Heuristic Test Planning

James Bach, Satisfice, Inc.

james@satisfice.com

www.satisfice.com

(540) 631-0600

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Exploit

Heuristic Test Planning:Context Model

ProductProject LifecycleProject ManagementConfiguration ManagementDefect PreventionDevelopment Team

Development

Test TeamExpertiseLoadingCohesionMotivationLeadershipProject Integration

Test LabTest PlatformsTest ToolsTest LibraryProblem Tracking SystemOffice Facilities

Product MissionStakeholdersQuality CriteriaReference Material

Requirements

TestProcess

StrategyLogisticsProducts

MissionsFind Important ProblemsAssess Quality/RiskCertify to StandardFulfill Process MandatesSatisfy StakeholdersAssure Accountability

Advise about QAAdvise about TestingAdvise about QualityMaximize EfficiencyMinimize CostMinimize Time

Designed by James Bach, http://www.satisfice.comCopyright (c) 2000, Satisfice, Inc.

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Require

EnableConstrain

Motivate

GIVENS MISSIONS

How Context Influences the Test Plan

CHOICES

Context-Driven Planning 1. Understand who is involved in the project and how they matter. 2. Understand and negotiate the GIVENS so that you understand

the constraints on your work, understand the resources available, and can test effectively.

3. Negotiate and understand the MISSIONS of testing in your

project. 4. Make CHOICES about how to test that exploit the GIVENS and

allow you to achieve your MISSIONS. 5. Monitor the status of the project and continue to adjust the plan as

needed to maintain congruence among GIVENS, CHOICES, and MISSIONS.

Test Process Choices We testers and test managers dont often have a lot of control over the context of our work. Sometimes thats a problem. A bigger problem would be not having control over the work itself. When a test process is controlled from outside the test team, its likely to be much less efficient and effective. This model is designed with the assumption that there are three elements over which you probably have substantial control: test strategy, test logistics, and test products. Test planning is mainly concerned with designing these elements of test process to work well within the context. Test strategy is how you cover the product and detect problems. You cant test everything in every way, so heres where you usually have the most difficult choices. Test logistics is how and when you apply resources to execute the test strategy. This includes how you coordinate with other people on the project, who is assigned to what tasks, etc. Test products are the materials and results you produce that are visible to the clients of testing. These may include test scripts, bug reports, test reports, or test data to name a few.