21 st century skills for testers

EMNA AYADI & ARD KRAMER

#21STSKILLS4TESTERS
 21 st century skills for testers

EMNA AYADI & ARD KRAMER

#21STSKILLS4TESTERS
Contents

General Introduction 8

1 Critical Thinking 12
1.1 Critical Thinking : Stories of testers from the present . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.1.1 Bhumika Srinivas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.1.2 Amrith Shetty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.1.3 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.1.4 Niranjani Manoharan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.1.5 Gerald Habal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.1.6 Sergio Freire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.1.7 Chris van Nieuwenhoven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.1.8 Neil Matillano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.1.9 Marie Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.1.10 Nithin SS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.1.11 Isabel Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.1.12 Csaba Varsandán . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.1.13 Clézia Oliveira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.1.14 Karlo Smid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.1.15 Nishi Grover Garg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.1.16 Antonella Scaravilli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.1.17 Arun Kumar Dutta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1.1.18 Jesper Ottosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1.2 Critical Thinking : Imaginations and thoughts of testers . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.2.1 Clézia Oliveira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.2.2 Luke Liu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.2.3 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.2.4 Sergio Freire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.2.5 Arun Kumar Dutta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.2.6 Gerald Habal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.2.7 Jesper Ottosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.2.8 Nishi Grover Garg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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1.2.9 Nithin SS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1.2.10 Neil Matillano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.2.11 Isabel Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.2.12 Trisha Chetani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.2.13 Sandhya Krishnan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.2.14 Chris van Nieuwenhoven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.2.15 Csaba Varsandán . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.2.16 Karlo Smid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.2.17 Amrith Shetty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1.2.18 Bhumika Srinivas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1.2.19 Niranjani Manoharan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

2 Communication 32
2.1 Communication : Stories of testers from the present . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.1.1 Tehreem Fatima . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.1.2 Antonella Scaravilli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.1.3 Kai Bronner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.1.4 Karlo Smid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.1.5 Mike Lyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.1.6 Clézia Oliveira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.1.7 Jesper Ottosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.1.8 Gerald Habal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.1.9 Neil Matillano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.1.10 Arun Kumar Dutta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.1.11 Isabel Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.1.12 Nithin SS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.1.13 Andrea Jensen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.1.14 Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.1.15 Bhumika Srinivas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.1.16 Renate S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.1.17 Chris van Nieuwenhoven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.1.18 Amrith Shetty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.1.19 Renata S (2nd )story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.1.20 Simon Prior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.1.21 Sergio Freire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2.1.22 Trisha Chetani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2.1.23 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.2 Communication : Imaginations and thoughts of testers . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.2.1 Nithin SS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.2.2 Arun Kumar Dutta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.2.3 Gerald Habal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

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2.2.4 Clézia Oliveira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

2.2.5 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.2.6 Kai Bronner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.2.7 Sandhya Krishnan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.2.8 Mike Lyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.2.9 Karlo Smid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.2.10 Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.2.11 Renata S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.2.12 Renate S (2nd )idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.2.13 Isabel Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.2.14 Sergio Freire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.2.15 Neil Matillano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.2.16 Jesper Ottosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.2.17 Amrith Shetty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.2.18 Bhumika Srinivas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
2.2.19 Simon Prior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

3 Collaboration 54
3.1 Collaboration : Stories of testers from the present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1.1 Marie Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1.2 Neil Matillano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1.3 Gerald Habal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1.4 Prashant Hegde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.1.5 Bhumika Srinivas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.1.6 Tatiana Ribeiro Nunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.1.7 Lisa Crispin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.1.8 Isabel Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.1.9 Trisha Chetani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.1.10 Gareth Waterhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.1.11 Michael Ruderman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.1.12 Nithin SS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.1.13 Ileana Herrera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.1.14 Arun Kumar Dutta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.1.15 Antonella Scaravilli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.1.16 Karlo Smid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.1.17 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.1.18 Mike Lyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.1.19 Jesper Ottosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.1.20 Clézia Oliveira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.1.21 Luke Liu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.1.22 Chris van Nieuwenhoven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

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3.2 Collaboration : Imaginations and thoughts of testers . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

3.2.1 Prashant Hegde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.2.2 Amrith Shetty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.2.3 Gareth Waterhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.2.4 Ileana Herrera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
3.2.5 Sandhya Krishnan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
3.2.6 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.2.7 Sergio Freire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
3.2.8 Marie Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.2.9 Nithin SS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.2.10 Mike Lyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.2.11 Tatiana Ribeiro Nunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.2.12 Bhumika Srinivas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.2.13 Arun Kumar Dutta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.2.14 Gerald Habal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.2.15 Jesper Ottosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.2.16 Neil Matillano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.2.17 Karlo Smid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.2.18 Isabel Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
3.2.19 Chris van Nieuwenhoven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

4 Creativity 75
4.1 Creativity : Stories of testers from the present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4.1.1 Arun Kumar Dutta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4.1.2 Gerald Habal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4.1.3 Nithin SS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.1.4 Jesper Ottosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.1.5 Simon Tomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.1.6 Antonella Scaravilli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.1.7 Eric de Graaf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.1.8 Chris van Nieuwenhoven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.1.9 Isabel Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.1.10 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.1.11 Clézia Oliveira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.1.12 Neil Matillano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.1.13 Prashant Hegde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.1.14 Sergio Freire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.1.15 Karlo Smid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.1.16 Amrith Shetty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.1.17 Trisha Chetani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.2 Creativity : Imaginations and thoughts of testers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

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4.2.1 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

4.2.2 Eric de Graaf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4.2.3 Sandhya Krishnan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4.2.4 Arun Kumar Dutta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.2.5 Prashant Hegde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.2.6 Isabel Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4.2.7 Gerald Habal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4.2.8 Nithin SS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.2.9 Chris van Nieuwenhoven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.2.10 Amrith Shetty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.2.11 Clézia Oliveira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.2.12 Trisha Chetani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.2.13 Sergio Freire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.2.14 Simon Tomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.2.15 Karlo Smid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.2.16 Jesper Ottosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
4.2.17 Neil Matillano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

5 4C Stories 91
5.1 4C : Stories of testers from the present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.1.1 Maik Nogens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.1.2 Beth Marshall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
5.1.3 Nadia Cavalleri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Conclusion and Reflections 96

Index 99

French Book 104

#21stskills4testers
General Introduction

21st century skills were the starting point for this book. We brought those 21 century skills
back to the well known "4C"’s: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical
Thinking.

If you look at these 4 words, they have something in common: although we live in a
technology advanced world, the words are focusing on specific human characteristics and
are not knowledge based. This means that you can make a difference by being a good
human who can interact, give and deal with feedback, can have original thoughts, etc. We
were interested how testers all around the world are working on these skills, at this moment
(and how they apply them already) but also how to improve the skills in the future; Are we
as testers, future proof? We opened a website (https://21stskills4testers.online/)

8 #21stskills4testers
General Introduction 9

and asked people to write down their experiences and their thoughts about the future.
They could do this in French as well as in English and resulted in this first bilingual book
written by testers in the world.

An interesting question to start with is:

what are your ideas about ‘the tester’ who is future proof and using the 21st century
skills? A part of the answer you can find in this book, answered by others but we are
looking for your thoughts and we want to hear them. So before you start reading the book,
we invite you to share your perspective using our hashtag #21stskills4testers on social
media.

What do the four C’s stand for ?

Where do the 4 C’s for the skills of the 21st century stand for:
We are living in a century of fast digital changes that influence everything in our society.
In fact, we as testers are well aware of these changes. But are you prepared for the next
step? Quite some wise people were thinking: what kind of skills do you need to be ready
to deal with those fast changes?
They gave it a name; the 21st century skills.

The skills can be divided into four main categories :

Critical Thinking :
The ability to look at problems in deeper and different ways by evaluating the possibility
of failure also, finding gaps between expectations and reality. The goal here to find the
unknown unknown by having an analytical mind and linking learning across your testing
steps.

James Bach says that “Testing is an infinite process of comparing the invisible to the
ambiguous in order to avoid the unthinkable happening to the anonymous.”

Collaboration :
Testing is not a single step in the process, it’s a whole team task shared between all the
development team and business side. In fact teams of people have a collective intelligence
independent from the individual one and greater than the total of these parts.

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General Introduction 10

Communication :
Sharing your opinions regarding the software you are testing, be curious asking questions
within your team and proposing your ideas or solutions.

Creativity :
The ability to come up with new and useful ideas while exploring the software. Innovation
is the successful implementation of creative ideas, this includes both incremental and rad-
ical change in systems and products to deliver better quality.

Thanks to the contributors

This book would have been an empty hull if we didn’t have that many contributors.
The contributors are together responsible for the content of this book. We value their
input: by showing their vulnerability, sharing their experiences and knowledge and their
dreams about the future. We can not thank them enough for making this book possible!

How is the book set up ?

We used the 4 c’s as a framework for this book. This means that every chapter is cov-
ering one of those 4 C’s: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.
Within every chapter you will find 2 paragraphs: the first paragraph is about the ‘Stories of
testers from the present’ and we also asked our contributors to share their thoughts about
how we can apply those skills in the future to become more ‘future proof’: you will find
these contributions in the second paragraph of every chapter: “Imaginations and thoughts
of testers”. at the end you will find some stories of contributors who covered all the 4 C’s
in one story. The final chapter are some thoughts we had after gathering all the stories
together. This is the chapter: “Conclusion and Reflections ”.

The stories in French are exactly set up in the same way and unique so interesting for
you if you are bilingual or a great opportunity to improve your French. We have created
two indexes for the French and the English part and both indexes are in English. This will
help you to get a global idea about the topics that are covered.

We hope you will enjoy the book which is set up in a modern way: you don’t have
to read from start till end because every story is worthwhile reading on its own and the
stories are easy bites to read. Have fun and hopefully just so much fun as we had making
this book together!

Emna Ayadi & Ard Kramer

21st January 2021

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General Introduction 11

Emna Ayadi

Emna is a passionate tester, she has five years of experience on different projects com-
bined between testing and coaching roles. She loves applying gamification in testing and
agile for better coaching experience and for more fun. In her free time, she organizes testing
meetups within the Ministry of testing Sfax community and she enjoys traveling, exploring
the world, cooking and attending conferences which add additional qualities to her profile.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emnaayadi/
Twitter: @emna__ayadi
Blog: https://emnaayadi.com

Ard Kramer

Ard is a quality consultant from the Netherlands. He works at OrangeCrest. He calls

himself a Qualisopher which stands for “someone who loves truth and wisdom and at the
same time is decisive to improve man and his environment” . This means he is interested
in the world around us, to see what he can learn and can apply to improve the quality in
software and software testing. His dream is to participate, as a qualisopher, in all kinds
of projects. Projects which add value to our community such as composing a book: he
wants to inspire other people by collaboration, fun and empathy and hopefully some light
in someone’s life.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ardkramer/
Twitter: @ard_kramer

#21stskills4testers
Chapter 1

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking, considered to be the most requested skill for testers among the "4C"’s
without ignoring the need for the other C.
Indeed, it makes no sense to be a tester without critical thinking. To test is to be able
to see things differently and to get out of the nominal scenario in order to imagine other
perspectives and contribute to the success of the product and the project and the team.

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1.1. Critical Thinking : Stories of testers from the present 13

1.1 Critical Thinking : Stories of testers from the present

Several stories have confirmed that this is a daily skill that must be learned by testers. It
is based on the interaction of opinions, imagination to push the limits of the tester. And
one of the most used references as one of the most important parts of critical thinking is
asking questions, how can that be? ;-) Mostly combined with curiosity, different angels and
exploration

1.1.1 Bhumika Srinivas

• [angles][analyse][questioning][visualization]

I apply critical thinking in multiple ways:

Always put on your customer hat while looking at the quality of the system being built
from an end-to-end view- this will help think through the ways a customer can use the
system being built and look through what needs to improve from a customer’s perspective.
Behave like a detective - look for clues and analyse what could potentially go wrong in
solutions being put forward. This will help call out risks early on and prevent defects from
seeping in.
Always question - Why is this being built? How is this solution fixing the user’s problem?
With the solution being built, what are we missing? Never make assumptions and never
be satisfied with a specific solution, always leave room for improvement.
Not limiting myself to just knowing about system under test, but understanding the ecosys-
tem beyond that - logging, monitoring, infrastructure, security, performance, deployment
among other things.
Learn about all systems impacted and map out points of failure - This will help with en-
suring that the right recovery strategies are put in place to lessen customer impact.
Come with different ideas for structuring the ways to test a system - I’ve used byte-code
testing i.e byte code to represent different permutations and combinations of scenarios to
test, instead of typing out hundreds of test scenarios. I’ve also used flowcharts, mindmaps
to talk through different scenarios - no one standard template works. Always keep looking
for different ways to represent how best to test a system.
Using a data-driven approach to analysing and solving any problem at hand.
Run bug bashes with different people without restricting it to testers or developers. Bring
in UX Designers, Customer Representatives, Business Analysts and anyone else who can
bring in a unique perspective and provide useful feedback as they use the system.

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1.1. Critical Thinking : Stories of testers from the present 14

1.1.2 Amrith Shetty

• [questioning]

Whenever there is a release, I think if I have all the information required to perform testing,
is this testable, how can I test, How do I break this, what is the quality expectation, etc.
When our developers downplay a defect - Is the response valid, can we apply RIMGEA to
understand the defect better? When our requirements are not up to par - can we test this,
Finding important areas to test and standby them - While investigating defects that were
raised in Production - Is this a valid defect, can I replicate it, When I am creating a new
test automation framework, what is the expectation, how can I make this framework work
for me, Do I know all about the product I am testing?

