oredev 2014 knjohnson-tester love developer
TRANSCRIPT
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.
About this talk …
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
• 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
Karen N. Johnson
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
Bringing empathy to the tester/developer relationship
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
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.
The tester/developer relationship
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
Why empathy?
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
“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
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
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
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
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 © Karen N. Johnson 2014 1
“Expressing requirements in different formats can help you find missing requirements.” Sourcehttp://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.
Resolve design gaps
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
Offer to share test equipment – from BYOD to the test lab.
Share the gear
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014 2
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.
Share the gear
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
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
Pair testing resources
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
Test ahead, test to learn and share what you learn.
Test “what if” scenarios, boundary & error conditions
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014 4
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.
Test ahead, test to learn and share what you learn.
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
Offer to review auxiliary bits of code: HTML, SQL, stored procedures, etc.
Review auxiliary code
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014 5
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.
Review auxiliary code
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
Offer to build sets of data to help test both positive and negative conditions.
Build test data sets
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014 6
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.
Build test data sets
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
Share your test ideas throughout the development process.
Share test ideas
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014 7
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.
Share test ideas
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
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.
Working with developers across distances
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @karennjohnson
Karen N. Johnson
Oredev - Tester Love Developer © Karen N. Johnson 2014