Effortless
Software
Development
NERDEARLA 2023 | BUENOS AIRES
@afilina@phpc.social
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Waiting for user tests
Merge conflicts
Adding missing requirements
Waiting on someone else
Someone you never heard of
disagrees with requirements
Redesign
Writing code
Figuring out requirements
50-page document
Approving the document
20 levels of inheritance
800-line methods
6 levels of nested IFs
What does
array2 contain?
How to unit-test it?
Is this null right now?
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Anna Filina
‣ Coding since 1997.
‣ PHP, Java, C#, etc.
‣ Legacy archaeology.
‣ Test automation.
‣ Talks and workshops.
‣ YouTube videos.
‣ Filina Consulting.
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1/3
Better
Specifications
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Getting an answer
Dev
Requirements User testing
50-page
document
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Question 2
Missing use cases / redesign More testing
er
User testing
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Recommendation
‣ Get a product owner.
‣ With direct & quick access.
‣ Should not have other roles in the org.
‣ Should not delegate questions.
‣ Communicate requirements using acceptance tests.
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Requirements
Collection of use cases to implement.
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I select a
membership option
I submit valid credit
card details
I should see a
payment receipt
Requirements
Use cases
(scenarios)
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Scenario
Dev
Requirements User testing
Use cases
(scenarios)
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2/3
Iterative Design
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Design Dev
Approval
Mistake in
design
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The map is not the territory.
— Alfred Korzybski
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Recommendation
‣ Sequence or activity diagram.
‣ Minimal code to validate design.
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API
UI
User
Select membership
Order
Create order {product_code}
Payment screen
Enter payment details
Receipt {confirmation_num}
Finalize order {card}
Receipt
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3/3
More Cooks
in the Kitchen
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Recommendation
‣ Team programming: validate the design + shared vision.
‣ Split the work: implementation + tests.
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API
UI
User
Select membership
Order
Create order {product_code}
Payment screen
Enter payment details
Receipt {confirmation_num}
Finalize order {card}
Receipt
Split the Work
‣ Test handler.
‣ Implement interfaces + tests.
‣ Implement validation of DTOs + tests.
‣ Implement steps of acceptance tests.
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Acceptance Tests
‣ Both for backend and frontend.
‣ Just for the backend.
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HTTP request 1
HTTP request 2
Assertion
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Mission
Accomplished
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Lessons Learned
‣ Code is living documentation.
‣ Don't try to figure everything out upfront (unknowns).
‣ Mistakes are normal (fail fast).
‣ Work together more often.