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EuroSTAR 2008, The Hague
What testers can learnfrom
management gurusEgbert Bouman, [email protected]
An excellent tester … comes in four.
1. Test skills: methods, techniques, tools
2. IT skills: IT architecture, programming, tools
3. Soft skills: communication, management
4. Domain knowledge: understanding your (customers) business
Sources: Stuart Reid, SmarTEST, …
Test skills
Domain knowledge
Softskills
ITskills
An excellent tester … has the right attitude.
What’s the difference?
The developer …
The user …
The tester …
Constructive maliciousness:
Make things fail…
…to make things better
Testers pigheads? Don’t fool us, stupid!
We firmly disagree!
Some people think testers
are pigheads.
Ron Tolido discussed IT characters in
‘Automati seringgids’, jan
2005
Funny and food for thought!
Let’s do the test:
1 2
Let’s do the test:
1 2
So testers are not pig-headed. That’s to say…
It’s a little bit in our character First see, then believe
Cherishing our independence
And there’s nothing wrong with that Mea culpa: SmarTEST
Independent testing is crucial to IT projects
But we do have a challenge Current IT development: agile, be involved
Dedication to business and IT
How to stay independent?
The future of independent testing
Involved
Empathic
Dedicated
Smart
Adaptive
Risk aware
Persistent
but not
but not
but not
but not
but not
but not
without being
Compromised
Overly soft
Blindfolded
Too pragmatic
Unreflective
Anxious
Pig headed
Required: an extraverted and inspiring test culture
Here we go again…
What is ‘culture’, actually?
Kenichi Ohmae (McKinsey):
“The way we do things around here”
A culture simply exists
Cannot easily be made
Want to create a culture?Why not listen to the experts?
www.managementgurus.nl
Ample choice!
Which guru is gonna help us in fostering
an inspiring and extraverted test
culture?
Today: five advices from five premium gurus
1. Foster collaboration and transparancy(Prahalad)
2. Don’t underestimate anybody(Kets de Vries)
3. Create communities(Maslov)
4. Be a leader, rather than a manager(Covey)
5. Maintain your focus(Collins)
References, links and further
reading for the next slides:
www.smartest.nl
1. C.K. Prahalad
Godfather of “Core competencies”. Introduced the notion in 1990
Godfather of “Co-creation” Create a culture of collaboration and transparancy
Adopt DART model: Dialogue, Access, Risk analysis, Transparancy
Compare this to the ‘Agile Manifesto’:
1. Collaboration and Independence
Dialogue
Access
Risk analysis
Transparancy
DART is a useful framework for testers Smart, collaborative, agile
Whilst maintaining independence
Let DART inspire you to jump in the development process
avoiding the independency risk
Collaborative and agile testing…
… maintaining independency and risk awareness.
2. Manfred Kets de Vries
Psychologist and manager Author of ‘Leaders, Fools and Impostors:
Essays on the Psychology of Leadership’
Higly respected personal coach for top managers
Famous free course every year
People are complex Everybody is a betrayer,
Even you!
To a certain extent
That’s no disqalifier But culture and organisation
do affect your behaviour
Unaware: 80-95%
Aware: 5-20%, WIIFM
2. Don’t underestimate anybody
People may seem predictable History doesn’t repeat, neither do people
Many - and complex – drivers
Don’t expect altruism Project interests and personal interests should run in parallel
In mid-term and long run
Projectlead
Reqts Implement TestmanagerIT
Testmanager
Testmanager
3. Abraham Maslow
For test leads:
Two lower rows should be OK.
The opportunities are in the upper tree
American psychologist
Developed the “humanistic psychology” Each individual: unique and varied motivators
Same base motivation hierarchy
3. Create communities
Bring people together in (sub)groups E.g. Special Interest Groups
And kill three birds with one stone
Adressing uppermost Maslow levels Social: meet (professional) colleagues
Esteem: gain respect from the group
Actualisation: increase your skills
Create communities
4. Stephen Covey
American management consultant Personal, business and family values
“The seven habits of highly effective people”
habit 1 - be proactive
habit 2 - begin with the end in mind
habit 3 - put first things first
habit 4 - think win-win
habit 5 - seek first to understand and then to be understood
habit 6 - synergize
habit 7 - sharpen the saw
4. Be a leader, rather than a manager
The eighth habit: inspire others Uncover your own voice, and let it be heard…
… and help others to find their own voice.
From personal to leadership greatness The manager controls
The leader inspires
Take and give responsibility Stakeholders
Developers
Testers
5. Jim Collins
Key points from his bestseller ‘Good to Great’:
First Who ... Then What. Hire the right people.
Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith). Be honest about what you can and can not be the best at.
The Hedgehog Concept (Simplicity). Focus, stick to what you can and are the best at.
A Culture of Discipline. The right people are self disciplined about it.
Technology Accelerators. Technology is not the magic answer, but it can accelerate you.
5. Keep your focus
Testers are not expected to be surprising Neither is your financial accountant
We must be reliable, credible, trustworthy, dependable
Collins: do your good job, steady and persevering It will bring you success in the end
New day, new idea? Don’t bother, you don’t always need to!
No need to read all the gurus Just five will do
They’ll enrich you!
Keep focusand determination
Testers: from pigheads to lead inspirators
Foster collaboration and transparancy
Keep being persistent
Further reading Links and references: www.smartest.nl
SmarTEST book
Smart andhappy testing!