1.1.3 Olivier Denoo

• [questioning]

If it is indeed an essential quality of the tester, it is the critical mind. Not assuming
anything and questioning everything is the oath of any self-respecting tester. A few years
ago, I had to resume a project to test an innovative loyalty program (at least at the time)
for a large telecom operator. The timing was tight, and the customer was waiting to run
the test campaign. I only had a few days to take ownership of the whole context and
understand the deep nature of the project. The principle of the project, which is common
today, was to reward faithful users through a system of points acquired in proportion to
their use of the service. In view of this description and the technical documents, I had made
a preconceived idea of a kind of gigantic bean counter (well minutes of call rather) that
would then be exchanged for other services or gifts. I could have just done that to design
the tests and orchestrate the campaign, but the little voice of intuition would make me
look like I could go a little further. So I had summoned the main stakeholders to ask them
about the project, which was in response to the sweet name of King Kong, starting with
the sponsor, a marketing manager. I still remember his frightened look when I asked him
WHY King Kong was made, what he was going to do well. After long seconds, oscillating
between the temptation to throw me out for incompetence and the idea that there might
be something to be learned from all this, we had this exchange in a symbiosis that tipped
the project: in a flash of intelligence, she replied that King Kong was for her a means
of retaining her clients and especially of communicating with them. The main thing was
therefore not the “bean counter”, but the possibility of capturing their contact details and
boosting their loyalty through a long-term commercial relationship... If we had remained
in appearances and presuppositions, King Kong would never have been that successful and
my campaign would never have tested the essentials. Lesson learned!

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1.1.4 Niranjani Manoharan

• [questioning]

My role is to build test frameworks that are consumed by other teams which include QEs
and developers. When a test fails, people reach out for help! By the use of logical thinking
in addressing these concerns, I have been able to help my teams by enabling them to think
critically.

My 3-step process to handle test failures:

• Have they written the test correctly - as noobs, folks tend to add wait times or use
text instead of identifiers or try to test something that changes based on specific
conditions. I try to first verify and fix this issue if it is true.

• Did something change recently? All our automated tests reside within the devel-
opment codebase, so if there was a major config change, then it would affect the
automated tests. I learned to use git bisect efficiently and it comes in handy during
these situations.

• Finally, is the feature under test behind a feature flag? If we try to automate any
experiment, then you need to ensure that you turned it on/off before running your
test and if the corresponding mocks have been added correctly.

These tricks help me debug and fix the problem efficiently.

1.1.5 Gerald Habal

• [look further][curiosity][questioning][explore]

It was just two a half years ago when I was given a chance to do full automation and entered
the world of automated testing. Prior to that, for 10 years, I’m doing most manual testing
and a very little bit of automation. If you would qualify it, which is through Selenium
IDE, an add-on in Firefox that is simply “a record and play” and you tweak the generated
scripts to make it work.
It was a challenging experience for me who is in a senior role but does not have yet
the required skills for the role, which is automated testing. How did I do it? Here’s how
critical thinking will help anyone who’s currently in a QA role (manual testing) and hope
to switch to QE role (automated testing).
Whatever your role is, critical thinking is applicable. On manual testing, you’ll need
it in so many aspects and one of which is catching test scenarios beyond the defined

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acceptance criteria, now much more if you are doing automated testing. Back then, I
admitted to myself this is something I have no exposure to and something I must learn.
Thus, I activated the “student” mode on me, I became curious and spent hours beyond the
8-hour period - studying, testing, coding, searching (hi Google and StackOverflow), etc.
This is to equip me to understand my work better, throw better questions, and explore
all sides I can think of. By applying and using critical thinking in my work, I was able to
gain insights and foresight in my codes and able to contribute to our brainstorming and
also even in code reviews.

1.1.6 Sergio Freire

• [exploration][risk][expectation][questioning][forgetting][contradicting] [per-
spective][biases][assumption][why]

In my team, we are moving from a typical test case kind of testing approach to a more
exploratory one. At the same time, we started discussing risks together, from the start.
That is giving us better ideas for exploration and better use of our time. We still look
at the happy path, at the expectations, and the examples derived from the acceptance
criteria. But now we try to use them to guide us to perform testing at different depths,
depending on the level of risk. Some time ago, testers would receive the so-called "truth"
and accept it. Now, we’re moving to the mindset of raising questions and intervene at any
moment. Don’t assume the PO knows everything because the PO won’t. Things will be
forgotten, things will be contradicting. We need to assess the data we receive, no matter its
source, and critical thinking is there as a tool to provide us a different perspective that can
expose risks, biases, and assumptions. In our path to better adoption of critical thinking,
we’re trying to ensure that everyone involved at a given artifact does understand it and
its needs. I In the end, why are we dealing with it? However, it takes time to move to a
full critical thinking type of mindset and some of us still like to process work using FIFO
queues without ever wonder about the rationale of the work we do. We’re encouraged to
ask the 5 whys, so we better understand why we do the things we do.

1.1.7 Chris van Nieuwenhoven

• [outside-the-box][questioning][knowledge transfer][training][interest] [mo-
tivation][way of thinking]

Testers on demand In the past, I used to work with professional and experienced
testers. Most importantly, they chose to be a tester voluntarily. They had a functional
perspective and intuitively focused on good test coverage. As the testers weren’t from the
business field, they automatically thought "out of the box", asked unusual questions, and

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found the weirdest defects by leaving the path of the standard business scenarios. In this
environment, our challenge was to add the customer’s perspective to the functional one in
order to get great results. Thanks to good collaboration with the business representatives
a lot of business know-how transfer happened which enabled the testers to enhance their
perspective.
Then I joined a different company as a test process manager because test methodology
know-how and external experience were needed. In this company, business representatives
are sent to projects as testers. Most of them aren’t trained or experienced, and they don’t
know much about test methodologies. While I was working with motivated and interested
testers before, the business representatives did the job because someone had to. Before,
testing was fun and an important part of the software development cycle. To my surprise,
it was considered as a punishment to write and execute test cases in the new environment.
But frankly speaking: Would you, as a tester, like to be sent to do someone else’s job you
don’t know much about without proper training?
We created training for testers and test analysts with a focus on a tester’s way of thinking
and way of working along with some of the most important test analysis methodologies.
Their focus had always been business process testing. Writing business process test cases
is one important part of the job but there are many more and for this critical thinking
is required: QA of requirement documents, thinking about what’s not specified, coming
up with scenarios that should not work, and coming up with destructive ideas to proof
stability or the lack of it – just to name some of them.
Furthermore, it is important that there is enough transparency and communication about
why they are testing and what is expected from them. This understanding will help them
to take responsibility and ask the right questions. Meanwhile, I keep asking myself: What
else is needed to make testing a more attractive profession for business testers? And how
do you train critical thinking?

To be continued . . .

1.1.8 Neil Matillano

• [accuracy][questioning][prevention]

Critical thinking is necessary to succeed in any kind of technical job. Especially as someone
testing for a Fintech saas product, making sure the quality of the product in question up-
holds to the highest standard possible as it deals directly with money and people trusting
you to handle their money — critical thinking is definitely is an essential skill that a tester
in my company needs to have and/or develop well.

One example would be how to find a way that your bookkeeping reports will be as
accurate as possible. That is a constant question that we always have in our product. And

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1.1. Critical Thinking : Stories of testers from the present 18

as the one testing the bookkeeping features, you need to keep asking the right questions?
What are the things that could possibly make the reports inaccurate or erroneous? What
can we do to prevent that from happening? Where should we be focusing our tests is based
on historical data of errors? These are just some examples but a tester needs to constantly
question the norm and not be satisfied with just the requirements given but always seek
continuous improvements in every aspect of testing.
And Marie, Nithin, and Isabel combines those questions with the dilemma of how to
deal with assumptions

1.1.9 Marie Drake

• [questioning][overview][assumption][examples]

I ask questions! If there is something that is not clear from the requirements, from the
code or when I am testing a feature, or if I see something odd in production or in any of
our processes, I ask questions so I know where to focus my testing effort. I also try my best
to always actively learn new areas within the business so I have a clearer understanding of
the overall picture and how everything is connected. If we have a ticket that already has
predefined requirements and acceptance criteria, rather than agreeing to all the points, I
question any points that I think are unclear just so I can get rid of any assumptions or
doubts that I might have.
I also apply critical thinking when it comes to test automation. To give a concrete
example, we have a cache clearance service responsible for showing up to date content to
our readers. There are a lot of trigger points as to how the cache clearance service can
be cleared and so rather than accepting what was initially recommended as the testing
approach which was very long-winded and time-consuming, I questioned if we can think
of a better way of testing it. After spending some time studying architecture and reaching
out to one of our developers, we came up with an alternative testing solution that is much
faster, reliable, and easier to digest.
Additionally, if I see that there is any deviation from our monitoring reports showing
that there was an error peak, I ask the team why we encountered the error even if the error
rate has gone down. By questioning these things, the rest of the team also questions if
there is anything that we can improve on to make sure that any errors are resolved. Your
job as a tester does not end when you move a ticket to “done”.

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1.1. Critical Thinking : Stories of testers from the present 19

1.1.10 Nithin SS
• [examine][analyse][interpretation][evaluation][fill the gaps][overview] [ques-
tioning][clarity]

As a tester, critical thinking is one of the key skills we should have to examine, analyze,
interpret, and evaluate something in a particular manner which is supposed to be. I try
to ask more questions and be inquisitive when it comes to testing something. In one of
the talks by James Bach it was mentioned ’Figure out what the crowd is going to do and
do exactly the opposite of it, this gives us enormous possibilities’. It actually helps us to
fill the gaps in others’ thoughts and give more context to what we do. When it comes
to problems, what I do is collect data and relevant information then analyze, interpret,
and come up with a solution for it. And then I try to see the bigger picture instead of
thinking about a particular solution at the moment. Use different kinds of reasoning. So
for me, it is more about asking questions rather than accepting something from someone
and continuing with the assumptions. Always seek clarity and be an active learner and
explore more.

1.1.11 Isabel Evans

• [experience][critique][review][assumption][learning]

By thinking critically about my own thinking. I am learning new thinking skills everyday,
and continue with that learning now I am in my 60’s and a student. Age brings experience
and also the opportunity to renew one’s learning. To be a student rather than an expert
means I can critically assess my own status quo, and that of others, and also that I must
be open to critiques from others. Being a student means that I am learning new research
methods, new approaches, that I apply in my research and also bring back into industry
work. Every paper I write is reviewed and critiqued by peers, supervisors and external
reviewers, and each assumption I make is queried. It is hard, and valuable. Reciprocating,
I learn how to critique others’ ideas and work in a way that is supportive, constructive,
and of value to them. Not critical thinking to score points, but for mutual learning.
As already mentioned above besides questions, exploration is seen as part of critical
thinking

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1.1. Critical Thinking : Stories of testers from the present 20

1.1.12 Csaba Varsandán

• [exploration][visualization][verifying]

It is a crucial part of the testing. You have to understand the product you test and
to explore any dead ends in it. One of my methods where critical thinking is used is
using diagrams to map the product itself. Analyzing the possible routes and verifying the
possible outcomes can help to cover the product more. If this is not possible, for example,
there are too many options, then I use the system relation technique, which is used to
connect different parts of the system, to get a bigger picture, and to see which part of it
makes an impact to another. The relational method requires a deeper understanding of
the system, but it also makes you a possibility for exploration. Just don’t forget that it is
very important to not try testing the whole system at once, but go step by step until you
are aware of almost any outcomes.
In this story, visualization is also mentioned with is mentioned too in the more stories
and has also something to do creating an overview

1.1.13 Clézia Oliveira

• [visualization][analyse][avoidance]

I am currently a QA leader, and as a leader I try to visualize in an external position,

avoiding that my personal opinions interfere in the actions, for that I seek impersonality,
technical experience, rational and logical analysis. In relation to employees, I avoid having
preferences, communications are generally equal to avoid personal tendencies.

1.1.14 Karlo Smid

• [simplicity][visualization]

Imagine a project with a very complicated business domain. So complicated that selecting
a feature using the user interface, a complicated calculation that involves many functions is
triggered. Input and output are files that contain commands for configuring a complicated
piece of hardware. The test mission is to document how complicated features work in the
form of light test cases where features are described in the way of pictures. Test data are
minimal examples for each feature separately. Using pictures and minimal input data, we
can get onboard new testers very quickly. And now comes into play part about critical
thinking. We got an addition to the test team, a part-time student from FER. I know that
students from FER are outstanding in critical thinking. He read the ongoing document

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1.1. Critical Thinking : Stories of testers from the present 21

with test cases as part of the project onboarding process. And based on that solid ground
that described the system and domain that it tries to automate, his critical thinking was
unleashed. He contributed to new test cases that I did not think of. He is now responsible
for the document, and by reviewing it, I learn about the system.
Nishi is pointing out that not only overview is important but also an eye for detail

1.1.15 Nishi Grover Garg

• [detail][analyse][patience][root-cause]

Critical Thinking is a crucial part of a tester’s daily life. A tester is expected to think
about finding problem areas and looking at the worst possible scenarios in everything they
encounter. So much so, that it ends up becoming a personality trait :P I have found myself
attracting bugs in everything I use in my personal life as well! Attention to detail is an
important part of this skill. I have experienced that people who have the ability and habit
to focus on details and pay attention to the little things make great testers. This was an
observation I made in my teams as a mentor to many freshers into testing. It is imperative
for a tester to look for details like what state the application was in, what specific test data
could have caused the issue, which path seems to be causing the problem, which areas of
the flow have not been exercised, or which specific step in the test may have caused the
actual failure. It may take a while to reach a conclusion about the real issue when you
have inconsistent problems. And in some cases, even if the issue is clear, the exact reason
or step that is causing it can be narrowed down if we just pay attention and try to isolate
the root cause. This requires another important skill that is Patience. Testers may need
to re-do things over and over again, varying a small little detail each time to isolate the
root cause of some defects. It is important to have the patience and persistence to do that.
And defects reported with this detail of information are obviously more meaningful and
easier to fix by the developers! So, in my experience, all these skills of Critical Thinking,
Attention to Detail, and Patience make a tester better at what they do and make them
greater allies to their developers!
By gathering details and having an overview you are doing an investigation

1.1.16 Antonella Scaravilli

• [investigation][information][learning]

Like many other colleagues, I don’t have a technical background. I graduated as a Legal
Translator and minored in Literary and Scientific translation. Translating consists of in-
vestigating, decoding the source text into the target text effectively, and learning as fast

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1.1. Critical Thinking : Stories of testers from the present 22

as you can about different industries that you never thought you’d learn about. There is a
lot of information out there and you need to use your critical thinking skills in order to be
able to select the right information for you. Being trained in this ability has allowed me to
apply it to testing. It has helped me to investigate and learn very fast about the product
I’m testing and choose relevant information when I research. In addition, I believe this
skill has allowed me to really "squeeze my brain" to come up with interesting test charters,
to explore, and to come up with questions that might anticipate some risks we could face
when releasing a new feature.

