Mindmaps and heuristics tester's best friends - lalit bhamare

Mindmaps and Heuristics

Tester's Best Friends in Fast Changing Environment

Lalitkumar BhamareSTeP-IN Conference

June 18th 2014

Speaker profile

Lalitkumar Bhamare is currently working with one large investment bank as

a Test Analyst. He is also the Co-Founder and Chief Editor of most

popular software testing magazine Tea-time with Testers. Lalit‟s particular

specialties are his Testing Skills, Test Management, Teaching Testing and

providing testing related consultation to project teams.

He has been working as Assistant Instructor to AST's BBST foundations

courses and also conducts Rapid Software Testing full day trainings at his

workplace. Lalit regularly assists James Bach in his Rapid Testing Intensive

Online trainings.

Through is world famous magazine Tea-time with Testers, Lalit is active in his

personal mission of improving the state of software testing by collaborating

with leading authors, thought leaders and expert practitioners as well as by

volunteering his time to help fellow testers by writing his blog on software

testing. His tireless dedication to the advancement of software testing in

general is often referred to as a hobby in addition to a job due to the

enjoyment and satisfaction he gains from his efforts.

Contact Lalit on [email protected] or on Twitter @Lalitbhamare

Housekeepingnotes & requests…

• We all learn by sharing what we know. This tutorial is

based on my interpretation of ideas that are originally

brought up by other experts along with some of my own.

• Feel free to contribute your thoughts or ask the

questions you have at any point of time during this

session.

• If your question can be answered in short , we‟ll talk

about it readily else please wait until the session ends.

Index

1. Warming up

2. An approach towards Test Design

3. Introduction to Mind-mapping

4. Mind-mapping in Software Testing

5. Techniques and Tips

6. Heuristics

7. Summary

Warming up with ‘What is’ stuff

1. What is Testing?

2. What is Test Case?

3. What is Test Strategy?

What is Testing ?

Software testing is an investigation conducted to

provide stakeholders with information about the

quality of the product or service under test.

- Dr. Cem Kaner

What is Test Case ?

A test case is one particular instance or variation

of a test idea.

- James Bach

What is Test Strategy ?

A test strategy is the set of big-picture ideas embodying the

design of a test effort. It‟s the significant values that will inspire,

influence and ultimately drive your testing, and the overall

decisions you have made about ways and means of delivering

on those values.

Note that was “overall” decisions. A strategy is not a detailed

plan. It‟s the design behind the plan that you, as a skilled

tester, have thought about and developed.

- Fiona Charles

An approach towards Test Design

There are two different ways (approach) a tester

can design her tests :

1. Easy approach

2. Not so difficult approach

Easy approach

• I call it as Just Do It approach (aka lazy tester‟s approach)

Close look at Just do it approach

This is how unskilled testers design their tests -

1. Read FRD when it comes (without much questioning)

2. Hunt down mentioned requirements

3. Convert them in test scenarios

4. Use permutations/combinations for scenarios and write detailed test cases

5. Hurray…it‟s DONE !

Drawbacks of Just do it approach

• Poor test coverage

• Less scope for investigation of product.

• Can not be used effectively to present

information

• Does not give big-picture ideas that help

to design and develop test strategy.

• No scope for impact analysis

• Inadequate test ideas and much more ….

Still some testers follow this approach because they think….

• It saves their time.

• It helps to train new testers.

• It makes their number based reporting easy.

There is another (not so difficult) approach that…

Saves considerable time of test design

Ensures high test coverage

and can easily deal with changing requirements.

It‟s called Mind-mapping !

What is Mind-mapping ?

• A mind map is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts.

• It is a visual thinking tool that helps structuring information, helping youto better analyze, comprehend, synthesize, recall and generate newideas.

Mindmapping in Testing :

Effective Requirement Review:

Effective Requirement Review:

Easy requirement analysis and gap analysis

Easy to highlight suggestions, feedback at relevant places

Easy and quick mode of communication (where stakeholders can easily

relate your feedback/questions/suggestions to the topic without any confusion.)

Relief from writing lengthy emails (and mail chains) to explain your

ideas and concerns

Impact analysis:

Mindmap/image credit – Darren McMillan [http://www.bettertesting.co.uk]

Impact analysis:

Impact analysis:

Big picture view of integration points & influences.

Easy impact analysis

Can add extensive notes to describe important information /test conditions

Easy to update and maintain

As everything is visibly in front of you, your mind begins to naturally consider

more aspects of the feature in turn generating more and better test

conditions, that you might previously not have thought of when writing scripted

test cases in an excel spread sheet.

Adding more test ideas/test types (enhanced

coverage):


• Test conditions/cases can be split into different types of testing.

• Can have generic template of all testing types so that you would at least

attempt to consider if any conditions need to exist for that testing type.

• From splitting these test conditions into different types of testing, you’ll find that

you think more, thereby generating much better test cases for that functional

area, since you are paying much more attention to what you’ll need to test.

