The details and the whole Rikard Edgren
Testers are often in a unique position because we know a lot about the system as a whole, but also a lot about the details of the operating software.
There are interesting dynamics between the small and the large, and with a human mind in between, a lot of important information will emerge.
“The distinction between micro and macro is an artificial one.” [1]
The whole system consists of the many details; the perceptions of the details are based on the expectations of the whole system.
“Everything is connected” [2], “The devil is in the details” [3]
Enough fluff; how can a tester take advantage of this artificial dynamics?
1) Become an expert of your macro
Find out (for real!) what the users want to accomplish with your software. Learn the even bigger box; what values (and in which ways) are expected from your customers’ customers?
2) Become an expert of your micros
You can take the technical path; learn the details of how a part of your system works and the details about the surrounding it interacts with, and (create) all the tools needed for your full advantage.
Or take the quality path; delve into details of a quality characteristic, learn about any types of deviations, learn which sub-aspects are really important for your software, and have this in the back of your head whatever you are testing.
Or if possible, do all of the above, and provide value; super-fast and all-the-time.
Nice blog post! Thats the beauty and complexity of testing – to see the bigger picture while looking at the details.
Good thoughts!
It is very important to look at a system and realize how complex it is – a nightmare for those who want to quantify everything…
Yea, good ideas! I especially like the idea of identifying what the customers’ customers value.
I feel there’s a lot more to this subject, but have only come up with one addition:
sometimes, you flip between thinking about the details and the whole, but you get the full effect when having active thoughts about the whole and the details, at the exact same time. Sounds difficult, yes, that’s a beauty of software testing.
One important thing for us testers is the ability to observe. By observing a system and notice both the details and the whole at the same time you will find interesting things; you will understand how detailed things can be connected to the whole and vice versa. And perhaps most importantly, if you start your observation in an impartially way you will be alert and perceive things that happen on the fly.
Glenn Strömberg, the most appreciated football expert commentator in Sweden, is famous for delivering interesting and thoughtful comments ranging from the smallest details to the whole and beyond that. He once said something like: “I never prepare before a game by studying details about the teams and their preparations, and I don’t waste my time on rumors and gossip that surround the teams. If I would do that, I would be so focused on delivering those facts in time that I would blur my mind and not perceive what really happens down on the pitch. I want to go in with fresh eyes to a game and notice what happens and try to find out how it all connects.”