Agile Testing Mindset

Editor's Notes

• #5: Raise your hands if you said or heard any of the following:Testing is about:checking the systemfinding bugsTrying to break the systemTesters are responsible for qualityTesting is a phase after developmentToday we are going to show you how agile testing is none of these things
• #6: Let’s look at testing as a phase.How many of you have boards like this with a test column after the dev column?This is traditional thinking
• #7: In agile testing is an activity that takes place THROUGHOUTIt’s just another task.A great tip is to use different colouredstickies for test tasks and try to get them done first.Even if you don’t do TDD, get the tester to brainstorm what they are going to test before any code gets writtenA great technique is the show me column.Most teams do code reviews, and usually the last task to get doneInstead reveiew every task, dev and test by showing someone else on the teamDrives shared knowledge, identifiies and fixes issues fasterBugs are more expensive the later you fix them, using this you can fix them within hours of them being introduced.
• #8: Now lets talk about fiinding bugsHow many of you measure tester performance based on the number of bugs they findOr how about the number they don’t find that are found in the wild?
• #9: Consider this starCan you work out how many points it has?Write down your answerHow many of you wrote down something other than 5?If this was code, we just found a bugHow could we prevent that bug?
• #10: What if we told you this was one point, and this was not a pointHow many of you would have written down 5.Asking a few questions before you assumed what we meant would have prevented bugs
• #11: By asking questions early, before code is written you can prevent bugsFocus on making sure the whole team has a shared understanding before any code gets writtenOften teams make assumptions in planning. Don’tAsk even the most stupid questions. If it’s not clear to you, it’s not clear to everyoneMake sure everyone leaves the room with the same picture in their mind6 month report story
• #12: Most testers we know, explain there jobs by saying the check stuffDoes the system workDoes it meet the specDoes 1 + 1 = 2You know what’s really good at checking stuff? Computers!If it’s a simple check – automate it. Free up testers from checkingBest way to automate – testers write test cases, devs write fixture.Put the two together and you have an funcional level test before any code is written.
• #13: So if tester’s aren’t checking what should they be doing?Understanding the user needs, making sure they system that is built will solve a real business needDo exploratory testing that computers suck at and giving feedback on how the system behavesMost importantly ask “how can you test it”People who do TDD know that code written this way is designed to be testable.Testers should help by asking how can we test this up front.
• #14: Many testers are proud of their ability to break stuffBut lets face it broken systems don’t help anyone.Instead of a blame game between dev and test it’s more useful to collaborate
• #15: Testers and developers should be working together to build the best possible system. Not trying to catch each other out.Tell Maersk Story – if we show you the acceptance tests you might just build a system that makes them pass !Testers tell developers how you will test it before they build it, chances are they will build it right.
• #16: Often testers are seen as the owners of the quality gateThey alone get to say if something is ready for releaseOften they seem dead against products being released, mostly because they will be blamed if quality is not good
• #17: In agile the whole team is reponsibleTesters aren’t the last people in the chain anymore, they are just part of a team taking pride in their work
• #18: To summarise the agile testing mindset is about:Testing as an activity not a phasePrevent bugs rather than finding themBeing a tester give feedback not a checkerHelping to build rather than breakingThe team being responsible for quality not just the tester
• #20: We’d like to leave you with our top 3 tips to make your testing more agile
• #22: We’ll be around tonight and tomorrow if you have questions