“Whodunit?” What the great detectives have taught me about testing. Robert Sabourin President & Principal consultant AmiBug.Com, Inc. Montreal, Canada rsabourin@amibug.com 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

“Whodunit?” Overview Learning, Metaphors Sherlock Holmes Hercules Poirot Dick Tracy Sgt Friday Lt Columbo Quincy MacGuyver Other lessons 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Learning and Metaphors Teaching Learning Retaining Applying knowledge Share experiences Don’t get carried away … 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Sherlock Holmes A. Canon Doyle “The great detective” Partner Dr. Watson Nemesis Dr. Moriarity Stories, novels Theater, Movie, Radio 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Sherlock Holmes Deductive reasoning Analysis and action “Elementary” Reconstruct event chains “See and observe” Footprints, ashes, creosote 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Sherlock Holmes Exploratory testing Observe, assess, act Attention all details Traps to isolate bugs Improbable not impossible Work with a partner who takes great notes 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Hercule Poirot Agatha Christie “Belgian Detective” Refugee in England Novels, short stories Movies, TV 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Hercule Poirot Prim and Proper In place & in order All must make sense Attire Mustaches Home Garden In place & in order All must make sense Everyone is suspected Persistent Question everything 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Hercule Poirot Account for all you observe Persistent questioning Be organized and orderly Act with professional integrity – be proud Do not rely on hearsay, check for yourself 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Dick Tracy Chester Gould “stop gangsters” Comic strips Comic books Movie serials Movies 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Dick Tracy Guns blazing Fighting villains Weird evil bad guys Nothing subtle Blunt and to the point Action oriented 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Dick Tracy Develop testing attacks Ferret out specific bugs Stress testing Protection testing Software Breaking 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Sgt. Friday Dragnet Jack Webb producer/star American TV series Depicted typical police work Based on real cases 1950s and later 1960s 360+ original episodes Movie + Radio too 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Sgt. Friday “Just the facts” Pragmatic Process, policies & procedures Reconfirm every detail Follow-up every lead Document everything Work in a team! (always a pair of officers) 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Sgt. Friday Find the right approach Test Systematically Checklists are useful Note new test ideas Follow up all leads Cross check details (oracles) Capture excellence 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Lt. Columbo Peter Falk Columbo Television movies NBC 1971 to present 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Lt. Columbo “Just one more thing” Stories about wife “acts naive” Gains confidence Catch crook off guard Worn trench coat, rare trashed Peugeot 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Lt. Columbo Question strategically Gain confidence Tease the system into revealing bugs Be persistent Keep close to problem area – keep coming back 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Lt. Columbo Caution – use only in emergency situations Get developers to give us information if they feel we do not understand what is going on 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Quincy Jack Klugman NBC 1976-1983 Television series First of ME genre 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Quincy Medical Examiner Social responsible Crime Fighting Coroner Forensic analysis Team of specialists 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

Quincy Forensic testing Study failed system Understand causes During test capture tons of info Study how software impacts environment Know peers in other teams 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

MacGyver Produced by Henry Winkler (The Fonz) ABC TV 1985-1992 “new series” 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

MacGyver The phoenix Out of the fire “jerry-rig solutions” Use tools at hand Leveraging Survival knowledge “Just Enough” Duct tape Swiss army knife 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

MacGyver Fans 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

MacGyver Be resourceful Master use of basic tools In testing what are: Swiss Army knife Duct Tape Survival knowledge Apply skills and experience to new problems Think on your feet Use tools and information at hand 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

"No! Try not, Do. Or do not. There is no try." Yoda "No! Try not, Do. Or do not. There is no try." 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

“Bond - James Bond” What I learned from James Bond There is a magic project somewhere Testers get the tools they need from Q Tools cost a lot and really work Magic bug finding lasers Parachute ejector seats to avoid PMs Testers find bugs Testers solve all the problems Testers save the world Testers get the girl With a license to kill so developers answer your questions And actually read your bug reports! 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

“Metaphors are limited” Testers Great Detectives See a project all the way through Stop after apprehending the crook Watch developers take the credit Are always seen as the hero Trudging along all sorts of projects Always assigned to cool projects 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004

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Thank You Questions? 29-May-19 © Robert Sabourin, 2004