Build Quality In: Sharing Testing Expertise for Product Success

by Janet Gregory and Lisa Crispin: Slides from Agile Testing Days 2015 workshop to brainstorm and prioritize skills needed to build quality in, and use a teaching pattern to transfer skills to whole team.

Transcript

1. Build  Quality  In Agile  Tes)ng  Days  2015   Potsdam     Lisa  Crispin                                          Janet  Gregory   @lisacrispin                                    @janetgregoryca   Sharing  Tes5ng  Exper5se  for  Product  Success
2. A  li>le  about  us Janet   First  agile  team:    2000   Currently  coaching,    training   TwiFer:    janetgregoryca   Email:  janet@agiletester.ca   Agile  Tes)ng;  2009   More  Agile  Tes)ng:  Oct  2014   Website:     www.agiletester.com     www.agiletester.ca   Lisa       First  agile  team  –  2000   Currently  tester  on  Pivotal  Tracker  team   TwiFer:    lisacrispin   Email:  lisa@agiletester.ca   Copyright  2015  :  Lisa  Crispin,  Janet  Gregory  –  DragonFire  Inc.   2  
3. Let’s  find  out  about  you! 3   What  are  your  competencies?  How  do  you   iden)fy  yourself?   Did  you  bring   your  curiosity  and   problems  solving   skills  today?  
4. If  you’re  siYng  with  a  table  group  with  several   people  in  your  specialty,  you  might  like  to   switch  tables  to  get  the  most  value  out  of  our   exercises.   Are  you  at  the  right  table?
5. Ways  to:   •  Involve  the  whole  team   •  Iden)fy  skills  needed  to  build  your   T-­‐shaped  skill  set   •  Grow  square-­‐shaped  team  skill   sets     •  to  transfer  tes)ng  and  other  skills   •  that  enable  the  team  to  build  quality   in       “Give-­‐aways”
6. Expecta5ons •  Experiment  with  ways  to  transfer   skills   •  Hands-­‐on  prac)ce   •  Perhaps  some  brand  new  ideas!   •  Inspect  and  adapt  as  we  go.   •  You’ll  leave  with  some  experiments   to  help  your  team  learn  the  skills   they  need  for  building  quality  in  
7. Agenda 1.  Defini)ons:  agile,  quality,  agile  tes)ng   mindset   2.  A  paFern  for  learning  and  teaching   3.  Iden)fy,  priori)ze  skills  we  need  to  build   quality  in   4.  Star)ng  with  highest  priority  skill:   1.  Skill  overview   2.  A  teaching  method   3.  Prac)ce  the  teaching  method  
8. What  is  agile?  –  As  defined  by  Elisabeth  Hendrickson  Agile  teams:   produce  a  con)nuous  stream  of  value     at  a  sustainable  pace   while  adap)ng  to  the  changing  needs  of  the   business.   Image:   www.squirrelpicnic.com    
9. • No  documenta)on   • No  process   • No  individual  responsibility   Agile  does  not  mean  ..... Agile  does  mean  ..... •  Quality  is  built  in   •  Discipline   •  Individual  responsibility  &  pride   •  Whole  team  approach  
10. How  do  we  define  quality? 10   • "Quality  is  value  to  some  person.”     –  Jerry  Weinberg   • Internal  vs  external  quality   • What  does  it  mean  to  you  and  your  team?    
11. Agile  Tes5ng  Mindset Instead  of     – We’re  here  to  find  bugs  …  or  ensure   requirements  are  met  …  or  break   the  sohware  …   Think   – What  can  I  do  to  help  deliver   the  sohware  successfully!  
12. Tes5ng  on  agile  projects  is  …….. more  than  “just”  tes)ng  code                            It’s  an  ac0vity  -­‐  not  a  phase   12  
13. Mul)-­‐  discipline   skills   Expert     Discipline  skills   T-­‐Shaped  Skills
14. Exercise  -­‐  Your  skills •  What’s  in  your  tes)ng  toolbox?   •  Write  down  the  skills  you  can  contribute  to   your  team  that  help  build  in  quality     •  ONE  skill  per  s)cky  note   •  Consider  -­‐  can  you  teach  this  skill  to  others?     Do  you  think  you  can   teach  those  skills  to   others?    
