Critical Thinking in Test Design | Why Didn't You Test That?

00:00 - Introduction to guest Paul Gerrard, award-winning software engineering consultant, author and coach.

01:18 - Looking at maintainability and testability in software delivery for managers.

02:20 - Rich shares his experience of looking over a test data team, unpacking the ‘go slower to go faster' mantra and how technology capability might be brilliant but didn’t solve a problem.

04:51 - Paul Gerrard focuses on the value brought to the software delivery by testers.

06:01 - Navigating the difficulties of hierarchies and layers to get closer and even identify ‘stakeholders’ as ‘internal testing customer’.

08:27 - Huw informs us on the primary of role of testers, aligning their purpose as being critical thinkers within quality assurance.

10:46 - The benefits of easing of communication between stakeholder and tester and vice-versa happens more fluidly in smaller teams.

13:43 - Rich talks to the idea that testers could avoid jumping quickly to answering issues of risk and resiliency through ‘functional or performance' testing alone.

14:40 - Huw moves the conversation towards kicking around ideas in an open way, and not grinding out an agenda, and talks to the notion that 'creativity is not jealous'.

17:07 - Paul advocates that senior managers in organisations lead by spreading confidence amongst their broader teams to foster feedback from them on where problems are foreseeable.

19:46 - Huw’s take on managing meetings is to train managers in methods to manage meetings for the goal of improving processes and features.

23:00 - How a raft of interpersonal skills including imagination and critical thinking from testers can be priceless in early stage challenging to plug gaps in requirements.

26:22 - There’s Phycological safety around this type of candid challenge comes from resolving systemic problems that can lead stronger, more critical models for software delivery.

28:21 - Huw refers to the the need to inject a balance of team roles, from analysts to testers can encourage rigorous thinking.

31:31- Rich defines a good team and the need to build around the test team including architects and designers.

34:37 - Paul rounds out the conversation on the concept of Belbin’s Roles and De Bono competencies metaphor as a way to position that value that dropping into roles you may not initially feel comfortable with can bring to any team endeavour.

In this episode, Paul Gerrard, award-winning software engineering consultant, author and coach, brings his experience to the Why Didn't You Test That? Podcast!

Together with our hosts, Paul Gerrard discusses the difficulties of organisational hierarchies, how to identify stakeholders and how to foster a central source of knowledge for testers. All of this in turn will help your stakeholders make better decisions and improve your test strategy!

Additionally, Rich Jordan, shares his experience in managing test data teams, unpacking one of his favoured mantras of "go slower to go faster". Questioning organisational reliance on their technology, which might be brilliant, but did it solve the correct problems?

Guest Paul Gerrard, then focuses our attention on the value brought to the software delivery by testers, in that their insight and analysis brings us closer to the problem, beyond any supposed solution.

With that in mind, co-host Huw Price, informs us on the primary role of testers, and the need to align their purpose as being critical thinkers within quality assurance. This can help evolve the stakeholder perceptions for deciding and prioritising critical outcomes of any software delivery process.

This takes us to thinking about better organisational meetings, circulating on the goal of improving processes and features rather than just laying out timestamps and checklist of criteria, which pays massive dividends.

Huw Price chimes in with this telling us that kicking around ideas in an open way, and not grinding out an agenda, promotes much needed creativity in meetings, crystallising this in the maxim 'creativity is not jealous'.

Paul Gerrard, leaps off this point to say better senior managers in organisations lead by spreading confidence amongst their broader teams to foster feedback to target foreseeable problems.

To round out the conversation, Huw Price refers to the need to inject a balance of team roles, from analysts to testers, which can encourage rigorous thinking, finally playing into Rich’s final words about defining a good team.

For Rich Jordan, a good team is about getting head knowledge codified, building around the broader test team, including architects and designers, and embracing varied perspectives to inform any successful model of software delivery.