Rethinking Your Testing Practice to Ensure Success
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Mike Lyles shares his experience traveling from North Carolina to Melbourne, Australia, which was delayed due to mechanical issues with the first plane. He then discusses challenges testing organizations face, including lack of understanding of the value of testing. Finally, he suggests the most important thing for testing teams to be successful is to understand why they do what they do at their core.
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Rethinking Your Testing Practice to Ensure Success
- 1. Re-Thinking Your Testing Practice Mike Lyles www.MikeWLyles.com
- 2. About Me QA Director with over 20 years in IT: • Development • Project Management Office • Development Manager • Testing • Functional Testing • Test Environments • Software Configuration Management • Test Data Management • Performance Testing • Test Automation • Service Virtualization • Building Testing Organizations • Defining Processes, Methodologies, Measurement 2
- 4. My First Trip to Australia by Mike Lyles 4 Left Charlotte, NC Sun, May 7, 4pm ET Arrived Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Sun 6pm PT Boarded plane from LAX to MEL Sun 10:10pm Plane had mechanical issues After 5 hours, passengers given a hotel Mon May 8, 12pm PT all passengers bused to airport Mon 2:15pm Boarding moved to 3:00, 3:15, 3:45! 3:45 – bus took us miles to Qantas location to board Flight started 415pm PT, lands in Melbourne 12:15am today!
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- 11. QUESTIONS 5 11
- 12. Paul Grizzaffi Smita Mishra James Bach Huib Schoots Elfriede Dustin Jari Laakso Matt Heusser Rex Black Griffin Jones Markus Gartner Nancy Kelln Doug Hoffman Damian Synadinos Rajesh Mathur Martin Hynie Andy Tinkham Henrik Andersson Srinivas Kadiyala Claire Moss Dorothy Graham Parimala Hariprasad Michael Bolton Ilari Aegerter Gerald Weinberg Karen Johnson Annie Rydholm Santhosh Tuppad Jyothi Rangaiah Lalit Bhamare 12
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- 15. What are within your Major Struggles Testing Organization? 1 the that you have
- 16. Organizations DON’T understand the value that testing is giving Test Teams are unable to explain it to them so that they CAN understand
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- 20. • Too Much Red Tape • “We need full specs before we can do any work” • “We can’t start testing until Unit Testing is done” 20
- 21. • Script followers • Anyone can run them – “Just Testers” • Graded by how FAST they can run them, defects found, etc. 21
- 22. • Lots of testers – few are “thinking testers” • Difficulty learning outside their domains • Not at PAR with other teams 22
- 23. • Testing “Happy Path” & not focusing on what NEEDS to be tested / context • Younger testers delaying project due to inexperience • Technical vs. Non- technical 23
- 24. • Testing is an information providing exercise. • Testing is a research activity. • Testing is the process of evaluating a product by learning about it through exploration & experimentation, which includes to some degree: questioning, studying, modeling, observation, inference, etc. 24
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- 26. 2 Describea time to ensure had to modify SUCCESS when you your plan / strategy / approach
- 27. Many said it was easier to look for the few times that they did NOT have to change their approach 27
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- 30. • Many teams settle with average or below- average testers • It DOES take time to replace them, however… • Things are not changing until you have professional testers 30
- 31. • Virtualization has been used to enable testing to be more efficient • Originally, functionality may have been taken out of scope, OR • Test execution was delayed while waiting 31
- 32. • Look for deficiencies in the skill sets of the team • Don’t assume they know what they are doing • Make EDUCATION of the deficiency part of the testing strategy 32
- 33. What is will require Next “Big Thing” Strategic Re-Alignment? the that 3
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- 35. • Big Tech companies releasing testers • Replacing skilled testers with automation • Technical skills become more important • Re-evaluation of the “test manager” role 35
- 36. Go Beyond Test Cases
- 37. Teams functioning without a Testing Hierarchy
- 39. What is most test teams ONE THING are SEGREGATED or INDIFFERENT about? the that 4
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- 41. • Are you dealing with this in your organization today? • Is the disagreement affecting your team production / overall quality? • Treat your team like you do stakeholders. 41
- 42. • Alignment to business goals / vision • Replacing skilled testers with automation • Anyone can do testing vs. testing as a craft • No test cases vs. test cases • Techniques handed down – generation by generation…. New ideas are rejected 42
