"How To Survive Agile and DevOps - A Test Management Guide" - National Software Testing Conference May 2018

If you work in Test Management at any senior level, and you read the Agile literature, then you might think that you’ll soon be out of a job. That need not be the case.

The skills that you have built up over the years can still be applied. The experience you’ve gained can still provide guidance. By revisiting the core of both Testing and Test Management we’ll understand how our lessons learned are relevant in Agile and DevOps.

This pragmatic and case study based presentation will provide the Do’s and Don'ts to help you survive, and potentially thrive, in Modern Software Development projects.

Transcript

1. How to Survive
   Agile & Devops
   A Test Management Guide
   Alan Richardson (@EvilTester)
   EvilTester.com /
   CompendiumDev.co.uk
   @EvilTester 1
   

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2. What are Agile & Devops?
   •Any Formal Definitions?
   •Approached the same in every
   company?
   •Everyone agrees on what they are?
   EvilTester.com/agile
   @EvilTester 2
   

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3. When does Testing Thrive?
   When Ambiguity is Alive,
   Then Testing will Thrive,
   With Uncertainty as well,
   Testing can Excel.
   @EvilTester 3
   

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4. Everything is up for grabs
   •Agile literature focuses on a model of
   the “Team as a System”
   • Real world is messier than this
   • Management are often not included in
   the model
   @EvilTester 4
   

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5. The QA & Testing Mix-up
   • If Quality is owned by the team
   • and QA == Testing
   • And we have Automated Testing
   • And Automated Tests
   • Then
   • What need have we for Test Management?
   @EvilTester 5
   

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6. Everything is up for grabs
   •“They” don’t know how Test
   Management Fits
   • Test Managers have to demonstrate
   @EvilTester 6
   We are confused
   about Testing
   

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7. Everything is up for grabs
   •With no formal definitions,
   • there are competing idealized models of
   the process
   @EvilTester 7
   

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8. “Nothing is true,
   everything is permitted.”
   • Hassan-I Sabbah
   • Alamut, by
   Vladimir Bartol
   • William S.
   Burroughs
   • Assassin’s Creed
   @EvilTester 8
   

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9. Idealised models clash
   Idealised model of Agile / Devops
   Clashes With
   Idealised model of Test Management
   @EvilTester 9
   

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10. Meanwhile Back in the Real world
    The Actual System of Development
    Has a Negotiable Relationship With
    Individuals with Skills and Experience
    @EvilTester 10
    

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11. Take a Systems View
    • How does ‘your’ Agile / DevOps Project
    work?
    • What are the Risks?
    • What are the Issues?
    • What can you do?
    • Amplification / Attenuation of Signals
    /Noise
    • What do people expect you to do?
    @EvilTester 11
    

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12. Take a Systems View
    • How does ‘your’ Agile / DevOps Project
    work?
    • What are the Risks?
    • What are the Issues?
    • What can you do?
    • Amplification / Attenuation of Signals
    /Noise
    • What do people expect you to do?
    @EvilTester 12
    Dynamics
    Model
    Subjective
    Model
    Skills / Experience
    Model
    Communication
    Model
    External
    ‘Role’ Model
    

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13. A Tester Model
    @EvilTester 13
    

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14. Case Study Lessons
    • My First Agile Project
    • Had to ‘carve out’ a Role, no-one knew how
    Testing fits in, drew upon Test Management
    & Testing skills
    • Filled in the ‘gaps’ in the process
    • Clarified the ‘test strategy’ across Dev & Users
    • Amplified the ‘risks’, ‘ambiguities’
    • Hands on Testing & Automating
    @EvilTester 14
    

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15. @EvilTester 15
    A Test Management Model
    

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16. Case Study Lessons
    • ‘Traditional’ Test Management within Agile
    • Line management and Skill development of
    Testers. Who else:
    • Makes sure testers can test in Agile?
    • Recruits testers, guides testing, reviews testing
    for depth and coverage, tailors lightweight
    reporting, investigates alternative automated
    execution.
    • Co-ordinates UAT? Communicates testing?
    • “Outcome” Process Risk Issues
    @EvilTester 16
    

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17. An Advisor Model
    @EvilTester 17
    

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18. Advisor Model Case Study Lessons
    • Protect teams from ‘non-agile’
    • Recruit / Mentor Testers
    • Demonstrate Automated Execution
    approaches
    • Demonstrate / Explain Exploratory and
    Technical Testing
    • Risk Amplification
    @EvilTester 18
    

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19. A Manager Model
    @EvilTester 19
    

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20. A Manager Model – Case Study
    Lessons
    • Management Skills
    • Politics, Risk Amplification, Defending the
    Testers
    • Training and Mentoring of Testers
    • Outsourcing, Recruitment
    • Working with PMs to augment management at
    different stages in the project
    • Testing
    • Automating, Tool Selection, Performance Testing
    @EvilTester 20
    

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21. A Manager / Coach Model
    @EvilTester 21
    

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22. A Manager / Coach Model - Case
    Study Lessons
    • Management Skills Required
    • Process Advocacy, Risk Advocacy
    • Career / Skill Management
    • Mentoring of Testers – right skills, right
    approaches, etc.
    • Coach Skills required
    • Mentoring developers in Testing
    • Testing Skills
    • Automating, Technical Exploratory Testing
    @EvilTester 22
    

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23. Common Elements
    • Who helps testers survive in Agile?
    • Right skills sets, appropriate approaches
    • Who helps testing survive in Agile?
    • Evidence of testing, coverage, risk identification
    and amplification
    • Core of testing is unchanged
    • We test because we want to evidence functional
    coverage, find problems, identify and mitigate
    risk
    • We can help that happen
    @EvilTester 23
    

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24. You Are A System
    • You are a System
    • Experience,
    • Skills
    • You interface with other Systems
    • Individuals,
    • Teams,
    • Management,
    • Processes
    @EvilTester 24
    

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25. Work with the Actual
    Systems, not their Ideals
    @EvilTester 25
    

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26. You Are not your Role
    • A role is an attempt to codify the INITIAL
    expectations of a person in a specific
    situation
    • Own the situation.
    • Identify the best ways to interface
    • Amplify value.
    @EvilTester 26
    

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27. Get Help When
    you Need it
    Alan Richardson
    Independent Consultant
    • EvilTester.com/agile
    • CompendiumDev.co.uk
    • JavaForTesters.com
    • SeleniumSimplified.com
    @EvilTester 27
    

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