Chunking

What is it? Chunking (psychology), a short-term memory mechanism and techniques to exploit it Chunking (writing), a method of splitting content into short, easily scannable elements, especially for web audiences Chunking (computing), a memory allocation or message transmission procedure in computer programming Pumpkin chunking, the activity of hurling pumpkins The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information George A. Miller (1956) The paper discusses the breaking up information into ‘chunks’ and the use of recoding to aid in memory storage and recall

Why use Chunking A Means of breaking down things into manageable ‘chunks’ Simplifies elements into easier to understand parts Easier to interpret and remember the detail Aids concentration and focus on key parts Helps in understanding of related items

Why use Chunking By breaking things down into chunks we can group processes or functionality Helps in organisation and management of created artefacts Aids in identification of potential duplication Aids in identification of potential items for re-use Helps to differentiate between certain potential activities

Putting it into action A starting point Test scripts based upon scenarios, use cases/stories Multiple individual scripts for variances within flows Each individual script covered an appreciable amount of the same process/functionality Large overhead in maintenance should something change within the user case/story Test team struggling to keep on top of workload for new items let alone existing items Usual time constraints compounded the issues

Navigates to Printer Settings Modifies Printer Settings User Logs in Navigates to Printer Settings Modifies Printer Settings Navigates to Document Creation Selects Document Template Prints Document Verifies Print out is as expected

Navigates to Printer Settings Modifies Printer Settings User Logs in Navigates to Printer Settings Modifies Printer Settings Navigates to Document Creation Selects Document Template Prints Document Verifies Print out is as expected User Logs in Navigates to Printer Settings Modifies Printer Settings Navigates to Document Creation Selects Document Template Prints Document Verifies Print out is as expected User Logs in Navigates to Printer Settings Modifies Printer Settings Navigates to Document Creation Selects Document Template Prints Document Verifies Print out is as expected User Logs in Navigates to Printer Settings Modifies Printer Settings Navigates to Document Creation Selects Document Template Prints Document Verifies Print out is as expected

Chunking it up Split out the test scripts into scripts dedicated to functional chunks In doing so it allows us to concentrate on each chunk as a distinct piece Create sets of tests around a chunk In doing so areas of existing duplication were identified and mitigated Generic usage scripts identified and created for re-use Impact assessment for change control easier to quantify Create a library of reference scripts that can be used over and over by multiple other scripts Reduces maintenance overheads should something change for the distinct areas Allows a more flexible approach as scripts can be cherry picked and grouped to meet particular needs for a scenario or use case flow Identifies inter relationships between tests

Navigates to Printer Settings Modifies Printer Settings User Logs in Navigates to Printer Settings Modifies Printer Settings Navigates to Document Creation Selects Document Template Prints Document Verifies Print out is as expected

Modifies Printer Settings Navigation Scripts Document handling scripts Login Scripts Navigation Scripts Modifies Printer Settings Navigation Scripts Document handling scripts Verifies Print out is as expected

Impact within the team Completely changed the philosophy within the team Increased focus on smaller pieces of work More time to devote to new tests Less overheads on maintenance Increased test coverage with regards to depth of functionality tested Team able to react to changes in a more timely fashion Beneficial side effects Greater understanding of the intricacies involved within the software under test Appreciation for the bigger picture with regards to related areas, config and hardware considerations Exposed holes in communication paths within the team and other teams Team become more flexible to the different needs of customer business units

Thoughts and considerations Can be applied across multiple levels of test activities Helps identify relationships between areas of test and the different type of test activity required Creation of common library of tests introduces its own challenges and maintenance issues Data Driven testing utilised to maximise script re-use Tool utilisation can drastically effect the implementation

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