Do Testers Have To Code… to be useful?

Lisa Crispin and Raji Bhamidipati

@lisacrispin @raji_bh

WithmaterialfromJanetGregory

A little about us Lisa(withJanetGregory):Agile

Tes)ng2009MoreAgileTes)ng:2014

@lisacrispinwww.lisacrispin.comwww.agiletester.ca

RajiBhamidipaE

Soyouwanttobeascrummaster?2016@raji_bh

www.raji.me

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We’vehearditsincethedawnof“agile”…

Everyone on the team should be able to do everything, including writing production

code

We need to automate everything!

Let’s hire some SDETs!

But shouldn’t we be trying to build quality in?

Reality Check…

•  Many(ifnotmost)jobadsaskforprogrammingskills

•  ManagersthinktestautomaEonisasilverbullet

•  Technicalskillshelptesterscommunicatewithdevs,ops,others

Our take

•  TesEngskillssuchasexploratorytesEngareamust•  Competenciestrumproles•  Thewholeteammusttakeresponsibilityforquality•  TesEngstartsatthebeginning•  Knowwhatyouneedtoaddvalue•  Thereisnoroomforzombietesters!

MulE-disciplineskills

ExpertDisciplineskills

T-Shaped Skills

Breadth of Skills

Dep

th o

f Ski

lls

Square-shaped Team

SeelinksformorebyRobLambertandAdamP.Knight

TestersneedTechnicalAwareness!!

Agileteamsalreadyhavecoders,but…

This means learning… •  TesEngframeworkyourteamselects

•  andtheDSL(domainspecificlanguage)

•  Commonlanguagewithprogrammers•  Commonlanguagewithcustomers•  Codetoread&understand•  Codetowrite?–can’thurt,butnot

absolutelyrequired•  Domainknowledge

Understand Programming Concepts

Commonvocabulary

IDEs (integrated development environment)

If you use same tools as

teammates……they can more easily help you

Feature(with

examples) UserStory

High-LevelAT

FixDefects

Code,test&automatestory

ATDD Acceptance Test Driven Development

AcceptStory Explore

Examples

Frameworks / languages / terminology ExampleofBDDformatGiventheuserhasnoexisEngaccount

Whensherequeststocreateanewaccount

Andsheentersavalidusernameandvalidpassword(rulesdefined)

ThentheinformaEonissaveduponsubmifng.

Testing Skills

Workflows,Journeys

Thinking Skills

Examples of thinking skills •  CollaboraEng,

communicaEng

•  EliciEngexamples

•  AskingquesEons

•  Gefng/deliveringinfo:

“Showme”

SEckerbyBrianMarick

1.  Findapair2.  Onepersonfacesawayfromthescreen

3.  Theotherpersonwillhave2-3minutestodescribethepictureIshownext

4.  WhenIsaystop,turnaroundanddiscussanydifferencesinwhatwasdescribed.

Testers add unique value •  Deliveryteamsalreadyhavecoders

•  ButmaynothavetesEngskillssuchas:•  ExploratorytesEng•  SpecialEessuchassecurity,performance,UX

tesEng•  EliciEngexamplesfromcustomers,turninginto

teststhatguidecoding

So, do we need to be coders?

•  Devteamsalreadyhavecoders!

•  Technicalawarenessisamust•  ThinkingskillsenableourcontribuEons

•  SpecializedtesEngskillsaddhugevalue

Where to get the skills?

Experiment!•  Studygroup,bookclub•  CommunityofPracEce•  Onlineresources•  Whatfitsyourlearning

style?•  Findthewonder!

There’s not one right way

Find ways testers can add value to your team

And then …. keep learning

More Learning •  Adzic,Gojko,Specifica)onbyExample:HowSuccessfulTeamsDelivertheRightSoDware,Manning,2011

•  Adzic,Gojko,ImpactMapping:MakingaBigImpactwithSoDwareProductsandProjects,2012ahnp://impactmapping.org

•  Gärtner,Markus,ATDDByExample:APrac)calGuidetoAcceptanceTest-DrivenDevelopment,Addison-Wesley,2012a

•  Karten,Naomi,"AreYouListening?",hnp://www.agileconnecEon.com/arEcle/are-you-listening,AgileConnecEon,2009

•  Keogh,Liz,hnp://lunivore.com-lookforherpostsonBDD,RealOpEons•  Knight,AdamP.,"T-shapedTester,SquareShapedTeam",hnp://thesocialtester.co.uk/t-shaped-tester-square-shaped-team/,2013

•  Lambert,Rob,"T-shapedTestersandTheirRoleInaTeam",hnp://thesocialtester.co.uk/t-shaped-testers-and-their-role-in-a-team/,2012

•  Levison,Mark,"TheBeginner'sMind-AnApproachtoListening",hnp://www.infoq.com/news/2008/08/beginners_mind,InfoQ,2008

•  McMillan,Darren,"MindMapping101",forTesEng:hnp://www.benertesEng.co.uk/content/?p=956,2011

•  Panon,Jeff,UserStoryMapping,2014•  Wynne,ManandAslakHellesoy,TheCucumberBook:Behavior-DrivenDevelopmentforTestersandDevelopers,PragmaEcProgrammers,2012

AgileTes)ng:APrac)calGuideforTestersandAgileTeamsMoreAgileTes)ng:LearningJourneysfortheWholeTeamwww.agiletester.ca,www.lisacrispin.comEmail:lisa@lisacrispin.com

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Save35%:hnp://informit.com/swtesEngorhnp://informit.com/agiletestUsecodeAGILETESTING

Enjoy your learning journey!�

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