Transcript No Slide Title

Should Test Managers Get Emotionally
Involved?
Paul Gerrard
Gerrard Consulting
1 Old Forge Close
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 2RD UK
e: [email protected]
w: http://gerrardconsulting.com
t: 01628 639173
Slide 1
Background
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Countless conversations with emotional Test
Managers
Bewilderment, frustration, helplessness, anxiety,
fear, apprehension, anger, relief, joy etc...
Should emotion be part of test management?
Can we control the emotions, particularly worry?
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Caveat: I’m not a psychologist (thank goodness).
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Assurance with Intelligence
Worry is stressful and destructive
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Seem to be large range of emotions involved in test
management
But this goes for everyone on the project
Testers and test managers seem more prone to worry
and upset – why?
To be concerned is professional (and is a key part of
your job), but worry can be stressful and destructive
Worry and stress are a pre-cursor to more serious
emotions and breakdowns
How can we counter worry, whilst still being
concerned?.
Slide 4
Assurance with Intelligence
worry (from dictionary.com)
Pronunciation [wur-ee, wuhr-ee]
1.
to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.
2.
to move with effort: an old car worrying uphill. –verb (used with object)
3.
to torment with cares, anxieties, etc.; trouble; plague.
4.
to seize, esp. by the throat, with the teeth and shake or mangle, as one
animal does another.
5.
to harass by repeated biting, snapping, etc. –noun
6.
a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.
7.
a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.
8.
act of worrying.
9.
Fox Hunting. the action of the hounds in tearing to pieces the carcass of
a fox. —Verb phrase
10. worry along or through, Informal. to progress or succeed by constant
effort, despite difficulty: to worry through an intolerable situation.
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How can we counter worry?
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Worry is there for a reason
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A state of mind intended to focus you on self-preservation - a
good thing!
But worry can also focus you on other people’s problems, not
your own
There’s an aspect of us all that expects perfection,
completion, certainty – but we just can’t have it
Worry about what is under your control and what you can
change, not what you can’t control
Perhaps, it’s all about managing expectations - ours and
others’?
Perhaps we can identify expectation mismatches and fix
them?
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The Weight of Expectation
What we
A professional
expect
Whatfrom
others
job
ourselves
expect from
us
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Seven areas of expectation – six of
frustration, one of perfection
ID
We Expect
Others Expect
Its Our Job
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Slide 8
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1. We expect, others don’t, it is not
part of the job
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Dangerous assumptions for a test manager:
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Perfect requirements
Delivery on time
High quality software to test
100% coverage
Fully resourced teams
Reasonable timescales
Theoretical, absolute, ideal world situations are
for the classroom, not the real world
We need to negotiate, assume, caveat and
compromise.
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2. We expect, others expect, but it is
not part of the job
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Certainty is our expectation and we struggle to achieve it
Testers argue for objective exit criteria and get them in plans
But should we get frustrated when they aren’t met?
Exit criteria are not concrete hurdles or gates that must be
overcome on the very day that testing completes
- Imagine what kind of crystal ball is required to meet that expectation!
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They are simply planning assumptions
When they are not met on the day, exit criteria should trigger a
change in project behaviour
Slide 10
Extend test phase to meet criteria
Realign expectations of quality (downwards)
Review our perception of risk
Adjust the project plan to adjust approach, timescales, resource.
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3. We expect, others don’t expect, but
it is part of the job
Do we ever expect testing to go smoothly?
 Bumpy rides seem to be par for the course
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Software isn’t ready (but we carry on anyway)
We find more bugs
It takes longer, it costs more
The system just doesn’t work
Inexperienced managers and stakeholders are
surprised and upset by this
 We have to manage their expectations.
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4. We don’t expect, others expect,
and it is part of the job
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We’d all like to think that
- We don’t take the acceptance decision
- We just provide evidence
- It’s a stakeholder decision
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But our stakeholders need advice beyond raw
test statistics
We need to be expert witnesses
- Able to analyse AND interpret stats
- Willing to advise safer and less safe courses of action
- Articulate the risks of proceeding, whilst
understanding the business risks of not proceeding.
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5. We don’t expect, others expect,
and it is not part of the job
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Our stakeholders want commitments, but we
need to be very careful what we promise
- Zero defects, 100% coverage of everything, absolute
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certainty
A surprise-free test phase
An easy exit or acceptance decision
Finishing on time and to budget
Infinite attention to detail and a perfect outcome
in a finite time and budget is an irrational
expectation.
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6. We don’t expect, others don’t
expect, but it is part of the job
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Most of us are in testing because we have a passion for
- Finding problems
- Getting things right
- Telling the truth
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We know there’s a psychological aspect to testing and
our relationship with developers and management
We shouldn’t get ‘too emotional’ when:
- Our plans are ‘re-scoped’
- Defects appear to be acceptable
- We have to lower our standards to deliver
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Get over it – it’s part of the job.
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How to get out of the mess of
expectations
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Define and understand the job that is required
and is possible (very important!) in your context
Ensure your peers, stakeholders and managers
understand what that job is
Expect to do your job; anything out of scope is a
Change Request 
Part of everyone’s job is expectation management
Folk just expect a little more than is possible from
testing.
Slide 15
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Admit it – you’ve been emotional
Are you bovvered?
 Want to share an experience or two?
 How do you ‘get over it’?
 Where are the really sensitive areas we need
to watch out for?
 Do we need to worry about other peoples’
emotions?
 Does anyone care about your emotions?
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Slide 16
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Should Test Managers Get
Emotionally Involved?
I think it’s inevitable.
Slide 17
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