1.1.17 Arun Kumar Dutta

• [skill][value][required][scenario’s][effort]

We all know that critical thinkers have qualities like analytical, reasoning skills, out of
box thinking, problem-solving abilities, deep analysis skills. It requires associated closed
thinking and extra efforts. Being a tester by profession, I think critical thinking is ab-
solutely required in our daily work. Critical thinking can lead to a few scenarios which
developers/application owners may never think of. Testers need to think like an end-user
critical thinking assist testers to be successful in many unexpected scenarios. Ultimately,
it brings happiness to the end-user and application owners/stakeholders. Overall, critical
thinking assists to add value to the project team. We apply critical thinking in our daily
work - both in organized in-organized ways intending to cover possible wider views/thought
processes in a time-bound manner.
And finally, let’s end with a story where critical thinking is applied

1.1.18 Jesper Ottosen

• [applying]

We are building a new production environment, so until it goes live it will be heavily
encapsulated network wise. I need to apply critical thinking and reasoning to figure out
how we can still access the coming environment and perform some testing before it goes
live.

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1.2. Critical Thinking : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 23

1.2 Critical Thinking : Imaginations and thoughts of

testers

The projection of critical thinking as a future skill of the tester resulted in several thoughts.
There is the interesting thought of Clézia Oliveira how future leaders can help their em-
ployees in critical thinking

1.2.1 Clézia Oliveira

• [sharing][confidence][credibility]

I believe that the ideal would be for leaders to work on critical thinking in teams, many em-
ployees see themselves as mere resources, and this vision robotizes the team, making work
more mechanical, leaving critical decisions and opinions to the manager/leader. Following
a modern vision, I understand that the current manager can be more flexible and share
management with the team, allowing more confidence and credibility in decision making.

And Luke Liu helps us with a beautiful Chinese poem who important is to look outside
the box or in the words op the poem outside the picture

1.2.2 Luke Liu

• [solutions][evaluation][overview][problem solving] [questioning][analyse]

[debate][doubt]

Critical thinking is the core of testing in a project in my opinion. It is the thinking and
actions that evaluate the potential solutions critically as a tester. It is the critical distance
to enable testers to carry out testing with independent evaluation and judgment at a point
in time.
As a famous Chinese poem says one may not see the “full picture” or “truth” if the
person is standing inside the picture.
《西林壁》 -
• 横看成成峰，[héng kàn chéng lı̌ng cè chéng fēng]
• 近高低各不同。[yuǎn jìn gāo dı̄ gè bù tóng]
• 不山真面目，[bù shí lú shān zhēn miàn mù]
• 只身在此山中。[zhı̌ yuán shēn zài cı̌ shān zhōng]

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1.2. Critical Thinking : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 24

As a tester, I would be searching for the answers to the following questions:

• Is this going to solve the problem for the intended users?
• Is there a problem going to stop the solution to work?
• Are these problems going to be a risk to business in some ways?
• Is this going to be a problem if. . . ?
• Is the solution too complex for some users?
• What have I missed?
• What else should I look into?
• Why do I think it’s a problem?
• Is it possible that my test is set up wrong?
• Am I testing the right ’expectations’ ?
• Whose expectations are and why?
• Why are these expectations important?
• Is there anything else more important I should look into now instead of digging
into this?

Testing is a thinking process that includes but is not limited to the following activities:
undertaking evaluation, investigations, learning, analyzing, debating, doubting, and con-
clusion with reasoning.
Testers challenge assumptions, claims and unlikely accept/confirm something is working
without thinking critically and deeply about what could go wrong.
To have an overview is also mentioned by Olivier Denoo

1.2.3 Olivier Denoo

• [why][how][overview][fundamental [questioning][exploration]

In the future, in my opinion, nothing will change and everything will change all at once
both for the tester and his critical mind. Of course, key issues such as WHY, HOW and
other derivative approaches will continue to allow the tester to better understand the prod-
uct or service being tested. On the other hand, I think he will have the choice, depending
on his greater appetite for the technique or business/user side, to exercise his critical mind
in different and broader areas...
It will no longer be enough to know an application in the strict sense of the word but to
see it as an element or a brick in a wider architecture. It will probably be a question of
pushing the boundaries of simple IS to test interoperability and service in a more holistic
sense.
The race for speed and the proliferation of automation will lead him to ask more funda-
mental questions (what should be automated or not and why / for what?), to ask the right

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questions, and to share them as a team. I see the tester as the critical spirit of the "team",
the scratching hair that presses where it hurts, the mood breaker also sometimes who will
put the tree in the middle of the forest or cut the one that prevents us from seeing it. He
will need to familiarize themselves with users’ behaviors, however unexpected, inappropri-
ate, and unpredictable they may be, and integrate them into his explorations and then get
them accepted if they detect a problem. It will also have to juggle with notions of privacy,
security, and ethics, especially when faced with the emergence of AI that is still in full
development. . .

1.2.4 Sergio Freire

• [unknown][exploration][judgement][risk][gap][overview][value][listening]

Most of the testing is dealing with the unknowns which form the majority of constitutes
our product. This can only be tackled through exploration, which in turn requires critical
thinking. Whenever looking at the unknown, we need to look at signs to form judgments
and expose risks or find gaps.
A tester needs to look at unknowns in every single aspect or step related to building, de-
livering, and maintaining a product. But parts cannot be looked at in isolation; we need
to understand how the system behaves as a whole and how the parts contribute to the
overall delivery of value.
By understanding that a product is never finished and that value is not static and needs
to be understood properly, we must leverage our existing testing skills to analyze what
is happening in production and how those behaviors can help us shape better products.
Being critical about every single aspect is key. Why? Because value is multidimensional,
so different quality criteria matter to different degrees. This is essential from the moment
we start listening to the customer until the moment value is served in production. Every
single one of us needs to become more customer advocates while being at the same time
the PO.

Arun sees the value of critical thinking

1.2.5 Arun Kumar Dutta

• [value][end-user]

Critical thinking will always add value. Even in the future assuming artificial intelli-
gence days or today’s automation days, critical thinking will be or is having it’s worth.

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1.2. Critical Thinking : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 26

We need to keep in mind that critical thinking should be both in terms of functional non-
functional aspects. Overall, it should be in line with the end-users thought process. As
the industry is now in both shift-left and shift-right testing mode and testing combinations
are increasing like anything (for example different operating systems, different networks,
different devices) observability /monitoring will be major driven categories for the starting
point of critical thinking
And that value is also expressed in the contribution of critical thinking in higher pro-
ductivity, efficiency, and even continuity

1.2.6 Gerald Habal

• [technology practices][productivity][efficiency]

In the future, as applications/systems become more complex, automating them will be of

the same wavelength. Thus, critical thinking will be essential for a QE to keep up with
technology practices. Aside from the variety of software available to be developed, there are
a number of automation tools being available to the public, some let you code, some make
it easier. Regardless of which tool, like a QE, your critical thinking will be important not
only in problem-solving but also in maximizing these tools to improve your productivity
and efficiency.

1.2.7 Jesper Ottosen

• [continuity]

I have to apply both critical thinking and problem solving to solve the testing challenges
the team faces:
• it has to work as before, just from another data center
• the business has to continue as before, "just" with their primary IT tool replaced
by something new
• how can we add automation into the testing, when we don’t have access to the
source code or developers

But to much focus will be the enemy of patience what you also need as a tester when you
are thinking critically

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1.2. Critical Thinking : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 27

1.2.8 Nishi Grover Garg

• [analyse][detail][patience][focus][training][differences][possibilities] [ex-
ercise][fun]

Critical Thinking should be one of the first things an aspiring tester should focus on.
While we focus on teaching testing concepts, methodologies, and tools, our new testers
must be taught the skills of looking critically at things, analyzing them, and having more
attention to detail. I also call ‘Patience’ a skill because even though some people may have
it naturally in their personality, it can still be learned. Testers should focus on acquiring
and honing these skills continuously to better themselves in the 21st century! For this,
they can look for exercises, games, and online resources like:
• Find the Differences – Set a time limit and try to find all differences between the
given images
• Free Testing Websites and Apps – Try to think of all possible test ideas and
scenarios to test the functionality
• Find a Word – Given a paragraph try to find the number of times a particular
word appears in the text
• Online Games – Select the right color that appears, Click on all numbers in the
correct sequence in minimum time, etc.

If you look around, you will find plenty of such resources that can help you exercise your
brain in an entirely new way. These activities also help you break the monotony of your
work and are so much fun to do! You can even rope in your colleagues and compete for
the best timings. Or you can organize a recurring ‘Games Day’ and one of you can find
and plan the activities every time.
I hope this gives some fun ideas to the leads, mentors, and testers in our teams to foster
these traits and coach our 21st-century testers on the much-needed skills of Critical Think-
ing and Attention to Detail.

Patience will help protect us from specific human cognitive traps

1.2.9 Nithin SS
• [cognitive bias][context][perspective][resononing][clarity]

It is a process of analyzing the gathered information and asking questions about it and we
should overcome the cognitive bias which helps to get the correct thinking. So, understand

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1.2. Critical Thinking : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 28

the context more and apply the right thinking to come up with the right solution without
any bias. Trying to solve a problem in our own way helps us to discover a whole new
perspective. Getting rid of cognitive bias while taking decisions is one main thing. Also,
we should improve our reasoning skills to reach the best possible conclusion. All the tests
should be performed to answer about the relationship between the product and how it
is supposed to be. Again, sharing one of my favorite quotes from a session, the question
which you don’t ask is the dumbest one! So always ask questions and seek clarity.

1.2.10 Neil Matillano

• [assumption][questioning][debate]

This one is something that I learned a few years on in my career. And that as a tester,
the assumption is the root of all bugs. The error of assuming that something is right
without questioning the basis of its correctness. The error of assuming that this was an
expected behavior because the developer says so without confirming with the product team
or supporting documents.

So I would say, I would say that stop assuming something but rather look for supporting
pieces of evidence, consensus about its validity, and go to having an intellectual debate
about something that you are not 100% confident or sure of.

1.2.11 Isabel Evans

• [approache][learning][viewpoints][questioning][assumption]

The new approaches I am learning - or relearning - or learning to apply in different ways;

especially the UX and HCI skills and methods - are ones I would want to bring into any
project. The critical thinking skills in Design Thinking method for example, that ask
for different viewpoints, extensive questioning, upending taken for granted assumptions
- all those are ideas that fit a tester role whether in software, systems, other products,
process/organizational work.

1.2.12 Trisha Chetani

• [reflect][assumption]

We are getting involved more with support teams during COVID-19. I can use these times
to apply critical thinking with a support team to help them reflect on issues in a structured

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1.2. Critical Thinking : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 29

way by bringing more logic and insight to provide good evidence and sensible agreements
by reducing any assumptions.

Besides this, curiosity, different angles, and even be the devil’s advocate will still be
useful

1.2.13 Sandhya Krishnan

• [curiosity][detail][attention][understanding][analyse]

To think critically testers should be encouraged to have curious minds and to pay great
attention to minute details. This would help them to find underline or hidden defects which
they would have missed otherwise and would have caused great damage in production. In
this automated world, testers should be proactive to automate monotonous work when it
arises. But however, the human eye will easily catch anomalies associated with the look
and feel of a website or GUI rather than any automation tool.
The main aim of testers should be to provide a quality product or software, defect
prevention, and not of counting the number of defects identified. This can be achieved by:
• Process improvement activities
• Error correction mechanism
• Proper usage of information and data

One of the best ways for process improvement is to analyze defects. Once a defect is
identified then reverse tracking should be done to identify the validation process which
should have caught that defect in the previous software process. As a result, it will give
valuable insight along with ideas to make software reviews much stronger. This indeed will
help each person involved in these activities to take those defects and reviews about the
software more seriously.

For error correction mechanism documentation or design, papers can be used. Design
papers and documentation evaluation should be done in the same manner we evaluate the
code. During the evaluation, the text should be read thoroughly, understood, analyzed
for lapses or errors and those lapses or errors should be pointed out. This will improve
the quality of design papers and documentation and which in turn will improve test case
writing, evaluation, testing, and finally quality of product or services delivered.

Testers should use critical metrics identified to focus on the testing process rather than
technical characteristics of test like analysis, design, coding, and execution of test cases.

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1.2. Critical Thinking : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 30

1.2.14 Chris van Nieuwenhoven

• [questioning][artificial intelligence][prove][discussion]

Ethical questions
Most likely, there will be more and more artificial intelligence in our daily life. In 2020
there are already bots that can diagnose you with a better hit rate than an experienced
doctor. Bots are able to predict what you are going to buy on Amazon or what you are
going to read next. Bots can also predict who is likely to commit a crime. But what if
they are wrong? As we know, there is no software without defects because we cannot prove
the absence of them. In the future a tester might have to consider more ethical aspects as
well. Although as testers we wouldn’t be the ones to provide answers to these questions,
we should make sure that they are raised and discussed. These thoughts were inspired by
the keynote "Test the bot" from Katharina Zweig on the QS Days 2019 in Frankfurt.

1.2.15 Csaba Varsandán

• [decision][problem solving][evolving][devils advocate]

This is one of the most important skills when testing, so it could not be ignored. I am sure
there are many ways to improve this skill. First of all, you have to understand what you
are testing before you start critical thinking. No one thinks critically 100% of the time, and
nobody should do that. It is a tool that you should use when you need to make important
decisions or solve difficult problems. Once you find mistakes while you are using critical
thinking, you have good progress and this is a benefit of it. I have experienced so many
times that I am in the devil’s circle and I am not adapting thinking accordingly to the
"results" (I am not avoiding the mistakes I found out in it). Once you manage to evolve
the thinking itself, you will be closer to your goal, and it will make you a better tester. It
sounds like a good plan for me in the future.
In the day to day work, Karlo even tries to find a formula

1.2.16 Karlo Smid

• [formula]

We plan a workshop where we will try to establish a combinatorial formula that would
reveal full system feature coverage.

