verify that the solution resonates with customers. We want to do a number of validated learning loops:
Formulate a testable hypothesis
Build (maximise for speed, learning and focus)
Measure and Learn (Validate Qualitatively, Verify Qualitatively) (Create accessible dashboards and communicate early and often)
Everyone needs to understand from the beginning. Not understanding at the beginning leads to more work. Not when QA starts. Make sure that things are written in a way that relevant people know how to test. On the left we have who what why and on the right we have steps to get there in the software.
Not too bad as we are all physically near each other, but we had no permanent teams. We would create teams based on what work was in the current roadmap. It takes time to develop the bonds of loyalty and trust, so teams that work together longer can develop these bonds you need for real candour and openness. Not having a QA person part of a development team can affect the quality mindset of the team.
We now have permanent cross functional teams that usually collocate. Sometimes people move to a different location for a short period of time and sometimes testers are all sitting around the same desk when doing regression testing before a release.
Environment is important!
Remote Developers and Testers – they are participate in ceremonies, pair programming with remote workers, hackathon
The process needs to support fast delivery to test, customers etc
Set working agreements for test automation. Explicitly plan your test automation. Do exploratory tests. Efficiency in the processes means more time for exploratory testing.
Need all the bits to be able to test during development as soon as possible, as well as get customer feedback.
All improved in big ways
From - Great Boss Dead Boss
Throughout the entire organisation
Being able to achieve these kinds of changes at Agworld was only possible because I have a great boss who is dedicated to me and my team succeeding and it was important to get the backing and support of my boss before making significant changes to who we work. Many changes need to allow agile testing were before development started (understanding the problem better etc.) and therefore needed the support of my boss to be achieved.
I recently came across a presentation by Henrik Kniberg showing the path the followed and felt that we had followed similar paths without knowing it. This seems to provide evidence of the benefits of agile testing since we both followed similar paths of got the same outcomes.