Using testing mindset

to explore requirements

Toronto Agile Conference

November 14, 2016

Janet Gregory and Ardita Karaj

A little about us …

Tweet about us @janetgregoryca and @ardita_k

Backlog… so?

I hear about …..

Story Mapping...

But how to slice the first sprint/release?

MVP...But how to identify the first one?

SFD …(Sh$%%y First Draft)

Yeah, but where to begin?

Exploratory testing is simultaneously designing and executing tests to learn about the system, using your insights from the last experiment to

inform the next.

~ Elisabeth Hendrickson, author of Explore It!

To distinguish good Exploratory Testing as a disciplined form of testing:

Using a wide variety of analysis/testing techniques to target vulnerabilities from multiple perspectives.

Using charters to focus effort on those vulnerabilities that are of most interest to stakeholders.

Two key things

Essential elements

Techniques- Understanding your Ecosystem

- Exploring different Scenarios

- Alternate paths

- Chartering for focus

Execute

Learn

Design

Steer experiment

"The ecosystem of your system includes the environment in which your software lives, all the interfaces into your software, and all the external dependencies. "

~Elisabeth Hendrickson

We had a dinner together

And decided to use it as an example

Our example ecosystem

- We were starving!

- We were overwhelmed with 8 pages of menu

- We were the first in the restaurant and couldn’t see what others had ordered on their tables

- We didn’t know how BiG the tapas portions were

- We were not interested in a dessert

- We didn’t know much about each-other's food preferences

- Sangria was very easy to agree to start!

First instinct was ..

1. ‘Pre-set’ dinners, but …..TOLEDO COMBO [ 7 TAPAS TOTAL ]

My Mother’s Chicken Croquettes, Alioli Sauce

Traditional Garlic Shrimps, Amontillado Sherry

Grilled St Peter Fish,[ White Fish ] Piquillo Pepper Sauce

Grilled Fresh Veggies Topped With Goat Cheese, Garlic Bread

Grilled Beef Tenderloin Topped With Portobello, Shiitake Mushroom Sauce

Pork Tenderloin Topped With Madeira Wine Sauce

House Style Paella: Made With Shrimp, Scallops, Calamari, Mussel, Chicken, Chorizo, Saffron Rice

2. A thought was to go across the street

but.. we had already ordered the Sangria!

We decided to explore the ecosystem a bit better.

So we mapped the ecosystem

Janet and Ardi

Starving

Portion size?

Pre-set menu

Á la carte menu

Go across the street

…….

Your turn to explore your ecosystem

Problem:

You need to build an application to manage a baseball league for children

Users

administrators ,coaches, parents, umpires, children on the teams

Your users, main needs and backlog

Main needs:

- Administration

- Team management

- Games management

Product backlog

- is on the handout

Exercise 5 MinUnderstand your backlog

What's your ecosystem?

- What environment?

- What interfaces?

- Any external dependency?

Explore anyway you want.

Our problem:

What to eat from a tapas menu for 2 people

Our Scenarios:1. Use the pre-set menus with some defined choices

2. Each would chose a number of tapas and not share

3. We would chose some tapas and share

4. …..

From ecosystem to Scenarios

We chose our Scenario

Janet and Ardi

Starving

Share

Portion size?

Pre-set menu

Á la carte menu

Not shareDessert

Go across the street

…….

Our example continued …Next …

We had to choose a Scenario for our basic needs

- DECIDED 5 DISHES WOULD BE GOOD SINCE WE COULD ORDER MORE IF WE WERE STILL HUNGRY

- No desserts yet

The core: Paella

- Each of us would chose 2 others

Exercise 5 Min: Your turn What’s your approach

- What are your Scenarios?

- What are the important things for you?

Back to our example

Taking Alternative paths

while executing and learning

Vegetarian? Sea food?

Chicken?

Lamb?

Meat?

Beef?

Fish?

Shrimp?

Mushrooms?

Dessert?

Nah..

Carrots?

Simultaneous execution and learning

1. Janet chose 2 of her favourites from the shrimp selection

2. and then asked Ardita which she preferred

Exercise 5 Min: use this technique of alternative paths

- What are your alternative paths?

- How deep do you want to go on each?

- Do you still remember the important things you considered when you picked the Scenario?

- What can you execute and learn?

Our example again: Designing charters for focus

Exercise 5 Min: use this technique to create charters

- What do you want to discover?

- What resources you have?

- What Information do you want to focus on?

Wrap up

1. Ecosystem2. Scenarios3. Alternative paths4. Charters for focus

Share what you decided to do on your first MVP/Release/SFD/Sprint

Execute

Learn

Design

Steer experiment

Tweet about us @janetgregoryca and @ardita_k

Janet Gregorywww.janetgregory.cajanet@agiletester.ca

Ardita KarajArdita.karaj@gmail.com