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1.2. Critical Thinking : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 31

Amrith tells us more about the questions that need to be asked

1.2.17 Amrith Shetty

• [reasoning][proactive]

Standing up for my reasoning for test areas and methods when questioned or downplayed?
Applying new tools/ techniques/ processes - is this something we can implement, is this
suitable, does the process claim justify it? To be proactive and go one step ahead by
teaching the team about critical thinking :)
When creating quality measurements - will this measurement be useful, how can we collect
this, do I have enough information

1.2.18 Bhumika Srinivas

• [angles][improve]

In the future
I’d like to work with all different roles in a team to remove the idea that the role of a
quality analyst is not just "testing". I’d like to change the role to be more about quality
analysis and also be the quality champion/quality coach in teams. Testing is not a role -
it’s a task, an analyst does more than just test the system - we should be looking to not
just improve an application, but, also improving the processes that lead to buggy systems.
Continue to use a data-driven approach to all problems.
Learning how we can incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence into automat-
ing testing tasks.

1.2.19 Niranjani Manoharan

• [tools][communication]

I would love to write a help bot that can literally walk through each person that reaches
out for help and thus help save my time! This bot should be able to crawl through a
pull request and find out if the test complies with the lint rules - no waits uses identifiers
instead of text, etc. If it doesn’t, then it should add a comment in the PR with the line
number that fails to comply.
For validating if anything changed in the codebase that could be related to the test failure,
the bot should just be automated to do a git bisect to find the offending PR.
For checking if a feature is behind a feature flag or not, the best way is to ask the person
directly and ask them if they have correctly enabled/disabled it.

#21stskills4testers
Chapter 2

Communication

Communication is the set of interactions with others that transmit any information.

32 #21stskills4testers
2.1. Communication : Stories of testers from the present 33

2.1 Communication : Stories of testers from the present

By going through the answers of the different testers in relation to their thinking or their
daily use of the communication skill, we found different kinds of feedback in the form of
experience stories or their opinions.
The stories were diverse but they are all convinced that these are a few things that are
very important. Indeed, it is necessary to smooth and simplify the communication between
testers, developers, and the business team in order to avoid problems and eliminate com-
plexity in projects.
For that reason that the submissions paid a lot of attention to asking questions (and these
questions should be lead by curiosity) when you are communicating with each other:

2.1.1 Tehreem Fatima

• [curiosity][eagerness][help][questioning][relationship][overview][courage]

Prefer Team Communication over Anxiety! Got a new project from management on a
very sudden notice or short deadline ??? Relax, don’t panic!
Curiosity, eagerness, and a desire to learn, help, and deal with the new products and
the dreadful ’first times.’ In the beginning, it does not seem easy, but if you have a sound
communication channel set up, then it becomes fun for you. As a test engineer, I always
enjoy going through the product, its flow and then finding a long list of bugs. After that,
I directly go to developers or teams and start asking them questions to gather as much
relevant information as possible

Why I do this?
• To understand the objective, duration, and timeline
• To get familiar with the team
• To select relevant tools and technologies

How I do this?
• Select an experienced developer from the project team and ask as many relevant
questions as possible
• Communicate with the product owner to get the requirements document and set
my goal
• Collaborate with the developers and gain familiarity with the tools and language
they deem suitable for the project

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Sometimes people start getting bothered by the inquisitive person, but I believe asking
questions is a sign of strength and courage. It helps bring everyone on the same page
and develop a better understanding among the team members. Once I establish a working
relationship with the developers and team, I make them realize that a tester is always there
to help them. Now the next step for me is to organize the meetings with a clear agenda and
detailed test strategy document to bring transparency to work. I standardize the process
of taking notes in a meeting by documenting everything well and making a repository of
communication; it will help not only me but also the new members.
One thing I have learned for being an excellent communicator is "asking questions." If
I don’t have acceptance criteria or definition of done, shoot a simple question, "I am not
getting how to do this; need more information." The result will be a conversation that will
help you write the test cases from atomic to detailed levels.
Keep the following in mind while asking questions:
• Be polite
• Respect the prevalent culture
• Be very clear about your concerns
• Be an excellent listener
• Talk to EVERYONE you can

Remember, excellent communication and team effort is the key to deliver a quality product!

Asking questions needs a bit of emotional intelligence as Antonella states (and she also
loves curious cats)

2.1.2 Antonella Scaravilli

• [curiosity][diversity][emotional intelligence][help][questioning]

I used to love reading the dictionary because my brain went on a curiosity tangent and
I always ended up learning unexpected words. The same happens with the articles, blog
posts, talks, and different types of information I’m curious about. It helps me build
schemata that comes in handy when I’m presented with a topic/product/situation related
to what I’ve read. I think that “Curiosity didn’t really kill the cat, it probably made it
smarter. . . ”, and the more diverse things I read, the easier it is for me to communicate with
people in different departments. Communication -and a little bit of emotional intelligence-
has allowed me to not be afraid to ask for help outside of my squad because I know that
my other co-workers are ready to help when needed.
Visualization is about making the answers to your questions visible

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2.1.3 Kai Bronner

• [comfort zone][encouraging][visualization][explicit][sharing][discussion]
[questioning]

Five to six people - a new team for innovation and new technologies. Everyone in devel-
opment could apply, I did and was selected. I’m a system tester, test analyst, and test
designer. I decided to leave my comfort zone. But in the new team, my tester skills were
not really in demand - or were they? From now on many daily topics were unknown to
me. My daily work was no longer about products or features that we were supposed to
test. I couldn’t longer do the stuff I was used to. I could only ask questions. I often had
so many questions in my head that I didn’t know what my real question was. I talked
about it again and again with the team. They kept encouraging me. I was irritated, I was
frustrated. Chance helped me. Through my children, I got to know a picture book. A
book, full of fishes, no plot, no story. There was a fish on every page. Every fish expressed
one emotion. When the children were asleep, I started to paint for myself - and I’m not
good at it. Soon after that, I started learning sketch notes. It was not uncommon, that we
discussed for four hours and in the end, we left the project room without anything visible.
It confused me for a long time. We tried to make it better, but we failed. That was part
of our problem as a new team. But now I had a plan. I wrote everything down on notes,
collected, linked, and dissolved them. Flipchart, magnetic board, I used everything I could
get. First, it was wild and chaotic, but with time it became systematic and structured.
I started to redesign the project room. From then on, we made every topic explicit. We
ordered together what together, what was created. I learned how to share my thoughts. I
listened and made it visible. This made it easier for me to act in discussions and express
my thoughts and questions. Meanwhile, I do this not only in our team and for our team.
I get involved in CoPs and create big pictures and stories and hang them up in the hall-
ways to create attention to issues. It has become normal for me to make my thoughts and
questions explicit when the environment is right. Unfortunately, I can’t always influence
that, but you can make that visible, too.

2.1.4 Karlo Smid

• [confidence][sharing][questioning]

For communication, we opened a Teams channel named testing and adding all testers. All
communication goes through that channel, if somebody starts private channel communica-
tion, we have a rule that this should be rerouted to the test channel. And during working
hours, answering questions in the test channel has a higher priority. As a team leader,
answering those questions must be a top priority. By answering them immediately, your
team members would grow confident that those questions are very important for you.

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2.1.5 Mike Lyles

• [involving][overall][visualization][clarify][understanding][mapping] [ques-
tioning][mindmapping][challenge][speak-up][confidence][discussion]

Communication is essential to effective teams and successful projects. The days of involving
the testers at the end of the project are part of the past. I have found that successful teams
are involving testers in the planning, design, and build phases of their projects. Testing has
a responsibility to ask questions to clarify and understand the outcomes of the project and
to best map their test planning to the expected outcomes of the stakeholders. My team
leverages mindmaps to assist in the communication between project managers, developers,
stakeholders, and the test team. These mind maps are generated during planning and
design sessions, as well as during the test planning phase. I have found that using mind
maps to supplement team communication has greatly improved the clarity and quality of
the work being done.
Many companies will define the role of a tester as someone who executes testing, in
an effort to find defects. While this is surely one of the outcomes of testing, the role of
testers is to be “investigative reporters”, assisting stakeholders with an understanding of
the product, requirements, how they will use the product, and how the stakeholder defines
a quality deliverable. I challenge testers on my team to speak up, engage with the project
team members, and share their findings. These findings may not be defects. They may be
observations or questions, clarifying the purpose of the product for the tester.
Most importantly, we are in the business of understanding risk. I ask our testers to
call out risks they see in the product, and to discuss their testing in terms of “confidence
in the product”. As projects near delivery dates, the confidence needs to either be high, or
detailed discussions need to be occurring within the team.

Besides asking questions, have a good dialogue is essential to communicate.

2.1.6 Clézia Oliveira

• [dialogue][understanding][clarity][tools]

I try to maintain closer communication because I believe that the evolution of work
processes begins through communication. I understand that establishing a good dialogue
brings understanding and fluidity to the processes, in addition to maintaining clarity and
objectivity. As we are in a pandemic period, we use all possible resources to maintain good
communication, for example, teams, WhatsApp, zoom, voice message, written message,
cell phone, emails.

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2.1. Communication : Stories of testers from the present 37

2.1.7 Jesper Ottosen

• [dialogue][discussion][discussion]

I use conversation, dialog, and discussions with a globally diverse team every day. We have
a suite of tests - some are flakey, we discuss what to do about them - if our current budget
of hours allows us to refactor them. I have a female automation specialist on an offshore
location on the task, but I trust her she does not have to report to me at every step. Keep
me in the loop, sure - but I trust her reading of the approach and how to refactor them
the best.

2.1.8 Gerald Habal

• [transparency][sharing][feedback][patience]

It was just two a half years ago when I was given a chance to do full automation and entered
the world of automated testing. Prior to that, for 10 years, I’m doing most manual testing
and a very little bit of automation, if you would qualify it, which is through Selenium IDE,
an add-on in Firefox that is simply “a record and play” and you tweak the generated scripts
to make it work. It was a challenging experience for me who is in a senior role but does
not have yet the required skills for the role, which is automated testing. How did I do it?
Here’s how communication will help anyone who’s currently in a QA role (manual testing)
and hope to switch to QE role (automated testing).
Be open and communicate it to yourself then to others. Back then, though I’m more
senior to most members of the team, I have less knowledge or less exposure to automated
testing. So, one thing I did was to accept that fact and open it to others, so that expec-
tations will be met. Be open, be straight forward since you’re discussing codes, logic, etc.
Admit if you don’t understand and try to ask for more information if needed. I let down
my ego and became open to the team. With this, I was not only able to save time but
also their time, since they have my honest feedback and we’re able to share ideas and learn
new things along the way. One caveat though, don’t just ask every time you encounter an
error, take your own research and initiative as well, in case they are busy and occupied
as well. In that way, you’re able to exhaust options from your end and will have a better
discussion on your inquiry. This will also help assess if you and your teammate are on the
same page once you gathered all the information you needed.

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2.1.9 Neil Matillano

• [transparency]

Transparency is the key to communicating daily as a tester. One needs to be transparent

in what is not going well and what is working for us to encourage the team
Obvious you need to transparent in your communication what also Arun Kumar Dutta
states, but he also adds verbal and non-verbal communication to this story

2.1.10 Arun Kumar Dutta

• [verbal][non-verbal][understanding][transparency]

We all know that communication is very important in any team including the testing team.
Communication is both verbal, non-verbal, written- all are important. We as a testing
team tried our best to make the communication simple, easy to understand, properly
communicated with details, evidence, and within a specified time. We also communicated
the test duration, test objectives well in advance to avoid any potential disturbance in the
environment. We minutely observed all the applications as well as server details and tried
to communicate any potential abnormalities during the test execution. Overall, we tried
to make it transparent as much as possible so that all the team members communicate and
share the best feedback to improve further. We communicate with the testing team, project
team, cross-functional team, product, and management team. We follow scrum meetings,
avoid unnecessary meetings, and use collaborative platforms for ongoing communications.
Proper communication is required in all stages and all the teams in software products
including the testing team.

2.1.11 Isabel Evans

• [help][assess][needs][discuss][understanding][verbal][non-verbal][listening]

In one team I am working with - a community IT project - I am using my skills to help

non-IT people assess what they need, and also to assess risk and opportunity. I’m making
sure that what we discuss and agree is documented simply, and in a way that everyone
understands, and so that not just the current team has a record, but future team members
have a resource to turn to when they join the team. We don’t just communicate verbally,
and we don’t just communicate with now. We listen to the past, and we prepare messages
for the future.
It seems a bit of a paradox but listening when mentioned as a part of communication
which contributes to understanding

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2.1.12 Nithin SS
• [expressing][motivation][listening][skill][attitude][understanding]

If you are good to communicate then you can be a great tester too! It is a way of ex-
pressing one’s thoughts, conveying opinions, and motivating others. And for all this, we
should be a good listener first. There will be times when we need to communicate in
different environments, with peers (both testers and developers), managers, stakeholders,
etc. Each needs to be handled differently, and for this, we need to develop collaboration
skills through continuous speaking and writing. Another important factor is attitude and
behavior. Good chemistry between the peers will result in improved quality of work as the
quality of communication increases. Communication cannot be considered effective unless
the message is received and understood.

