A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by TestProject to record a short video about working from home. I find recording myself very difficult, but I was pleased with the end result. It gave me the confidence to give it another go.

On my desk, is my Test Sphere deck. Every now and then, I pick a random card and write down some ideas. This time, I decided to record a video instead.

Tenacious

The card I drew was the Tenacious Feelings card. Tenacity can mean that we are willing the fight for something that we want, need or believe in. If we want to do our testing in a particular way, the way we think is best, then we will defend our case. If we need additional resources so we can work more productively and efficiently, we will fight for those resources. If we find a bug that we think must be fixed, then we will do everything we can to ensure it does get fixed.

Tenacity is a good quality to have, but we must recognize that we won’t always get what we want. All we can do is present our case so the ‘powers that be’ can make an informed decision. Business stakeholders will have a good understanding of what the priorities are. They will make a decision based on the information they have been given and how it fits within those priorities.

The tester will act as an adviser, providing all the information about the bug, its impact and why the tester thinks it must be fixed.

The business will make a decision about fixing the bug based on this information. Sometimes, there will be other factors in place that will cause the business to go against this advise. It is frustrating, but it isn’t the end of the world when this happens. This doesn’t mean that the business has no respect for software testing. If they took the time to listen, then that respect is likely to be there.

I told a similar story to this a few weeks ago when I drew the Ostrich Effect card. In this story, I talked about a case where I found a bug which I believed should be high priority. However, taking the time to fix the bug would prevent us from releasing before the deadline. The business had to take into account the risk of releasing late and the risk of releasing with the bug. Its not an easy decision to make. The business can only make the best decision if it’s been provided with all the facts.

In this story, the business decided to push back the release and get the bug fixed. What if they decided against fixing the bug? It doesn’t matter. I did everything I could to persuade the business otherwise. In the end, I must respect the business’ decision.

Further Reading