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- 44. QUALITY Project Manager Project On Time Sales Features that demo well Testing Product solves the problem Prod Owner Happy customers & + sales 44
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- 46. What is should do to be ONE CORE THING SUCCESSFUL? the every team 5 46
- 47. • Simon Sinek “Golden Circle” • Outside-In (conventional) • Inside-Out (remarkable) • WHAT – every single person knows WHAT they do • HOW – some know HOW they do WHAT they do • WHY – very few people can articulate WHY 47
- 48. • Understand the context of what is being tested • Understand tools and value they provide • Study the successes • Hire the right team (attitude & eager to learn) • Share successes across other organizations more often 48
- 49. • Create a fearless environment where all can learn from each other without competing • Focus on learning about the product – discovering things no one knows about it, finding problems that threaten the value of it. • Help people decide if the product they’ve got is the product they want. • Learn to be technical leaders 49
- 50. • Know your customers and business context • See QUALITY as a WHOLE TEAM EFFORT • Define what “success” means to stakeholders • Focus on skills. This means defocusing from techniques and tactics. • Be AGILE – have a plan and be prepared to adapts and re-adapt 50
- 51. • The “Drive-Thru” is NOT always faster • Change is inevitable • You are NOT alone – share your experiences • Establish trust between you & your stakeholders • Not everyone is going to agree with you • Find ways to show the value of your test team • Define what “Quality” means to you • Know “WHY” you are doing this 51
- 52. People will forget what you SAID… People will forget what you DID… But they will never forget how you made them FEEL -- Maya Angelou 52
- 54. Mike Lyles QA Director, Bridgetree Twitter: @mikelyles mikewlyles@gmail.com www.MikeWLyles.com www.TheDriveThruBook.com
Editor's Notes
- Anyone who has tried the drive-thru has experienced this truth. Whether it’s a fast food restaurant or any other type of drive-thru window. You want to conserve your time, make your purchase, and move on, however, you find that you sit in a long line at the drive-thru while there are no lines inside. I have lived by a theory for a long time – and that is the drive-thru is not always faster. When I’m reaching a restaurant with a drive-thru window and a long line of cars waiting to order, as I drive around, I always glance inside the windows to see if there are lines inside. If there are small or no lines waiting inside, I will park my car and walk inside, make my order, and almost always leave before the cars waiting in line make it around the pick up window. If you try this a few times, I am convinced that you, too, will be surprised by this reality, and will begin practicing the same theory yourself. However, this theory does not only apply to ordering at a restaurant window. It can be passed on to everyday life. How many times have we taken an approach that we felt would be easiest and fastest, only to find that we failed to notice that, in the long run, we took more time to accomplish the task. How many times have we convinced ourselves to ‘stay in the car’ and not exert extra energy to accomplish our goals more effectively and expeditiously? My challenge to you, reader, is to examine your goal – whether it’s to get food from a restaurant, create a presentation for work, build a new strategy for the company, propose a new idea to your boss, help a friend in need, or simply set out on a new adventure – and thoroughly examine the approaches that you can take to accomplish the goal. Be aware that while your first option seems the fastest and logical, it may carry with it more risk along the way that could delay or slow down your progress. When you realize this, then your other options may rise to the top and be the best choice in your drive for success.
- You may never know what you are capable of until you surround yourself with other great testers
- I’ve pushed the “DOOR CLOSE” button so many times. How many of you have lost your patience with an elevator door and pressed this button FRANTICALLY. I was on an elevator with someone and he said “I think they just put it there to make us feel good”….and it hit me.....he was exactly right. I’m not sure the buttons work or not. I’m not sure they cause the door to start to close faster or not – but i’ll still press it – because it makes me FEEL like i’m driving the outcome. Don’t be your “DOOR CLOSE” button for your organization. Don’t be there just to make them feel good about the product. What i mean by this is that we obviously want to deliver a quality product, but what many organizations will fall into with testing teams is that there needs to be a BOX checked off so that they can move on to production. Don’t be there just for FEELING GOOD. Be there to ENSURE we give our level best to deliver the best product that can be released.