2.1.13 Andrea Jensen

• [exploration][help][listening][understanding][discussion][questioning] [vi-
sualization][sharing][explanation][pair-testing][writing][value][enabler]

Communication – My Gateway into the IT domain Shortly after graduating with a degree
in Business Administration, I found myself as a QA person, to be honest more by accident
than anything else. From that on, I started to explore a whole new world. I participated in
training, read, studied, and passed my ISTQB exams. But, the one thing which probably
helps me the most to get started and continuously helps me to do my job is talking or
better said communicating. Talking, listening, and seeking to understand what it is all
about. Today, almost one decade after I’ve started, I am still exploring, discussing, and
questioning the requirements, the software, and the process. I talk to the product owner
about planned features and how they are supposed to work. I am frequently chatting with
developers to show and illustrate bugs, help them to reproduce those on their computer. We
are clarifying questions regarding the specification and the software. And we collaborate,
share, and provide data and files for easier reproducing and testing. I explain the test
activities to the team, the management, and sometimes to customers as well. Provide
regular reports and status updates to various stakeholders. Communicate within the team,
share my humble opportunity on the software readiness for the next release. In fact, some
days I spent more time talking than on pure testing. However, even during testing, there
is communication. It could be a pair-testing session or just sharing quick episodes with the
developer when exploring a new feature. Reassuring the behavior, checking if it matches
the requirements. If uncertainty arises, having a short group call or chat and include
the product responsible, so that we are all on the same page, means we share a mutual
understanding about the feature. I’d like to add, that communication is not limited to

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2.1. Communication : Stories of testers from the present 40

oral articulation. Communication includes also the consumption and creation of written
content. How should a bug be fixed properly if the tester could not share a bug report,
which enables the developer to reproduce, discover, and solve the issue?
Yesterday, today and still tomorrow, this is my deepest belief communication is one of
a tester’s core values. Especially in agile, cross-functional, diverse, and maybe nowadays
remote teams, it is our enabler to collaborate, to gain understanding, and to share our
specific testers view on the world with all the others, around us

2.1.14 Anonymous
• [continuous][dynamic][listening][improve][sharing]

As a member of the Agile Team, we are communicating all the time, during our daily
meetings, sprint planning, sprint review, and retrospectives. Currently, as a tester, our
communication is more dynamic with all the team members, no matter if we have meetings
with developers, Architects, or Product Owners.
"In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears
and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers."
– F. Rodgers
I’ve noticed a substantial improvement, a few years ago we were working isolated, just
receiving the environment and the requirements to validate and deliver the product or
service, we were not able to communicate with other teams, perhaps only a bug tracking
meeting to discuss some critical bugs. Testing was there to catch bugs before any release;
we were communicating findings.
I would like to share a story about communication in our projects; a few years back we
identified a failure in Production related to one feature, a new role was introduced and
not working at all for Safari MacOS users, affecting significant users. It was a severity
one on Production; our Agile team worked together to provide a hotfix quickly (It was an
easy fix related to configuration), after the hotfix was delivered, we tested it and ran our
Regression Test Suite to avoid any further issue.
We did a post-mortem analysis after that, and we discovered a bug created related to
the specific failure on Production, after reading the comments, fix was there also Test
validations, but not implemented, Team member in charge suffered an accident. After this
finding, we encouraged more active communication between team members in every Agile
Team and storytelling workshops to engage all members in our Agile ceremonies.
"Effective communication is related to active listening."

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Listening is an investment in your relationship with others

2.1.15 Bhumika Srinivas

• [relationship][trust][feedback][detail]

My approach to communication is building 1-on-1 relationships with all different roles in

a team to build trust and broaden my range of influence to ensure I can collaborate better
with all team members. Being open to feedback and to ensure that I am communicating
the right information to all team members by using these principles of communication -
Clarity, Consistency, Adequacy Timeliness Backing up information that I’m presenting to
the team with as much data and analysis as possible by looking at logs, monitoring, history
of usage, etc, and going to the team always with a potential solution to a problem at hand.
Instead of always being a reporter of problems, taking on the job of fixing low hanging
(easy to fix) defects or even working on any technical debt story cards always helps build
better trust between developers and quality analysts.
And after you have been listening and having a good relationship with your team mem-
bers, a conversation or even a discussion can be started up

2.1.16 Renate S
• [active][listening][possibilities][conversation][suggestions][accurately] [judge-
ment]

As a tester, I need actively listen to the product owner’s vision about new features and
the developer’s technical possibilities and during a conversation, I need to find any gaps,
any suggestions for improvements and to communicate accurately, without any judgment
why something was missed or can be done differently.

2.1.17 Chris van Nieuwenhoven

• [purpose][sharing][expectation][understanding][feedback][questioning] [dis-
cussion][needs]

Make the customer happy Once upon a time, there was a team that no-one wanted to
join. Some time back their products went to production and ever since they were dealing
with critical defects in production all day long. I was ready for a new challenge and I joined
the team as a test manager. I met a highly demotivated Indian test team. The typical
working routine was like this: They created test cases that were released for review by

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requirement engineers who gave many review comments. Afterward, they were released for
review by business representatives who gave many review comments. Most of it happened
through e-mail with the former test manager as a bottleneck in between. Requirement
engineers and business representatives told me that the Indian colleagues didn’t have a
clue what they were doing and that the test case quality was poor. I agreed that the
test case quality was poor and explained that I would start to improve it together with
the team. I also made it clear that they cannot expect good quality without sharing
their expectations and without business knowledge transfer. On the other side, the testers
explained that they were frustrated that nothing they did was right and that they often
had a hard time understanding the requirement documents. I explained that they would
need to see reviewing the requirement documents as part of the testing. They would need
to ask questions and they would need to start to think like the customer. I also explained
how important their job is and I explained the impact of critical defects. We came up
with a structured method to derive test cases from requirements and business scenarios.
We introduced a review session in which testers, business representatives, and requirement
engineers discussed the requirements and the test cases. Testers gave feedback and asked
questions about requirements as well. We had established a well-working communication
channel and quality improved noticeably. We invited a business representative who had
given the worst feedback to visit the Indian testers with me. In India, we introduced
a "make the customer happy session" in which the business representative played the
customer while the testers were trying to fulfill his requests in our test environment. Not
only did they understand customer needs, it was fun! This is when they learned how to
make the customer happy.

2.1.18 Amrith Shetty

• [discussion]

• Slack chat on-demand with teammates to discuss issues and tickets

• Organize a meeting to discuss test plans
• Send out an email on test progress to stakeholders
• Daily standup with team members to discuss our work

During those discussions, you also need the art of persuasion as a tester

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2.1. Communication : Stories of testers from the present 43

2.1.19 Renata S (2nd )story

• [persuasion][value][challenge][relations][appreciation][sharing][improve]
[suggestions][perception]

A Testers’ role is more than just about executing and reporting on tests. Communication
is a huge part, especially when trying to persuade a business of the value that testers can
bring to an organization. It can be common that Testers or Testing as an activity can be
seen as a bottleneck or it’s too expensive for the business to give it all the time it needs
to complete. This is where my passion for communicating the value of testing and Quality
comes in. It can start off small, by being the voice that challenges these concerns when
they are raised and providing evidence on why this is not the case. This can then extend
to getting allies outside of the testing team who can see the value in what testers can do,
there is usually a voice who can add weight to your argument, whether that be a developer,
a project manager, or someone else in the business. The power of persuasion is a critical
skill in this scenario. It takes a lot of determination and can require thick skin to be able
to stand up to the detractors. But if you can get one person on board to assist you, it can
then snowball and suddenly the wider org can have a true appreciation for what testing is
and what good quality means.
The next step in moving towards a culture of quality is then to take the message wider.
Find ways to present quality at team meetings, all hands, or other sessions where you
can share your passion for what you do. Use this platform to debunk some myths on
testing/QA, explain all the things you and the team do, and suggest ways to improve
processes and increase quality, maybe by suggesting Testability or shifting left on quality.
If you can articulate this successfully, it can change the course of how testing is perceived.

2.1.20 Simon Prior

• [persuasion][challenge][providing][evidence][allies][value][argument] [de-
stration][passion][perceiving]

A tester role is more than just about executing and reporting on tests. Communication
is a huge part, especially when trying to persuade a business of the value that testers can
bring to an organization. It can be common that Testers or Testing as an activity can be
seen as a bottleneck or it’s too expensive for the business to give it all the time it needs
to complete. This is where my passion for communicating the value of testing and Quality
comes in. It can start off small, by being the voice that challenges these concerns when
they are raised and providing evidence on why this is not the case. This can then extend
to getting allies outside of the testing team who can see the value in what testers can do,
there is usually a voice who can add weight to your argument, whether that be a developer,

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2.1. Communication : Stories of testers from the present 44

a project manager, or someone else in the business. The power of persuasion is a critical
skill in this scenario. It takes a lot of determination and can require thick skin to be able
to stand up to the detractors. But if you can get one person on board to assist you, it can
then snowball and suddenly the wider org can have a true appreciation for what testing is
and what good quality means.
The next step in moving towards a culture of quality is then to take the message wider.
Find ways to present quality at team meetings, all hands, or other sessions where you
can share your passion for what you do. Use this platform to debunk some myths on
testing/QA, explain all the things you and the team do, and suggest ways to improve
processes and increase quality, maybe by suggesting Testability or shifting left on quality.
If you can articulate this successfully, it can change the course of how testing is perceived.

Besides persuasion, learning is also a part of that conversation or discussion

2.1.21 Sergio Freire

• [learning][demonstration][sharing][constrain][idea][improve][skill]

In our team, we’re making learning sessions every few weeks in a format of oral presenta-
tions (with small demos) where people can:

• Share their findings on a specific topic (e.g. scripted vs exploratory testing)

• Share achievements, constraints, and ideas for future improvement
• Improve communication skills

We do this together as a team, so everyone can share no matter if the topic is a bit more
technology or coding related, or if it’s related to testing or processes.

As communication is a two-way street some writers included paring as important for

communication

2.1.22 Trisha Chetani

• [pairing]

The easiest way to improve communication is to work together with my developers’ co-
workers (and designers and architects etc) and slowly breaking down those silly roles and
eventually realize that we all are testers, except that some of us are have more experience
than others

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 45

2.1.23 Olivier Denoo

• [link][overview]

If there is one area in which the tester must excel, it is communication. An indispensable
link between development, operations, and the business, he must understand each issue
and adapt his speech to his interlocutors. Reporting is not the same if you are talking to a
fellow developer, a user, a PO, a business manager, or your CEO. Similarly, the tester must
constantly convince himself of the necessity and relevance of his actions, on the current
condition and quality of the product under test, on the issues, and sometimes also the
internal policy that is in full swing. I remember an audit in which a department director,
who refused to see me, systematically questioned my arguments. With each explanation,
every justification, every argument, she tirelessly opposed me to a classic "yes, but..." - a
typical indicator of a power game at run where the person wants to attract attention and
demonstrate his power, rather than having his problem solved. After a sequence of "yes,
but...", I had therefore resolved to take the risk of leaving my expert armor to leave her
on the floor. I am afraid I am running out of arguments, I replied, so what would you
suggest in this case? Maybe I missed something important after all? Too delighted to be
able to give herself importance, she had then taken up and made her own, one by one, all
the elements of my analysis and the suggestions that I had just stated and to which she
opposed her “yes but”. Moreover, she did not fail privately to express her satisfaction with
my work and my analysis. Here goes my ego: flattered in private and destroyed in public,
but only the result counts after all!
How do you think you can apply communication in the future as a tester in your team?

2.2 Communication : Imaginations and thoughts of testers

After experiencing the Corona pandemic (but even besides this) the importance of remote
working will be increasing

2.2.1 Nithin SS
• [tools][remote][sharing][simplicity][visualization][attention][interactive]

Nowadays people are more interested in using digital media as a platform to communicate,
so involving more interactions happening in digital media and communicating widely with
the people will help us to learn and share our thoughts. The way we present things plays
a key role in making complex things simpler for the audience. The right usage of correct
images and appropriate colors in presentations or articles will help us to communicate easily

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 46

get the attention of the audience/readers. And we should try to have more illustrations
highlighting when we present something to a wider audience. This helps to get more
attention and make the sessions more interactive.

2.2.2 Arun Kumar Dutta

• [remote][diversity][training][relationship][perspective]

I think as we are getting adapted to more and more remote ways of working- communi-
cation will be the important factor for the software team to be successful which includes
the testing team also. As said above I think, team communications, cross-functional team
communications, using collaborative mediums, well-defined reports, proper test observa-
tions, and providing stress on important communications will be unquestionably required
in the future also. I think proper training with technical skills, effective communication
training, and creating strong relationships, thinking compassionately, thinking in terms of
end-user perspective will ensure proper communication in the future.

2.2.3 Gerald Habal

• [remote][tools][listening][discussion]

Before zoom, we had Skype, Webex, etc, but during this pandemic period, Zoom has
become one of the major players and become a household name for online communication.
It was even dubbed as “Pandemic’s Social Network” as it became a medium of people
working from home, communicating with each other. In the future, communication will
still be an essential part of the work/business process and more tools will be available.
As a tester, you will be needing to step up and be heard more to discuss or express your
thoughts.

2.2.4 Clézia Oliveira

• [tools][interaction][sharing][remote]

The more resources we use to communicate, the better the interaction will be, so I believe
that in the future technology will bring us even closer, we will increasingly share our
knowledge and experiences through communication, and that it will not necessarily be just
in person. So as a manager I will use all the tools and practices available on the market
to support the team’s communication.
But although we probably will be working more remotely as humans will still need the
power of visualization that was already mentioned above by Nithin

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 47

2.2.5 Olivier Denoo

• [interaction][connect][convincing][non-verbal][gamification][visualization]
[animation]

Tomorrow’s tester will have to handle the codes of communication and its issues even bet-
ter. Because he will interact with even more varied profiles because he will have even more
this role of a binder for which he is famous already. He will have to excel at convincing,
mastering Cialdini and Schopenhauer also sometimes. Soft skills, power game detection,
and the analysis of non-verbal communication will be his daily tools (this is already often
the case today). He will become an expert in positive communication and will master the
art of organizing workshops and serious games.
His new tools will be mental maps, workshops (workshop management - Autissier, Moutot),
or question games (Test Spheres1 , JAD2 , Debriefing cards3 ...).
He will move on to visual or pictorial communication and will excel at putting himself in
the shoes of others (empathy card 4 , personae5 , "what if I were", ...). He will add one more
string to his bow and become an animator. Who said the test was dead or boring?

Figure 2.1: Empathy Map by Dave Gray

1
https://isleof.it/category/software-testing/testsphere/
2
https://jadcommunications.com/
3
https://thedebriefingcube.com/
4
https://gamestorming.com/empathy-mapping/
5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_(user_experience)

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 48

2.2.6 Kai Bronner

• [failure][visualization][understanding][explicit][link][influence][perspective]

We often fail as a team and I’m annoyed every single time. It has become more important
for me to fail as early as possible. Now I have trust in my graphics and models. Talking with
stakeholders or non-team-members can be really frustrating when they don’t understand
you. I started to participate earlier in the process and make things explicit and visible to
the stakeholder. I share the insights from this phase with the team, but we are still facing
problems communicating the insights to all team-members and shorten the feedback loop.
So I started learning the system modeling language. I see great potential in model-based
testing. That is one of my visions, but step by step. First, we have to establish the link
between stakeholder and team. I find it easier to use system models to communicate with
developers to show one precise view, clearly describe the context, and help to find decisions
in the team. Making things visible is an incredible method for me to influence discussions,
decisions, and more. I evolved from sketch notes and now I use a variety of models and
graphics to find the essence of problems or perspectives. But it’s all about people and
the graphics must help the team e.g. to make decisions clear to others. I still don’t like
recognizing when we fail. We, as a team, don’t like it. But I start realizing that we fail
earlier and that is, after all, something.