15. Breadth of Skills Depth of Skills Square-­‐shaped  Team See  links  for   more  by  Rob   Lambert  and   Adam  P.  Knight  
16. Cube-­‐shaped  skills! Idea from Marcelo Leite
17. What  might  be  in  a  team’s  toolbox? 17   In  your  table  group:   1.  Put  everyone’s  s)cky  notes  of  skills   on  your  group’s  wall  chart   2.  Group  similar,  related  skills  in  the   appropriate  categories.     3.  Add  new  categories  as  needed   4.  Iden)fy  gaps  and  add  missing  skills   that  would  help  build  quality  in  
18. Let’s  look  at  skills  needed  for… 18   Guiding  development  with  business-­‐facing  tests   Several  “flavors”:   • ATDD:  Acceptance  Test-­‐Driven  Development   • BDD  –  Behavior-­‐driven  development   • SBE  –  Specifica)on  by  example     We’ll  explore  ATDD      
19. Feature   (with   examples)   User   Story   High-­‐ Level   AT   Fix   Defects   Code,  test  &  automate  story   ATDD Acceptance  Test  Driven  Development Accept   Story   Explore   Examples  
20. User   Story   Expand   Tests   High   Level   AT   Auto   Tests   Code   &   Execute   Tests   Explore   Exploratory   Tes)ng   Accept   Story   Fix   Defects   Explore   Examples   Copyright  2015  :  Lisa  Crispin,  Janet  Gregory  –  DragonFire  Inc.   20   Feature   (with  e.g.)   Other   Tes)ng  
21. Priori5ze  skills  to  build  quality  in 21   Did  you  think  of  any  more  skills  needed?   In  your  table  group:   •  Write  any  new  skills,  one  per  s)cky,  and  add  to  your   group’s  wall  chart.     •  Dot  vote  to  choose  top  3  skill  areas  on  your  chart.  Each   person  gets  3  votes,  to  use  on  1  –  3  skill  areas.  Use  a   marker,  make  visible  marks.   •  Appoint  a  representa)ve  to  write  top  3  skill  categories,   one  per  s)cky  note,  and  put  on  whole  class  wall  chart   •  Again  group  similar  skills  into  categories,  add  categories  as   needed    
22. Let’s  look  at  our  priority  categories 22   •  Any  trends?  Surprises?   •  Are  they  granular,  clear   enough?   •  What’s  important  for  the   whole  team?  For  building  in   quality?    
23. Let’s  priori5ze  again On  the  whole  class  wall  chart:   • Vote  for  the  categories  of  skills  that  build  in   quality  that  you  want  to  explore  today   23  
24. Transferring  tes5ng  skills 24   • Tes)ng  has  to  “scale”   • Whole  team  commitment  indicates   willingness   • But  each  team  member  needs  skills  to  make   it  work   • How  do  we  transfer  those  skills?  
25. Pa>erns  to  effect  change 25   Fearless  Change  (2008)  &     More  Fearless  Change  (2015)     by  MaryLynn  Manns  and  Linda  Rising         #1  Just  Enough:     To  ease  learners  into  difficult  concepts  of  a  new   idea,  give  a  brief  intro  and  make  more  info  available   when  they  are  ready     #2  Persistent  PR:     Keep  the  new  idea  visible  by  placing  reminders   throughout  the  organiza)on,  for  example,  the  team   work  area.    
26. Some  collabora5ve  techniques 26   Conversa)ons   Use  models   Use  paFerns   Pair   Brown  bag  lunches   Book  clubs   Retrospec)ves     Show  by  example   Group  exercises   Play  games   Drawing  (ex.  mind  maps)   Experiment   Learning  )me   Coaching  
27. Our  skills  transfer  pa>ern 27   • Skill:  Introduce  the  skill,  ideally  while   drawing  on  a  whiteboard   • Teaching  method:  Choose  a  collabora)ve   technique   • Exercise:  Design  a  hands-­‐on  exercise  or   simula)on  to  prac)ce  the  skill   Make  these  small,  frugal  experiments.  It’s  ok   to  fail.  
