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Struggle and Enlightenment
John N. DaughetyTeam Lead, DevelopmentHBK Investments, [email protected]
A Tale of Clarity in the Midst of Chaos courtesy of Excel
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The Scene…
• A small, old office building backing up to a car dealership
• Tight quarters, furnished affordably by other startup failures
• Dozens of busy bees dreaming up telecom software and talking idly of retirement
• Airplanes carrying banners offering “more than they pay you” to all who pass below
• Less than 10% unoccupied office space at Nortel, Alcatel HQ
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The Challenges…
• Startup company – no money or time (or desire) for formal process
• No money for test support software• Requirements not defined, scattered
throughout the brains of several• “Hallway design meetings”• Hard to hear near the windows – pages for
service techs at the dealership• Very short delivery schedules…in theory
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The Hero…
• New to the industry
• One of two testers in the company
• Release testing starts in two weeks
• The hero must prepare for testing the GUI…alone!
• It is really hard to get on the service road for 75 when he goes home each night
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The Villains…
• Developers with $$$’s in their eyes
• CEO with $$$’s in his eyes
• Marketing truly believing they don’t have to do anything to succeed
• These offices really are cramped…
• “I think I’ll buy one of those new S2000’s when I sell my stock.”
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It’s Not All Bad for the Hero
• His partner has extensive industry experience
• They have no problem communicating – typing at the same time is tough, though
• He has his own PC… with MS Office
• Much of the GUI has been created
• That dealership does great work on his car
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Goals Enter Stage Left…
• Set of test cases that must cover the GUI• “Document” that people can confirm is
correct (an ad hoc design spec)• Something even the villains will review:
– easy to read/review– easy to look at specific parts only– easily accessible
• Easily updated as the design... er, code, changes
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A Ray of Hope Appears…
• Excel can organize GUI test cases
• It supports a modular design– Easy to read all or specific parts– Easy to change as product changes
• It can be shared on the network– Everyone can view it, and it is always current
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A New Hero Emerges
• Test Cases were completed with Excel
• They clarified some potentially harmful misunderstandings
• They scared up some good bugs
• They defined the application better than any other document (or person)
• Excel saved the day!
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Now For A Legal Example…
• Dialogs are from a test-case management application– User creates, edits test cases– User creates, edits test runs– User creates, edits test scripts and manages test cases in script
• Three artifacts:– Test Case: a description of a test and the expected results– Test Run: details for execution of a test case on a specific
software release or build– Test Script: a collection of test cases performed in a specific
order
• Only Test Cases and Test Scripts will be used in the example
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Overview Worksheet
• First worksheet in workbook is overview– Screenshot of dialog– Basic information– Type– How to open– How to close– List of menu items – hyperlinks to detail– List of controls – hyperlinks to detail
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Overview Worksheet
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Control Details
• Each control has its own worksheet in the workbook
• Typical characteristics noted:– Default state when applicable (e.g.,
checked/unchecked for a checkbox control)– Contents when applicable (e.g., for a textbox control)– Behavior in response to specified actions
• Characteristics broken down by state• States applicable to a control enumerated
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Control Detail Worksheet
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A Word on Menu Items
• Top-level menu choices listed on Overview page
• Two ways to handle details– Link to other sheets in workbook– Link to other workbook with menu only
• Worksheets organize menu choices nicely
• Menu selections can link to dialogs they open or functionality they drive
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Menu Workbook – Main Menu
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Menu Workbook - SubMenu
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Navigation PathsDialog Overview
Control Detail Dialog Overview
Menu – 1st Level
Control Detail
Functional Description
Hyperlink inlist of controls
Menu – 1st Level
Menu – 2nd Level
Menu – 3rd Level
Functional Description
Hyperlinkin descriptionof action
Hyperlink in Functional Link column
Hyperlinkin Dialog Linkcolumn
Hyperlinkin Command Name
Hyperlinkin Command Name
Hyperlink inlist of controls
Hyperlinkin descriptionof action
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Back to Our Story…
• The hero has a nice testing guide
• Linking files allow users to “see” navigation
• Files that define functional design can be added to provide a complete picture
• He has free time to walk over and ogle that S2000…
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The Hero Believes in Evolution
• First, got something on paper– Excel spreadsheet with lots of text
• Improved it as he worked– Better organization– Add screenshots
• Discovered additional uses/benefits– Links to other dialogs– “Functional Design” spreadsheets
• Adapted for greater purpose– The only single source of application information– A great guide for Tech Docs team
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Requirements for the Role of Hero
• Design for portability– Ideally, keep all workbooks in a single file folder– Use relative address when creating hyperlinks (select
link files from Current Folder list choice)• Use File/Page Setup for good printed version
– Titles include sheet names– Time-stamped for “freshness rating”
• If sharing, make sure to allow read-only access– Get Edits/comments via email
• Other tools could be the hero as well– Use what you know well when possible
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The Rest of the Story…
• The Hero did lots of testing• The CEO did lots of thinking about $$ (no longer $$$)• Marketing never started thinking…• The developers really believed whatever they built would
sell• The Hero is now in another building with another
company• The S2000 is still in the showroom…• His car runs great!• As soon as the company is gone, his resume will reflect
a new job title - President, maybe…
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The Materials Presented
• I am happy to email copies of Excel files used in the presentation
• Send me a request at: [email protected]