2.2.7 Sandhya Krishnan

• [visualization][goal][outcome][interpretation][engagement][listening]
[understanding][remote][tools][diversity]

The current era is the era of digitalization. In this era, the primary deliverable will be
in web format. To make the comprehension of content faster for web deliverables, testers
should make use of visual content wherever possible. Web deliverable should always be
reversely traceable to requirement, SRS, design documents.
While communicating orally or through digital medias, the content should be :
• Simple
• Clear
• Unambiguous
• Accurate
• Complete
• Precise

he objective of communication must be forethought in terms of the ultimate result and

must be clear about the outcome one wants. Testers should have high interpretational

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skills to engage in conversation and discussion while dealing with resources across the
globe. Effective communication can be achieved by proper listening, understanding, and
then speaking. One should work on language to communicate, direct, and lead. Building
affinity along with the right word vocabulary is important in any mode of communication.
Communication and coordination go hand in hand, so testers should be incredibly
talented to communicate and coordinate in an efficient, effective, and timely manner to
ensure the entire team is on the same page.
As virtual offices are coming into the picture, so instead of using a plethora of different
communication tools, testers should concentrate on those communication tools, devices,
and technology that support seamless communication across the globe dealing with differ-
ent working cultures, resources, and demography.
And as humans, we are driven by purpose we are looking for meaningfulness, influence,
and understanding

2.2.8 Mike Lyles

• [adaptation][focus][practice][sharing][discussion][speak-up][assumption][clarify]
[questioning][purpose][expectation][effective]

The rise of COVID-19 introduced a worldwide need for work from home roles. Compa-
nies are realizing that having remote team members can work with effective communication.
Agile teams for years have purposed their work around co-location, and teams working in
the same building, the same room, and close to each other. With the call to work from
home, teams have adapted and we are called on to focus more on the technology and tools
that are available to assist with our team’s success.
Communication software such as MS Teams and ZOOM has become common practice
and will likely continue to be the norm long after the virus has moved on. Leveraging
software to share screens, conduct team calls, and to discuss topics in a discussion thread,
will become absolutely critical.
My challenge in the future for my team, and testers worldwide, will be to speak up, raise
the risks early, and never assume. Ask clarifying questions to ensure that you understand
the purpose of the product. Talk with the stakeholders. Find out what they expect, and
how they expect to use the product. Speed to market is driving teams to deliver faster, with
shorter sprints. This will only continue to be aggressive. Being an effective communicator
on the team will be critical for testers in the future.

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 50

2.2.9 Karlo Smid

• [fast][meaningfull][discord]

Communication must be fast, meaningful, and not technology constrained. The plan is to
investigate what the future is bringing in that field. Discord looks very promising.

2.2.10 Anonymous

• [influence][impact][mindset][listening][understanding][open][trust][goal]
[responsibility]

To be honest, Modern Testers must communicate with both technical and non-technical
people. Testing should be an active role; we must implement influential communication
and impact positively, achieving a whole-team responsibility for the quality, influencing
others to embrace the Quality mindset.

"Aristotle identified the Three Means of Persuasion needed for a speaker to influence
an audience: ethos (appearing sincere and honest), logos (being believable and credible),
and pathos (displaying passion and emotion)."

One crucial aspect of communication is active listening, instead of providing opinions,

we must listen to our Customers, Developers, and Product Owners. Once we understand
them, then we can provide facts such as metrics, examples, evidence to help the decision-
makers.
Last but not least, we must accept that we can be wrong; sometimes, we must trust
others to make the right decisions based on the input we provided. Keep in mind that
communication is not about our content and the words being spoken; It is about the
objective you are pursuing and the intentions.
To summarize, we must consider influential communication as the primary skill for Testers
to communicate with everybody on the team to embrace whole-team responsibility for
quality genuinely, see testing as valuable, challenging, and be open to experimenting with
process changes.

"Move from a traditional approach of communicating findings to influential communi-

cation and embrace a Quality mindset."

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 51

2.2.11 Renata S
• [evolving][sessions][connect][understanding][confidence][passion][questioning]
[testsphere]

This will be an ever-evolving skill. There will always need to be a voice for quality, someone
who advocates for quality best practices. Find more novel ways to share the message, one
suggestion would be to organize lunch and learn sessions with the wider organization or
using the TestSphere card deck from the Ministry of Testing to start discussions on testing
topics and show the passion and abilities to articulate what we do. The utopia here is
that everyone in the organization understands the importance of quality, but this will take
a long time so there will always be the need to continue to find new ways to evangelize
and show the importance of testing and quality. Having confidence and passion in what
you are saying will make it more believable and give you more credibility when trying to
get the wider teams on board. Find every possible scenario to share it and question when
Testing is not considered. This persistence will pay off, it just won’t happen overnight, so
be prepared for a long journey!

2.2.12 Renate S (2nd )idea

• [examples][valuable][sharing][understanding]

In the future as a tester, I will expand my communication with more examples. Examples
are a very valuable way to have a better-shared understanding
To reach that we hope that we use the skill of listening, which can be quite hard

2.2.13 Isabel Evans

• [writing][help][listening][encouragement][sharing][learning]

Writing, and helping others write. Listening, and offering encouragement. Sharing what I
know, as well as learning from others.
and as Isabel mentioned learning remains a future skill

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 52

2.2.14 Sergio Freire

• [optimization][learning][sharing][unknown][frequently]

Errors and unoptimized steps are recurrent and many of them could be avoided from the
start. However, many times our own daily learnings are not shared as they should. Every
single of us finds many bits in our own unknowns which can also be other’s unknowns.
Therefore, small findings should be shared more frequently, without having to wait for a
given moment/space. Findings shouldn’t be part of a learning waterfall kind of process.

But to create a learning environment there must be openness, discussion, conversation,

feedback.

2.2.15 Neil Matillano

• [open][transparency]

To not be afraid in speaking your mind especially if it helps the team improve in different
aspects at work.

2.2.16 Jesper Ottosen

• [discussion][conversation]

No-one likes to be told or commanded on what to do. Let’s have less of that, and more
about discussion and working with intrinsic motivation and leadership to drive the com-
munication, conversations, and discussions.

2.2.17 Amrith Shetty

• [expectation][discussion]

• Increase communication with other stakeholders to understand expectations

• Use chat to discuss more my test work
• Increase chat about quality and how we can achieve it together

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 53

2.2.18 Bhumika Srinivas

• [feedback][open][trust][why]

• Continue to be open to feedback using clear communication - following the prin-

ciples of communication.
• Continue to build trust with all team members.
• Continue to look to data to present information - it’s a sure shot trick to convince
anyone of the "why’s"

and to finish this chapter, Simon talks about passion and refers to tools such as TestSphere

2.2.19 Simon Prior

• [evolving][advocate][sharing][testsphere][passion][articulation][evangelise]
[confidence][questioning][persistence][journey]

This will be an ever-evolving skill. There will always need to be a voice for quality, someone
who advocates for quality best practices. Find more novel ways to share the message, one
suggestion would be to organize lunch and learn sessions with the wider org, or using the
TestSphere card deck from Ministry of Testing to start discussions on testing topics and
show the passion and abilities to articulate what we do. The utopia here is that everyone
in the organization understands the importance of quality, but this will take a long time
so there will always be the need to continue to find new ways to evangelize and show the
importance of testing and quality. Having confidence and passion in what you are saying
will make it more believable and give you more credibility when trying to get the wider
teams on board. Find every possible scenario to share it and question when Testing is not
considered. This persistence will pay off, it just won’t happen overnight, so be prepared
for a long journey!

#21stskills4testers
Chapter 3

Collaboration

Collaboration is the act of working or thinking together to achieve a goal. Collaboration

can be done with two or more people or organizations that have a common goal to achieve.

54 #21stskills4testers
3.1. Collaboration : Stories of testers from the present 55

3.1 Collaboration : Stories of testers from the present

Of course, collaboration is being open to each other so sharing is possible.

3.1.1 Marie Drake

• [visualisation][sharing][understanding][participation][improvements]

I make sure that I collaborate with not just the developers but everyone from our team
by making my work visible and providing clear updates for any progress or blockers. As
someone who has the system domain knowledge, I try my very best to share what I know
from the different systems that we are using so everyone on the team is on the same
understanding. I work closely with developers at the very beginning to make sure that we
have appropriate tests in place for new features or any changes that we are about to release.
I also participate in code reviews and suggest changes that I think will be beneficial. If I
am working on a technical task and get stuck, I’m not afraid to ask for help and advice
from members of the team who have the technical expertise. Finally. I do my very best to
show what we have achieved in terms of quality improvements by speaking at lunch and
learn sessions and sharing my learnings across the technology department.

3.1.2 Neil Matillano

• [sharing][improve]

"No man is an island", especially in an agile team. You need to learn to collaborate.
Collaboration as a tester means to share ideas not just on testing but also on how to
continuously improve the product in terms of usability, UX/UI, and trustworthiness of the
product. As a tester in my team, I share with them the mindset of testing first, to help
influence the way they approach quality as not just something they do at the end but in
every aspect of the agile.

3.1.3 Gerald Habal

• [help][relationship][productivity][peer review][knowledge sharing]

It was just two a half years ago when I was given a chance to do full automation
and entered the world of automated testing. Prior to that, for 10 years, I’m doing most
manual testing and a very little bit of automation, if you would qualify it, which is through
Selenium IDE, an add-on in Firefox that is simply” a record and play” and you tweak the

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3.1. Collaboration : Stories of testers from the present 56

generated scripts to make it work. It was a challenging experience for me who is in a senior
role but does not have yet the required skills for the role, which is automated testing. How
did I do it? Here’s how collaboration will help anyone who’s currently in a QA role (manual
testing) and hope to switch to a QE role (automated testing).
You may have heard about the phrase: “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work” and it is
very true. Back then, though I have my own initiatives “studying, testing, coding, etc.”, it
will not be possible for me to learn automation testing without collaborating with others.
Not only does this improve my relationship with my team but it maximizes everyone’s
productivity and efficiency. Imagine, if I encountered an issue with my code that I spend
1-2 days to solve and will be actually resolved by 1 hour or 30 minutes peer review by
someone who has more experience or knowledge than me, would that be better? Not only
I can do more since my blocker has been solved but also less rework will be done during code
review since I’m able to get the information about coding standards and best practices. I
also believe we learn from each other whenever we work together.

3.1.4 Prashant Hegde

• [responsibility][silos][objectives][culture][knowledge sharing]

Effective Collaboration between Dev and QA Teams will always remain significant. Quality
is everyone’s responsibility in the age of DevOps/Agile. Both Development and testing
teams have the same objective of delivering a high-quality product at an accelerated rate.
Building a collaborative culture becomes critical to breaking down silos and achieving this
shared objective.
In our Organization, I am trying to build a collaborative culture. One of the initiatives
I have taken recently is to conduct bug bashes before our major releases. A Bug Bash
is a company-wide event where everybody (Dev/QA/PM) are invited to participate in a
bug-hunting session. The goal is to unearth as many bugs as possible in a limited time
frame. Of course, we reward people who find the most valuable issues. Bug Bash is a great
exercise for testers to improve their testing craftsmanship and find valuables issues. Bug
bashes aid developers to learn to test and gain product knowledge. Bug bashes have added
a lot of value to our organization not only by unearthing bugs but also by strengthening
relationships across Teams.
There are other approaches that I also employ to increase collaboration between testers
and developers:
• Pair testing with testers/developers
• Design reviews with designers
• Three amigos meetings (Dev/QA/PM)
• Mob test design sessions

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3.1. Collaboration : Stories of testers from the present 57

• Other Scrum practices (Standups/Sprint planning/Sprint reviews and Retrospec-

tives)

Creating that culture of sharing you need to have empathic qualities

3.1.5 Bhumika Srinivas

• [empathy][coaching][workshops]

Building empathy for all the roles in a team - I do this by playing different roles in a team -
being a Business Analyst, Developer, Tech Lead - even if it is for a short while - it helps me
understand the daily ongoings of these different roles which in turn helps me communicate
better and more efficiently with them. Coaching each of the team members about quality -
I do this by pairing with different roles and team members while doing my job as a Quality
Analyst - by writing tests (across all the layers of the test pyramid), analyzing defects,
manually testing a system, writing stories or even working with UX designers to come up
with a UI that works with the current system. This also furthers the concept of Shift-left
mindset i.e influence all different roles that are involved as early as planning, UX design,
to writing code in building quality into the software instead of being the responsibility of
just one role in the team. Running workshops about quality - I’ve run quality health check
workshops to identify and validate the quality of processes as well as systems that need to
be improved in a team.
Tatiana Ribeiro Nunes, a senior quality control analyst, tells her story and how she
continues to grow in the field of testing.

3.1.6 Tatiana Ribeiro Nunes

• [respect][trust][empathy]

From the beginning, the logo realized that when talking about the evolution of software
quality, it is interesting to discuss not only tools but also behavior.

In the past, testers worked in isolation and focused on finding errors in the system.
Today, however, when we think about changing, we must start thinking about ourselves,
especially considering our attitudes and behaviors. We really need to focus on how our
ways of acting can impact our daily work.

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From a personal point of view, we can start thinking about things like:

• How can I collaborate more with people?