28. Let’s  show  you  an  example! 28   Then  we  will  move  on  to   your  high  priority  topics.  
29. 29   Skills for Continuous Improvement
30. Skill:  Con5nuous  Improvement   30   Agile  Principle  #14     •  Teams  reflect  on  how  to  become  more   effec)ve  and  then  adjusts  behaviour   accordingly.     Deming’s  principle  #5   •  Reduce  varia)on  in  all  aspects   •  Example:  planning,  service,  produc)on  quality  
31. Use  retrospec5ves  effec5vely 31   1.  Iden)fy  the  biggest  problem  /  obstacle   2.  Set  SMART  goals     3.  Brainstorm  small  experiments  to  chip  away   at  the  problem   4.  Revisit  at  next  retrospec)ve.     •  Is  it  s)ll  the  biggest  problem?  
32. Other  ways  to  iden5fy,  solve  problems 32   • 5  Whys   • Fishbone  diagram   • Root  cause  analysis   • Brainstorming  techniques  for  solu)oning   •  Mind  mapping   •  Impact  mapping   •  Brain  wri)ng   •  Brain  wri)ng  with  a  twist  
33. Teaching  method:  Learn  by  Doing 33   Learn  by  doing.     Prac)ce  a  brainstorming  technique:  Brain   wri)ng  (or  drawing)  with  a  twist.     Let’s  try  it!  
34. Exercise:  Brain  wri5ng 34   1.  Start  on  your  flipchart   2.  Write,  draw,  mind  map  your  ideas  for   ways  to  teach,  encourage  con)nuous   improvement   3.  Aher  five-­‐ten  minutes,  move  right  to  the   next  team’s  flip  chart    (we’ll  call  )me)   4.  Read  the  ideas  wriFen  down,  and  add   more  of  your  own.   5.  Con)nue  for  3  rounds  
35. Now  let’s  explore  your  topics!   35  
36. Wrap  up 36  
37. Your  Individual  Ac5on  Plan Design  at  least  two   experiments  you   can  try  with  your   own  team  to   transfer  tes)ng   skills         37  
38. Building  Quality  In •  You  can  be  a  change  agent!   •  Make  them  team  problems  to  solve   •  Bring  up  quality  and  tes)ng  issues  in  standups,   retrospec)ves   •  Get  the  whole  team  involved   •  Transfer  skills   •  Experiment!   38  
39. There’s  not  one  right  way       Find  ways  that  you  can  add  value  to  your   team       And  then  ….  keep  learning     Copyright  2015  :  Lisa  Crispin,  Janet  Gregory  –  DragonFire  Inc.   39  
40. More  Learning •  Knight,  Adam  P.,  "T-­‐shaped  Tester,  Square  Shaped  Team",  hFp:// thesocialtester.co.uk/t-­‐shaped-­‐tester-­‐square-­‐shaped-­‐team/,  2013   •  Levison,  Mark,  "The  Beginner's  Mind  -­‐  An  Approach  to  Listening",  hFp:// www.infoq.com/news/2008/08/beginners_mind,  InfoQ,  2008   •  McMillan,  Darren,  "Mind  Mapping  101",  for  Tes)ng:  hFp:// www.beFertes)ng.co.uk/content/?p=956,  2011   •  More  Fearless  Change,  2015,  Mary  Lynn  Manns  and  Linda  Rising,  Addison-­‐ Wesley   •  Carvalho,  Paul  –  Pyramid  and  Quadrant  hFp://swtester.blogspot.ca/2015/04/ agile-­‐tes)ng-­‐automa)on.html   •  Crispin,  Lisa,  "Applying  the  Dreyfus  Model  of  Skill  Acquisi)on",  hFp://bit.ly/ 20l9ipo,  2012   •  Gregory,  Janet,  "About  Learning  2",  hFp://janetgregory.ca/about-­‐learning-­‐2/  ,   2010   •  Wynne,  MaF,    "Introducing  Example  Mapping",  hFp://bit.ly/1iw19w4   •  Crispin,  Lisa,  "Applying  the  Dreyfus  Model  of  Skill  Acquisi)on",   40  
41. Agile  TesDng:  A  PracDcal  Guide  for  Testers  and  Agile  Teams   More  Agile  TesDng:  Learning  Journeys  for  the  Whole  Team   By  Janet  Gregory  and  Lisa  Crispin     www.agiletester.ca   www.agiletester.com   Contact  info   www.janetgregory.ca   Email:  janet@agiletester.ca   TwiFer:  janetgregoryca   41   lisacrispin.com   Email:  lisa@agiletester.ca   TwiFer:  lisacrispin     Copyright  2015  :  Lisa  Crispin,  Janet  Gregory  –  DragonFire  Inc.