What is the Purpose of Testing? Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

Introduction In this session we will Confirm what the PRIMARY purpose of testing really is Ask what this means in terms of delivering test process And end by re-emphasising that without effective communication the best testing in the world adds very little real value Introduction Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

The Primary Purpose of Test Execution Is NOT to find defects The Primary Purpose of Test Execution Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

If a testing phase completes testing without finding a single defect Has testing failed? Or have developers simply done a great job? Why this is so…… Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

An Example Team A runs 1000 tests and finds 10 defects Team B runs 10 tests and finds 10 defects Which team has done the better job? An Example Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

Answer From the information provided we simply cannot tell Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process Explanation To be able to answer the question properly we need to know about the depth and breadth of requirements coverage The quality of the test scripts The rigor with which the tests were executed The nature of the defects identified Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

So what is the Primary Purpose of Testing? Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

So what is the Primary Purpose of Testing? To execute as many as tests as possible in the shortest possible time? To provide a home for failed developers? To give management someone to blame when it all goes wrong? So what is the Primary Purpose of Testing? Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

So what is the Primary Purpose of Testing? The Primary Purpose of Testing is to provide Stakeholders with Accurate, Timely and Useful information about the condition of the application under test. Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

4 Key Words The Primary Purpose of Testing is to provide Stakeholders with Accurate, Timely and information about the condition of the application under test. Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process Stakeholders The purpose of testing is NOT to allow testers to tell each other if the application is working……. It is to allow stakeholders to make informed responses to questions such as Can the current build go-live? Where are the major issues and bottlenecks in the process? Is the project running behind schedule? And Why? Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

"When a tree falls in a lonely forest, and no animal is near by to hear it, does it make a sound?” Charles Riborg Mann Communication is Key Amadori Courses: Delivering an Effective Test Process

Accurate How confident are we about our findings? Has the software been FULLY tested? If not, do we know where the gaps in our coverage are? Are our defects a true reflection of the application’s quality? Do our testcases properly test the expected functionality? Accurate Amadori Course

Accurate If our testing isn’t accurate How can Stakeholders make informed decisions about software quality? Accurate Amadori Course

Accurate information is of little value if it arrives too LATE to make a difference An EFFECTIVE test process provides the answers to stakeholders’ questions BEFORE they even ask them….. Timely Amadori Course

Useful Reporting stuff doesn’t automatically make it useful…… Not communicating useful information AND communicating useless information are both equally bad Both add zero value Useful Amadori Course

Question How would you rank the following metrics? Tests run per tester per day Requirements tested Defects raised and fixed each day Average number of release cycles it takes to fix a serious defect Question Amadori Course

Answer This is how I would rank them Requirements tested Defects raised and fixed each day Average number of release cycles it takes to fix a serious defect Tests run per tester per day And yet on many projects only the least important of the 4 is tracked……. Answer Amadori Course

Over the next 2 days I will show you how to provide Stakeholders information which is Accurate Timely Useful Even when timescales are cut short and resources are lacking Conclusion Amadori Course