Here is my story: My trajectory with software testing started in 2002. It was right after I
graduated from the Systems Analysis course in the interior of Brazil.
With my diploma in hand, I went to the metropolis of Porto Alegre, I understand how I
was in the job market and, to my surprise, I got an opportunity to work in a large company
that was recruiting only people with no experience to practice training in Software Testing
and Quality in large bank projects.
There, it was enough for me to fall in love with the area! I moved to Florianópolis
(Santa Catarina) in 2003, where I still work in large companies, in projects ranging from
legacies to complex financial systems. Coming from a family of four sisters, I know what it
is like to live in a family where one collaborates with another. Working in the technology
sector was a challenge, for many years in most companies where I worked I was a single
woman in the testing sector. But, from the beginning, in my mind, I don’t see colleagues
as adversaries and position me as an important piece for the time, gaining respect and
trust from the leaders through collaboration. Today I encourage people to cooperate with
each other. In addition to technical skills, which are fundamental, it is also necessary to
develop behavioral skills such as collaboration. Much of what I have achieved in my career
has been to generate empathy with my co-workers and commitment, allowing the delivery
of products and projects with value.

Making that contact using empathy you are able to work together (pair) or the link

3.1.7 Lisa Crispin

• [link][interaction][conversation][pair][visualization][relationship]

I’m not sure if this fits under collaboration or communication. It seems to be both. I
work for a company whose product is a low-code platform. I’m embedded in two teams
working on monitoring and observability, as the quality coach/consultant. One team is
part of RD, the monitoring observability team. The other one is a special "lab" team in
customer support whose members rotate every few months. The teams are both spending
some of their time on a proof of concept related to logging as well as observability. The RD
team’s goal is to provide better tools for people in RD who are helping to solve production
problems like machine crashes or poor performance. The lab team’s goal is more to provide
tools to customers so they can do their own monitoring and observability.
I took this job because I want to learn about observability, however, I’m far from being
an expert at it and am only starting to learn the tools. I feel this limits the value I can add

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to these teams. However, without me, I think these two teams would not communicate as
well. I have context on both teams and I can tell when they need to talk to each other and
coordinate their efforts. I’m able to get them together (virtually) to have the necessary
conversations. Every day in the standup meetings, I can report to each team what the
other is doing and if they need any help.
I’ve also been able to pair a little bit with a developer on the lab team to create queries,
visualizations, and dashboards in Kibana as a proof of concept. I’m new to using Kibana,
but I can contribute ideas as to what data to show and how to show it. Pairing is my
favorite way to collaborate. At the end of each pairing session, I have a short debrief with
my pair, and so far, pairing has been a productive and positive experience for both of us.
I’m new to the company and am focusing on building relationships with engineers in
support and in RD to find out what their observability needs are. I involved my teammates
from both teams in these conversations so they can ask their own questions and hear the
pain points first hand. I plan to collaborate with both teams to create acceptance tests
based on what our internal stakeholders need, so we can use these tests to guide our
development.

3.1.8 Isabel Evans

• [listening][rewarding][link][assumption][questioning]

I am attempting to listen more, speak less, and work with other people on their ideas.
Being a student and participating in discussions of other people’s work is very rewarding,
and I’m taking those ideas into other projects I am working on. I’m making more effort to
see the links between my own ideas and other people’s ideas. I’ve always been interested
in making links between people I know, and helping them work together - I continue to do
that. In terms of projects I am on at present - some don’t specifically require a software
tester, and so I become a collaborator who tests other people’s ideas and assumptions as
well as my own. Part of collaborating is asking questions - that’s a testerly thing.

3.1.9 Trisha Chetani

• [pairing][motivation][goal setting][contribution][accountable]

Allowing myself to involve in pair testing and pair programming by using activities of
group work and immediate feedback to create a motivational focus. Having this activity
help me and my colleagues to hold each other accountable for achieving a goal by being
prepared and contributing to the discussion

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3.1.10 Gareth Waterhouse

• [team journey][commitment][pair][learning][understanding][purpose][good
feeling]

Collaboration in absolutely any role is key to success. You have to work with others for any
long term success. I’ve seen projects fail because they haven’t been collaboratively worked
on. One of my biggest successes was taking a team of 30+ people on a journey, a journey of
discovery about their Continuous Integration pipeline, their automated checks, and their
environments. I couldn’t have done this alone, I needed the buy-in from everyone, and one
of the easiest ways to get buy-in is to get people involved. I worked collaboratively with
the Platform Engineers, the Software Engineers, other QA Engineers, and even the senior
management in order to get everyone to understand what we’re trying to achieve and the
role that everyone played in it. Once everyone understood what we were trying to achieve
it was a case of ensuring that the right people were able to work on it, and in some cases
pair with others who wanted to learn, and once they’d worked on it, share what they’d
worked on with others. This meant that people who weren’t involved in building it or
developing it understood what was happening so that when they came to use it, they knew
what was happening and more importantly why. Clearly, this involved Communication as
well, but I think the key C was collaboration, for, without that, it would have died a death
before it even began. The great thing about collaboration is that it makes everyone feel
good, it brings everyone on the journey with you.

3.1.11 Michael Ruderman

• [engagement][communication]

As a leader of testing departments I continuously look to ensure all roles in the development
and testing of any product or service are more fully engaged with testing; always moving
away from the ’Throw the code over the wall to testing’ mentality that seems to move from
methodology to methodology (waterfall to agile) or culture to culture (PMP to DevOps).
The simplest way to keep everyone engaged is through a well-documented and accepted
communication plan that keeps everyone in the loop and aware of the support needed and
levels of engagement requested, where calls-to-action are being directed, along with the
urgency and timing of those requests by the testing leads (manual, automation, perfor-
mance, etc.). Often this collaborative approach shifts the focus of project testing away
from project managers or scrum masters to center upon test leads who are well-positioned
as the coordinating source of truth, to direct and report on the health and well-being of
the effort-in-test. The result is a more efficient and streamlined focus and effort so that

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testing can have a more efficient and clear impact on resource direction that ensures good,
focused engagements that will meet the planned timelines and schedule.
Working closely together is all for reaching common goals

3.1.12 Nithin SS
• [common goal][communication][flexible][compromise][effectively][respect]

Collaboration is the key skill that helps us to work together to achieve a common goal.
More collaboration happens when ideas are communicated well, so I believe collaboration
and communication are closely connected. Alone we can do so little, together we can
achieve more! For example, pair testing with designers will give us a different context
to our thinking. Pair testing with a developer will mutually help both of us in terms of
testing and how a feature is developed. Also, we should be flexible and willing to make the
necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal. Working effectively and respectfully
with diverse teams is one of the main factors.

3.1.13 Ileana Herrera

• [tune][doubt][questioning][trust][face-to-face][goal][unity][gamification][fun]
[observing][commitment]

This is probably the hardest skill to shape up when it comes to working with BAs or Devs.
When testers work with other testers they are usually in the same tune, but complications
may arise when others are involved. I was able to live a transition from a non-collaborative
team to a collaborative one for one of the projects I work with. In the beginning, devs and
testers were not communicating between themselves. And when a tester had doubts about
a bug in testing, they didn’t feel comfortable talking to the corresponding dev. They would
just reject it and raise the question in the bug just in case or to me. There was no trust.
When we moved to WFH I experienced how important showing your face in meetings was
and I realized devs were not turning their cameras on for meetings. So, for a while, I kept
mentioning, without any success, how communication and collaboration were important to
reach a common goal, especially during quarantine and everyone WFH.
The solution to this problem came to me while watching a webinar on ’Building teams
through play’ by @jennydoesthings. I knew what I had to do for the team to move forward
as a unity. After more research on fun games for team building, I found a game called ’2
truths 1 lie’.
I decided to play it in one of our retrospective meetings. First I talked to the testers
and asked if they would turn on their cameras in the meeting to which they agreed. At

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that point, I already had almost half of the team in for the game. When we started the
retrospective, many cameras were on and a couple of devs also joined that action. While
playing the game and guessing our truths and lies everyone was laughing and turning their
cameras on. We had tremendous fun together and we got to know each other a bit better.
In the following weeks, I was more observative than usual, to see if the game had given
results. I was pleased to see the comment "a good collaboration between members’ in
the working column of another retrospective. The team agreed that we were working
together and as a result, we were able to accomplish our commitment in future sprints.
Now everybody is comfortable asking for help from other members and collaborating to
reach our sprint goals.

Discussion is obviously a part of good collaboration.

3.1.14 Arun Kumar Dutta

• [responsibility][discussion]

For me, testing is absolutely collaborative work and it is everyone’s responsibility from
application owners, to stakeholders to architects to developers to testers to the operation
team. Proper collaboration leads to a successful product resulting in enduring in the mar-
ket for a long creating a brand value of the product. As a day to day activity, we as a
team collaborate in continuous comprehensive testing concepts that cover both shift-left
and shift-right testing. We have scheduled discussion points, used collaborative tools con-
tinuously, having dashboard/console type views- to be up to date always. I think we are
working similarly to DevQAOps for collaboration.

Who has the overview to improve the collaboration?

3.1.15 Antonella Scaravilli

• [projection][overview][solution]

“Translators aren’t dictionaries with legs”, one of my teachers used to say. Even if testers
know a lot about a product, they aren’t a walking list of requirements (and historical
changes made to the product) either. Acknowledging this has allowed me to understand,
from day one, that teamwork means collaboration. I embrace the fact that I need to col-
laborate with the rest of the team because two heads think better than one! Collaborating
with different departments of my company, from HR to Customer Support, has allowed me
to see the big picture and to be a real team player so that we can solve the puzzle together

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and develop a product that our users love.

And Karlo is convinced it has everything to do with delegation

3.1.16 Karlo Smid

• [delegate]

Delegate, delegate, delegate! As a team leader, your responsibility is to set solid ground
where critical thinking and creativity would grow. Then you can easily create task chunks
and delegate them to team members. Direct your own creativity and critical thinking in
creating solid ground enablers and task creation/delegation. After that, many questions
would arise. Help testers by answering them or by asking follow-up questions.
Or is there more that you need to create collaboration

3.1.17 Olivier Denoo

• [understanding][rewarding][punishment]

Collaboration and multi-disciplinary has always been, for me, an essential role in the
job of the tester. I see the latter as a central and unifying element capable of granting
technique and craft, surpassing codes and languages (not just in the computer sense of
the term) to ensure good understanding in our too many towers of Babel, when they are
not made of ivory. I remember a project where, following numerous planning slip-ups, the
development manager ordered "his troops" to correct ten defects a day, or be ready to face
sanctions. When I had expressed my doubts about this approach and had advocated more
balanced actions, he had simply dismissed me by asking me to mind my own business and
to be ready to retest. As I expected, I was not disappointed! Of course, ten defects have
been corrected every day by each developer. It makes sense when your bonus and your
career are at stake, doesn’t it?... But what defects! Only "low hanging fruits” were taken
into account, regardless of any notion of priority or severity. After all, they were only asked
to correct ten defects, no one said which ones. Worse, in less than a fortnight, the number
of "returned" (defects are said to be non-reproducible) has more than tripled - because
a non-reproducible defect is a tester error, counted off the quota to be corrected by the
developers, which, in terms of reporting, amounts to one less defect. Of course, as you may
guess, most of these were real. It was only a recirculation loop, a simple "game". Quite
an expensive game though, because it required a re-verification of each disputed defect,
additional explanations allowing their reproduction and that in the meantime the progress
of the test team was strongly impacted. It took a serious discussion, the lifting of these

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measures before the project could resume with a healthy and serene collaboration. Quality
is everyone’s business and involves all stakeholders. Open and effective collaboration is es-
sential to the smooth running of the project, regardless of the approach or mode is chosen. . .

Expectations as a part of that same collaboration

3.1.18 Mike Lyles

• [understanding][needs][assisting][expectation][value]

To be an effective tester, we must work with each member of our collective teams. During
the planning and design phases, it is critical to understand the stakeholder needs and
to work with them to ensure they are clearly explaining what they need, how they will
use it, and why they need it. During the development phases, testers can best assist the
team by collaborating with the developers to help them with an understanding of what
needs to be delivered, and how it will work. Unit testing is no longer executed just by
developers. And post-development testing is no longer just something that the testers will
execute. Collaboration between the developers and testers will ensure that the stakeholder
expectations are met.
Within my team, the senior testers understand the technical design and development
of code and can work with the developers to identify root causes and track down changes
that must be made if defects are found. This has been a value add to the project team
and builds trust and respect between developers and testers.

So we can help, improve and grow

3.1.19 Jesper Ottosen

• [help][improve]

All documents and plans I prepare and send I put on our internal collaboration platform
- first of all to signal that I share openly and don’t hoard in my email box. Secondly, all
the documents come with the comment "this is how far I got - help me to improve". No
one knows everything, we all work together for a common purpose.

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3.1.20 Clézia Oliveira

• [need][evolution][growth]

Currently, I follow the teams in dailys, these meetings are super important to understand
the need and evolution of the team, with this vision I can collaborate and act in impedi-
ments, or propose solutions such as the acquisition of tools, training, or workshops for the
growth of the team and the correct delivery of demands.
Luke Liu gives us great wisdom of teamwork

3.1.21 Luke Liu

• [community of practice] [attitude][mindset][making contact][initiative]

My view of testing and tester:

• Testing is not a siloed or separate team to be done at the end of the project
phase. It should not be. Tester alone is not a gatekeeper or approver of quality in a
project. It should not be.
• Testing is a team sport, testers love to work with others to achieve the goal of
delivering a trustworthy and useful solution as a team.

As a tester, I value collaborations because I believe a valuable solution is teamwork rather

than a masterpiece from a mastermind. As ancient Chinese wisdom saying

• 三个臭皮匠葛亮 [sān gè chòu pí jiàng sài guò zhū gě liàng] A team of ordinary
people can beat the genius mind. Teamwork makes awesome work.
• 三人行必有吾焉 ［sān rén xíng bì yǒu wǒ shı̄ yān] We can always learn some-
thing new if we have a learner attitude.

These beliefs, values, and mindset guide me when I’m working in software projects. As
we all heard "projects unfold over time" due to their complexity. Everyone working on
the project holds a piece of the puzzle. We are all trying our best to create something
useful and reliable while we are all biased with our own unique perspectives. This makes
collaboration even more important to bring out the best possible solution at the time.

As a tester, I go out of my way to talk to developers, BA, PO, other testers within/outside
of the current project to solve a puzzle I have at the time. I volunteer in another project

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whenever it’s possible to understand another part of the business/product area. There
are always new things that can be learned from others as to how they are approaching a
particular problem or risk.