- Trust and respect are two different words that often go hand-in-hand. For a person to trust someone you need to respect them, while respecting someone also demands for trusting them. The second statement isn’t always true as many you can look to up to many people but not trust them. That all boils down to the definition of trust, which basically means having faith that the person will do what is best for the person that is trusting. However, in some cases one may respect many people but that does not mean that the person is looking to do what is best for the individual. Let’s take a deeper look into both of these words. trust just means you believe them while respect means that you hold them in high esteem
- Metrics that are not valid are DANGEROUS
- TESTING BY NATURE HAS TO BE INTERACTIVE
- Organizations don't understand the value testing is giving Think that testing can be fully automated and testers not needed Testing seen as a cost center and not an investment Will trade testers or consulting teams for someone that can "do it cheaper" Incorrect expectations on automation & value it can provide Testing teams are unable to explain it to them so that they CAN understand Both at project level and enterprise / senior management level We need to be clear on why orgs are paying for QA
- How will your test team respond to a question like this? Big tech companies are more and more releasing testers and finding ways to do testing otherwise Your goal will be to show the value of testing in ways that the stakeholders can see that value And it can’t just be “we test some things” or “we found X defects” You have to find a way to tell the story to the stakeholder that exceeds their expectations for a test team
- Old school methodologies Still focused on test cases and scripts Trying to do testing with practices that were used many years ago – not looking to improve or try something new
- Companies don’t work well with overly critical testers – no one wants to be told “your baby is ugly”
- Too much red tape - don't get caught up on "entry" criteria - you can test anytime We do NOT need full specs - there is so much you can do before everything is in your hands I think the last one is more for waterfall than Agile, but we need to envision a world where testing and development work together - not in silos
- Core & Flex Don't allow our teams to be seen as "JUST TESTERS" and "anyone can run them". We've heard it many times before - and we know that a skilled thinking tester is not just "anyone". Do not place metrics on people to run tests, log defects, etc. (LOWES story)
- Many with "tester" or "QA" titles Not many use thinking testing practices Don't get stuck in one domain and not spread your skillsets Testers are not growing like developers --- find ways to help them learn new areas within testing AS WELL as DEV
- I think its ironic that its called HAPPY PATH, because it usually leads to UNHAPPY results Don't let the new testers impact your project. Work side by side, ensure that you work together to coach and mentor them. i love working with new testers and seeing the way their brains work. It's like when a child learns something new that you have known about for years. We can't just be "non-technical" anymore. Testers need to understand the code, the data, and how it all works together.
- BE CURIOUS! ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS You are providing information – we are NOT there to blame, talk down to the code, identify issues (which we MAY do in the process) but in all……(next slide)
- You are an INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER Make sure you have the STORY right People are depending on you!
- Testing should be expecting to modify the plan and approach constantly - whether its to adjust for changes in the project and deliverables or its modifying to pursue a better outcome If your team is NOT modifying and adjusting the approach, then you run the risk of delivering a product that meets all timeline and cost goals but is not a good product
- It's ok to love yourself Every motivational post in the world has this as the core, right? But you have to be sure that the teams that are working with you are loving themselves justifiably
- Don't settle with average It will begin to deteriorate your organization You won't see POSITIVE results Until everyone is a TRUE TESTER
- Do you use Virtualization? It's such an excellent way to assist your organization to test earlier, faster, and more effective Removes the need for external services or systems
- Areas of testing (hands on, perf, autom) where team is limited in knowledge - make EDUCATION part of the strategy - don't assume they know what they are doing
- IOT seems to be very big among everyone that answered More and more people using mobile - how do we accommodate for this testing More and more connectivity across devices (hand-offs) - how do we ensure it works everywhere Think about how difficult it was to have a good .com on web vs. mobile years ago We are rarely testing one single system anymore – we have to continue to grow to ensure we can test the connectivity between multiple systems, sensors, and devices VIRTUAL REALITY IS BACK!!!! TO STAY THIS TIME! AUGMENTED REALITY AUGMENTED REALITY!!!
- Big Tech - using other resources Skilled Testers - automation coming in Technical skills - learn them Test Manager - no longer TRADITIONAL Don't just run scripts - EXPLORE We may not have VP of QA and other roles - may roll up into other organizations RISK is ALWAYS something to CONSIDER - always
- Compliments of A6 Training & Consultancy, Ltd. == www.A6Training.co.uk Everyone at your table come to an agreement on ONE side of this discussion Role of tester in Agile & DevOps --- is it specialized role or not Test Cases vs. No-Test Cases Automation vs. Hands-On Testing Automation TESTING vs. CHECKING
- It is likely that this exercise was not easy Especially if you were among the minority on something you believe strongly in Is this happening in your organization today? You have to find a way to deal with it similar to the way you prove value of testing to stakeholders – you have to show the value THEN get the support
- Are you looking for a way out, or do you have courage to stand for what you believe and go back to management
- Mom used to say when this would come up on the screen, "it's thinking". We know the computer does NOT THINK It does WHAT WE TELL IT TO DO YOU - testers - CAN THINK!
- To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.
- http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html
- http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html