• You can also add in a rules section for everything that the requirements expect,

say for example pre-conditions, dependencies etc.

Adding more test ideas/test types (enhanced

coverage):

Test Planning:


Test Planning:

Mindmap/image credit – Bernice Neil Ruhland [http://thetestersedge.com]

Project Dashboard:

Mindmap/image credit – Bernice Neil Ruhland [http://thetestersedge.com]

Test Planning:

Works as a platform to generate ideas more efficiently resulting in better

planning

Discussing the scope with stakeholders the map will quickly evolve, with

new tasks being added and unneeded ones being de-scoped.

Easy to convert into a formal plan, or list of tasks on a task

management system [QC, TFS or other tools]

Easy and quick test reporting:Session Report


Daily Test/Status Report


Test Completion Report

Sample Test report by Lalit

Focus/Unfocus: Filters

20/06/201412 | Mind-maps in Software Testing | 27

September 201232

Focus/Unfocus: Filters

Nodes on mindmap

easily get converted

to such tree structure

that you can dump in

your test management

tool.

Alternative to detailed scripted test cases:

Mind-map shows path through the application/feature (similar to steps in a test case)

Mind-map can easily be dumped into a (tree like) structure that can serve as a „stepwise‟

guide to your test.

Requirements change they always do & often are not strictly followed. It‟s easier to

change & add conditions in the map as compared to do so once they‟ve reached your test

management tool.

With the addition of a better testing mindset using the mind map you‟ll be more aware of

the impact of a requirements change, so you‟ll be able to write better conditions around it.


Heuristics

What is heuristic?

A fallible method to solve a problem or making decision.

- Rapid Software Testing by James Bach

There are heuristics for almost all testing problems.

Testing heuristics empower you to think beyond your initial ideas…

Image credit – https://www.designheuristics.com

Heuristics for Critical Thinking/Requirement Analysis:

1. MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB

- from “Are Your Lights On?” by Jerry Weinberg

Mary had a little lamb --- it was hers, not someone else’s

Mary had a little lamb --- but she doesn’t have it anymore

Mary had a little lamb --- just one, not several

Mary had a little lamb --- it was very, very small

Mary had a little lamb --- not a goat, a chicken, etc

Mary had a little lamb --- but John still has his

2. HUH? REALLY? SO??

- Heuristic for Critical thinking by James Bach

Huh? – Do I understand it?

Consider this requirement/statement:

System operates on input voltage range of 100-250 VAC

Really? – How do I know what you (requirement/statement) say(s) is true?

So? – Is that the only solution? What can I do next with that information?

Heuristics for Test Coverage/Design :

A signed in user should be able to search for stock price

How will you test this?

1. San Francisco Depot (SFDIPOT)

Image credit – http://mgphoto.de

- From Heuristic Test Strategy Model by James Bach

Structure - everything that comprises the physical product.

Function - everything that the product does.

Data - everything that the product processes.

Interfaces - every conduit by which the product is accessed or expressed.

Platform - everything on which the product depends (and that is outside your project).

Operations - how the product will be used.

Time - any relationship between the product and time.

2. Touring Heuristic (FCC CUTS VIDS)

- Heuristic for product touring by Michael Kelly

Heuristics for Mobile Apps Testing:

1. I SLICED UP FUN!

- Heuristic for Mobile Apps Testing by Jonathan Kohl

2. COP FLUNG GUN

– Created by Dhanasekara Subramanian (Moolya Testing)

• Communication

• Orientation

• Platform

• Function

• Location

• User Scenarios

• Network

• Gesture

• Guidelines

• Updates

• Notifications

Referrence: http://www.moolya.com/blogs/2012/04/121/Test-Mobile-applications-with-COP-who-FLUNG-GUN

Oracle Heuristic for problem finding :

(F)EW HICCUPS:

- Heuristic by James Bach and Michael Bolton

Will there be a problem if product‟s behaviour is (in)consistent

with…Explainability?

World?

History?

Image?

Comparable Products?

Claims?User Expectations?

Purpose?Product?

Statutes and Standards?

Familiar Problems?

Oracle Heuristic for Defect Reporting:

DISCCOH:– Created by Jyothi Rangaiah

D - DISCOMFORT

I - INQUISITORY

S - SOME CASES

S - SUGGESTION

C - CASE CLOSED

O - ORIGINALLY

H – HISTORY

Heuristic approach to bug reporting

(Tea-time with Testers magazine – February 2014 issue)

http://media.wix.com/ugd/c47e45_c5fd2d874ad947059ea50303fd49a190.pdf

Heuristic for creating your project specific Oracle

Heuristic:

Once you find out failure patterns with your systems/products it can

serve as Oracle Heuristic for future…

HEEENA: – Created by Lalit Bhamare

Mindmaps and heuristics tester's best friends - lalit bhamare

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