All posts by jonathankohl

process, testing

The Secrets of Faking a Test Project

Here is the slide deck: Secrets of Faking a Test Project. This is satire, but it is intended to get your attention and help you think about whether you are creating value on your projects, or merely faking it by following convention.

The Back Story

Back in 2007 I got a request to fill in for James Bach at a conference. He had an emergency to attend to and the organizers wondered if I could take his place. One of the requests was that I present James’ “Guide to Faking a Test Project” presentation because it was thought-provoking and entertaining. They sent me the slide deck and I found myself chuckling, but also feeling a bit sad about how common many of the practices are.

I couldn’t just use James’ slides because he has an inimitable style, and I had plenty of my own ideas and experiences to draw on that I wanted to share, so I used James’ slide deck as a guide and created and presented my own version.

This presentation is satirical – we challenge people to think about how they would approach a project where the goal is to release bad software, but you make it look as if you really tried to test it well. It didn’t take much effort on our part, we just looked to typical, all too common practices that are often the staple of how people approach testing projects, and presented them from a different angle.

I decided to release these slides publicly today, because almost 5 years after I first gave that presentation, this type of thing still goes on. Testers are forced into a wasteful, strict process of testing that rarely creates value. One of my colleages contacted me – she is on her first software testing project. She kept asking me about different practices that to her seemed completely counter-productive to effective testing, and asked if it was normal. Much of what she has described about her experiences are straight out of that slide deck. In this case, I think it is a naive approach. No doubt managers are much more worried about meeting impossible deadlines than finding problems that might take more time than is allocated, rather than blatant charlatans who are deliberately faking it, but sadly, the outcome is the same.

If you haven’t thought about how accepted testing approaches and “best practices” can be viewed from another perspective, I hope this is an eye opener for you. While you might not think it is particularly harmful to a project to merely follow convention, you might be faking testing to the most important stakeholder: you.

test automation

Experiences of Test Automation

I recently received my copy of Experiences of Test Automation: Case Studies of Software Test Automation. I contributed chapter 19: There’s More to Automation than Regression Testing: Thinking Outside the Box. I’m recommending this book not only because I am a contributor, but I have enjoyed the raw honesty about test automation by experienced practitioners. Finally, we have a book that provides balanced, realistic, experienced-based content.

For years, it seems that test automation writing is dominated by cheerleading, tool flogging, hype and hyperbole. (There are some exceptions, but I still run into exaggerations and how automation is an unquestioning good far too often.) The division between the promoters of the practice (ie. those who make a lot of money from it), the decision makers they convince and the technical practitioners is often deep. It can be galling to constantly see outright claptrap about how automation is a cure to all ills, or views that only talk about benefits without also pointing out drawbacks and limitations. It’s really difficult to implement something worthwhile in a world of hype and misinformation that skews implementation ideas and the expected results. This book is refreshingly different.

I agreed to contribute after talking to Dot Graham – she wanted content that was relevant, real, and honest. She said their goal for the book was a balanced view from real practitioners on the ground who would talk about good points, but we also needed to be honest about bad points and challenges we had to overcome. Dot liked my Man and Machine work and asked me to expand on that concept.

Now that I have a copy of the book, I find myself smiling at the honesty and reality described within. Did I really just read that? Where else will you find an admission of: “We tried tool____, and it was a complete disaster?“

If you’re serious about automation, consider buying this book. It is chock full of real-world experience, and you are bound to find at least one lesson that you can apply directly to your automation effort. That is worth the cost alone, especially when we are constantly bombarded with distorted ideals and hype. You won’t agree with everything, and we all have preferences and biases, but the real-world honesty is a constant theme, and a breath of fresh air.

conferences

Thank You New Zealand

We’ve had a fabulous time here over the past week. Thank you STANZ organizers for having me, and thank you to everyone who came to my talks in Wellington. We’ve enjoyed our stay and I was pleased to meet you and share ideas and experiences.

documentation, exploratory testing

Content Pointer: Documenting Exploratory Testing

My latest testing article is on documentation and exploratory testing. You can read an online version here: Documenting Exploratory Testing. (If you don’t have a login, click the Preview button to read it.) You can order a hard copy from here.

I get this question frequently:

How do we document when we are exploratory testing?

This piece describes some of the things I do on testing projects.

new technology, trends

Cool Technology: 3D Printing

Some of you know that I enjoy working on classic cars. I have a ’55 Pontiac custom, and some of my friends are master fabricators. It’s amazing to watch them work with sheet metal and create shapes and useful things. I love watching old school craftsmen create something with their hands and the correct tools. I feel sad when I realize a lot of these skills are dying off. Sometimes technology gives you hope though.

There is an emerging alternative to old school craftsmanship called 3D printing. The Economist has an interesting article here. When I read about these kinds of things, it makes me feel excited to be working in high tech.