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Information Overload and Bad Decisions John Stevenson Tester

Lets Test Conference 20-22nd May 2013

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The Internet?

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Welcome to the Internet!

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The Internet: Pictures of Cats, Unicorns and

Rainbows! #LetsTest

A TWEET MOMENT!

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Agenda

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What is

Information

Overload?

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Fooled Ya!

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What has this

to do

with testing?

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What can

we do?

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Q & A

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D. Allen and T. D. Wilson,

“Information overload: Context and causes”

Information overload occurs

when the information available

exceeds the user's ability to

process it

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The human brain can store about 3 Terabytes

of info this is less than 1 millionth of the

information being produced each day.

#LetsTest

A TWEET MOMENT!

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Future Shock – Alvin Toffler

We have a limited capacity

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Future Shock – Alvin Toffler

It has been seen that

overloading leads to a serious

breakdown of performance

(sometimes with dangerous

results)

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Future Shock – Alvin Toffler

We are, in other words, forcing

them to process information at

a far more rapid pace than was

necessary in slowly-evolving

societies.

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Future Shock – Alvin Toffler

There can be little doubt that

we are subjecting at least some

of them to cognitive

overstimulation.

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Future Shock – Alvin Toffler 1972

What consequences this may

have for mental health in the

techno-societies has yet to be

determined.

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Information overload could prove to be bad

for our mental health - Future Shock - Alvin

Toffler (1972) #LetsTest

A TWEET MOMENT!

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AUDIENCE participation time!

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What do you see?

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You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on

Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways

You're Deluding Yourself (David McRaney)

.. your brain hates ambiguity and is

willing to take shortcuts to remove it

from any situation. If there is nothing

else to go on, you will use what is

available. When pattern recognition

fails, you create patterns of your own.

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When pattern recognition fails, you create

patterns of your own - You Are Not So Smart -

David McRaney #LetsTest

A TWEET MOMENT!

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Numbers Joke: Did you hear about the

statistician who drowned whilst crossing a

river which had an average depth of 3 foot.

#LetsTest

A TWEET MOMENT!

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Numbers need a story!

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Telling the story of

numbers is vital.

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Using only numbers to

measure WILL measure

the wrong thing!

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Noticing and missing things

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Survey Results

.

How many animals did Moses take in the ark?

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Anchoring/Priming

Do not rely only on

the requirements

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Using only requirements for #testing can

limit your thinking #LetsTest

A TWEET MOMENT!

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How does this

relate to testing?

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We base our testing

decisions on our

biases and ‘quick’

judgements

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We create patterns

from our tests where

no patterns may exist

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we ‘by design’ follow

the path of least

resistance with our

thinking

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We make irrational

quick choices that

we are unaware we

are making.

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When we are faced

with too much

information we may not

be able to make

decisions

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Information, the very thing that makes it

possible to be an engineer.. is threatening

our ability to do our work. IEEE Spectrum

#LetsTest

A TWEET MOMENT!

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We constantly fail to

apply critical thinking

to our testing.

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Huh?

Really?

So?

James Bach

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What can we do?

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http://tomstuart.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Danger-Slow-Down-Sign.jpg

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http://rlv.zcache.com/think_critically_stickers-p217225515567037288bahz5_400.jpg

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We need to step back from the constant

stream of info and devote time to creative

thinking and careful consideration D. Levy

#LetsTest

A TWEET MOMENT!

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Do not fear mistakes

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-

m56Ctbp1QRs/T540KHgccfI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/Cnq4jMn

-rgQ/s400/mistakes%2B2.jpg

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but do learn from

them.

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Be aware that you are

human and therefore

fallible

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Learn by doing

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_b_-xQ0LmXk4/SID3wJrtVZI/AAAAAAAAAV8/HD3fwC6x-

Kc/s400/Children+learn+by+doing-inspiredmommiedesigns.png

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Have a PASSION for

testing

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http://rrrrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/passion_rrrrun.com_.jpg

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Nothing great has been & nothing great can

be accomplished without PASSION – GWF

Hegel . #LetsTest #quote

A TWEET MOMENT!

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Information, the very thing that makes it

possible to be an engineer.. is threatening

our ability to do our work. IEEE Spectrum

#LetsTest #Irony

A TWEET MOMENT!

Thank you. Thank you.

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Slide #61

• Links/References

• http://www.sizes.com/people/brain.htm

• http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Signal-Noise-Science-Prediction/dp/1846147522/

• http://www.spinachandyoga.com/how-to-navigate-overabundance-of-health-and-wellness-information/

• http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/

• http://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Shock-Alvin-Toffler/dp/0808501526

• http://www.amazon.com/Asking-Right-Questions-Critical-MyCompLab/dp/0205111165

• James Bach: http://www.satisfice.com/blog/

• Little Bets - Peter Sims: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Bets-Breakthrough-Emerge-Discoveries/dp/1439170428

• Everything is Obvious - Duncan J. Watts: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything-is-Obvious-ebook/dp/B00556G7RY/

• Information Overload: An International Challenge for Professional Engineers and Technical Communicators -

• http://www.amazon.co.uk/Information-Overload-International-Communicators-Communication/dp/1118230132

• http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/it/how-to-beat-information-overload

• http://boydio.wordpress.com/

• http://iorgforum.org/

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Slide #62

• James Bach

• Michael Bolton

• Rob Lambert

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Slide #63

John Stevenson

@steveo1967

www.steveo1967.blogspot.com

jsteven2@cisco.com

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Slide #64