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

2. 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

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

4. 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

5. 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

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

7. 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

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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. "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

14. 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
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15. Accurate If our testing isn’t accurate
How can Stakeholders make informed decisions about software quality?
Accurate
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16. 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
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17. 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
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18. 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
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19. 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
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20. 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
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