The community of Practice, Meetups, Social Media are also great places to share and
learn from others’ perspectives.

Chris shares his experience

3.1.22 Chris van Nieuwenhoven

• [experience][learning][exchange][angles]

Some years ago, I was working in a distributed team from Germany. Part of the func-
tionality was implemented in Poland. Back then it was a traditional project environment.
I was responsible for the testing of complex reports. Once the code was ready I started
executing my test cases. I was used to finding many defects but for one of the reports, I
couldn’t pass any of the test cases. The project manager was ready to report that we would
need to postpone the entire release. At the same time, he asked one of the experienced
developers to take over defect fixing for this functionality and to work closely with me to
achieve the impossible. There wasn’t much time left anymore to improve the poor quality
of the report. Some of you might know the feeling that you get when you get someone
else’s work assigned and you discover that it is a complete mess. It got even worse for him:
He had to work closely with a tester! Back then the developers avoided testers as much as
possible. We agreed on a way of working. We needed flexibility and we weren’t able to wait
for fixes to be released only once a week. We got an exclusive test environment in which
every fix was released immediately. We also used it to reproduce defects together and to
discuss the correct behavior. Both of us were surprised that after only a few days many
defects were fixed already and quality improved constantly. The developer learned a lot
about the business scenarios behind the test cases and I learned a lot about the inside of
the black box which I usually didn’t see from the inside. Long story short: The improved
quality was only one part of our achievements when the business side happily accepted the
report. For both of us, this was an important learning experience. The developer called
it our "hate-to-love story". Don’t get it wrong: "Hate to love" relates to our improved
collaboration. Only with our close collaboration, we were able to make the impossible
possible. No matter if you are working in an agile environment or in a traditional one:
Collaboration is always an important part of a success story.

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3.2 Collaboration : Imaginations and thoughts of testers

Several thoughts were generated on the future of collaboration for 21st century testers, such
as extending its framework by collaborating with other teams such as sales, support, or even
marketing teams. Some of our writers think that gamification will help us in collaboration

3.2.1 Prashant Hegde

• [gamification][experimenting][common goal]

In the future, I plan to conduct bug bashes even for the defect clusters/features with chronic
issues. I am also thinking of having a gamified leaderboard (with the leading bug hunters
and the rewards they have earned) to gain more traction and create a healthy competition
for bug bashes.
I think experimenting and employing different approaches to foster collaboration be-
tween teams will become important to build a quality culture. Collaboration skills will
enable testers to work toward a common goal with others. Many people feel that collabo-
ration and communication are soft-skills and do not value them as much as other skills like
programming or testing. However, I feel that the ability to collaborate and communicate
is equally important for creative professionals like testers and will be in high demand in
the future.

3.2.2 Amrith Shetty

• [gamification][overview][understanding]

• Apply proven techniques like 3 amigos to analyze test tickets.

• Test challenges/ games for major releases so everyone can participate.
• Work with product and marketing to understand their perspective and expecta-
tions.

But collaboration is more about giving each other support or help each other

3.2.3 Gareth Waterhouse

• [involvement][journey][help][dependency][listening]

I think with everything else going on in the world right now, the collaboration will be key
in every single thing that we do, not just as testers, but as humans.

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How do I think I can apply these skills? I think just by spotting the opportunity to bring
others into the discussions, bring other people with me on my journey. Together we are
always going to be stronger. Specifically, however, I think a tester in any setting, needs
the help of others, if there’s no software, if there are no ideas, then there isn’t really much
for a tester to test. Testing is all about uncovering information about a product, we need
the product there for us to uncover information, we need people there to uncover the
information, else we are just shouting and nobody is there to listen. Sharing is caring,
sharing our test ideas, sharing our thoughts, letting people know just what we can do as
testers, and bring them on our journey as well. As Vanilla Ice said, Stop Collaborate, and
Listen.

3.2.4 Ileana Herrera

• [help][growth][flexible][achieve][goal][visualization][celebration][healthy
environment][whole team approach]

Being in a QA lead and Scrum Master role I can help the testers, devs, and BAs in
the team to grow and collaborate. I’ll keep being flexible in order to do activities that
help us achieve such a goal. I consider it’s also important to make the results visible
and congratulate everyone in meetings such as retrospectives since it generates a healthy
environment to work in. This will allow everyone to move away from the mindset "testing is
a step in the process" towards "it’s a whole team task shared between all the development
team and business side.
What would collaboration be without trust?

3.2.5 Sandhya Krishnan

• [trust][transparency][consistent][open][responsibility][feedback][improve]
[knowledge][learning][tools]

As the virtual office is coming into reality tester should have vital skills like
• Collaboration
• Trust
• Transparency

When a bug makes a way into production, there should be no room for passing the
blame. The team should be highly collaborative, and we all are together. The mentality
should come into the picture. Trust is a value that can be earned only by being punctual,

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regular, consistent, and carrying out the task in a given time. One must be open or trans-
parent to tell the progress they have made in work or the workload they are facing or if
they do not have sufficient workload.
Test Team should be flexible enough and it would be a nice practice if a skill-based ap-
proach is used to organize test members in an organization with multiple projects.

Directly or indirectly all the members of the organization are responsible for maintaining
the quality of products and services. Quality should be considered as a work-culture and
not simply as a testing activity.
Quality is more of a customer determination, so there should be a channel for testers
to get direct feedback from end-users or customers. Feedback should not always be to
acknowledgment or appreciation, but it can be used to provide critical flaws or shortcomings
which testers can later use constructively to upgrade once knowledge.
As there is massive growth in Ubiquitous and Pervasive computing testers should be highly
collaborative to
• Commit resources
• Pooling efforts
• Sharing knowledge
• Learning resources
• Collective leadership
• Consensus building
• Decision making

As more and more remote working will be encouraged in the future, testers should learn
to use collaboration tools that will ease their work. They should have great hands-on
electronic calendars, online spreadsheets, client portals, workflow systems, and other latest
collaboration tools.

3.2.6 Olivier Denoo

• [agile][trust][autonomy][no walls][identity][expertise][diversity][exchange]
[holistic][overview][participation]

The future of testing and the IT project inevitably depends on greater collaboration.
Agility has made no mistake by putting it at the heart of its approach and relying on val-
ues of trust and autonomy, more or less limited, more or less framed depending on the case.
By bringing the tester closer to the developer and the technique, within multidisciplinary
teams, it is not only a wall that has been brought down, but also a whole swath of misun-
derstandings, mutual distrust and even outright opposition that has been brought down,
with all that this can present of human complexity, power games and sometimes troubled
relations between DEV and TST. While this fundamental and saving development is to be

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welcomed, it is necessary to moderate the subject when the tester (like the Business Ana-
lyst for that matter) loses his identity or his specificity and his expertise or opinion is found
as "diluted in the mass" of daily meetings and other reviews. Because testing is an art
and a profession, with its specificities, its expertise, and codes. The major mistake would
be to forget it or to reduce it by absorbing it. Moreover, another wall, just as difficult to
bring down, if not more, still stands between the project and the quality: that constituted
by the Business (partly represented by the Product Owner if it is comfortable in its role
and in its tasks), but also by users, often unknown, even simply neglected while ICT is
increasingly oriented towards mass products and services, aimed at an ever-widening range
of users. New challenges and new collaborations: ergonomics, usability, performance, in-
teroperability, and portability of services, security, AI... all disciplines that require new
collaborations, new exchanges, new rules sometimes. It is probably time to look at a more
inclusive or holistic approach, giving pride of place to the user (which is the closest to the
Value carried by modern methods), even to iterative and participatory design. Beautiful
challenges ahead!

Improvement is also a result of collaboration

3.2.7 Sergio Freire

• [multi skill][improve][advocate][coach][conversation][value][understanding]
[multi-dimensional]

Tester/testing needs to become a multiskilled skill everyone in the team learns and im-
proves. Testers should become more quality advocates/coaches, to bring up the conver-
sation about quality, about what matters, and how to make sure value is understood and
delivered as fast as possible. Testers need to understand the product but, most of all, un-
derstand the customers. Only by understanding customers and their demands, the product
can be shaped in a way that brings value to them. Therefore, collaboration should happen
within the team and also between the team and customers, and other stakeholders. Why?
Because value is multidimensional and depends on the eye of the beholder and it’s only
through collaboration that we can optimize value as shown in the Quality Ice Cream Truck
model.1 .

The improvement can also be that collaboration with other teams will help you to get
an overview
1
https://sergiofreire.com/post/the-quality-ice-cream-truck

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3.2.8 Marie Drake

• [across teams][overview][feedback][allies]

Even though I’ve been speaking at lunch and learning sessions, I still don’t regularly com-
municate with some of the other teams. I’ve mostly been collaborating with members of
the same team so in the future, one of my performance objectives is to collaborate with
other teams more so I can have a better view of how the wider business sees quality, not
just from a specific team’s viewpoint. My first step in collaboration is to send out a survey
to various Department Heads/Engineering Leads and get their honest feedback as it would
give me a list of areas to target and focus on. The more allies you get from the business,
the better position you are in, in regards to introducing new changes.

Collaboration has an impact on our mindset, shifting it from I to We, which motivates
us and gives us ‘drive’

3.2.9 Nithin SS
• [achievement][responsibility][motivation][diversion][feedback]

The thought should change from ’I’ to ’We’ if we want to achieve more. Responsibilities
should be shared and individual contributions should be valued. This helps in improving
the collaboration and motivating the team members. Also work effectively with different
groups of people, including people from diverse cultures, and show respect and responsi-
bility as a good team member. Working closer with marketing, customer relations team
data analysts will give us better context from a user perspective. Also, we can consider
asking for thoughts and feedback from the real users of our application (this I always do
with my friends and other vendors) which helps me build the personas.

3.2.10 Mike Lyles

• [drive][standing close][bridge gaps]

We are living during an exciting time for information technology and the role of the tester.
Testers have a seat at the table and are being called on to help drive the success of projects.
Testers must get very close to the stakeholders to understand from a stakeholder perspective
and to think about the product from a business case view. Being a tester that just reads a
requirements document and writes a test script with a few steps will not find much success
in the future. Testers must see the product as a stakeholder will use it. Great testers will
bridge any gaps between the team members, and drive collaboration within the team.

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3.2.11 Tatiana Ribeiro Nunes

• [inspiration][improve]

Being experienced, I see “Collaboration” in the future as a very important skill Something
that makes me very happy is to be an inspiration for other professionals. Always try to be
better, collaborating with others and giving peace of mind so that they collaborate with
you too and everyone is a winner!

3.2.12 Bhumika Srinivas

• [mindset][sharing]

Continue working with all roles to build in quality as early as possible. Run workshops
to instill the quality mindset in all different roles. The ultimate goal for me as a quality
analyst is to remove the need for my role where all team members can think and behave
like quality analysts.
Support for collaboration can be given by platforms

3.2.13 Arun Kumar Dutta

• [success factor][platforms]

I think we can follow the same collaboration approach (that we are following now) for the
future. In this current situation where the whole industry is working remotely, collabo-
ration is the primary factor for project success which includes testing also. Collaborative
tools will be used extensively for continuous communication inside the project team as
well as a testing team. Sharing work, documents, artifacts, learning, meeting, updating,
overall progress, dashboard view - almost everything will be done via these collaboration
platforms. The collaboration will assist all the testers to be on the same page. I think,
basic collaboration concepts i.e. collaboration within the team, collaboration across all
teams collaboration at all the stages will be successful even in the future.

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3.2.14 Gerald Habal

• [distance][platforms]

Before, there were fewer people who believed working from home is as effective as working
in an office. Now, in this pandemic age, more people now appreciate the benefits of working
from home. In the future, work from home will be one of the normal work setups, thus,
the collaboration will be higher as people are not close to each other, like code reviews
instead of sitting beside each other, and will be people discussing over shared screens.
But are those platforms not creating walls, Jesper and others plead for no boundaries
for the right collaboration

3.2.15 Jesper Ottosen

• [no walls][boundary][interaction]

Doing less of "tossing things over the wall" and alienating everybody. We need to work
together on items, documents, tests, and bugs. Putting things in a ticketing system is
a tool to support collaboration, but can easily become a boundary if you don’t interact
otherwise. We need to put an effort into collaborating openly and seamlessly.

3.2.16 Neil Matillano

• [sharing][influence][mindful]

To be proud of having the one who specialized in "testing" and be able to share and
collaborate with other members of the team and be the influencing mind to other people
in your team to care and be mindful of testing.
Karlo still works to much solo and like to create a collaboration culture

3.2.17 Karlo Smid

• [promotion]

The future plan is to promote a collaborative culture as much as possible. Based on my

experience, my current default mode is solo work.
Isabel has also a tendency to go solo but understands that she need feedback and collab-
orating and she is grateful for the feedback she receives

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3.2.18 Isabel Evans

• [discussion][grateful][offering][listening][watching]

It’s a personal challenge - I will tend to go off and do stuff solo - I’m learning through
my studies that I’m not able to be solo for this endeavor, and no-one expects me to be
solo. Collaboration is about discussing and working with others, being grateful for their
input, and offering my own. Listening, watching, offering - those are my keywords.
Collaboration with people in different locations finds Chris very inspiring, it gives much
more perspectives

3.2.19 Chris van Nieuwenhoven

• [perspective][flexibility][information][flow][meeting][stress]

Distributed teams

Past: I am used to working in distributed teams. For me, it is normal that I am

working in Germany and that my colleagues are in India, in Poland, or elsewhere. I
haven’t considered this as challenging for long. Actually, it is inspiring. When you work
with people from different parts of the world, you will get to see a lot more perspectives
than when your interactions with people are limited to one location only.
2020: From one day to the other many of us were forced to work from home. Some people
were worried that they wouldn’t get important information anymore or that online meetings
would be exhausting and annoying. After a while, they started to see the advantages of
home-office. Suddenly there was a lot more flexibility in their lives. People who were
used to noisy offices discovered the efficiency of working from an environment of their own
choice.
Future: A remote job can be done from anywhere. It wouldn’t be necessary anymore to
move to another city or another country for a new job. Even if we prefer to go to the office
- what if we are forced to work from home due to another lockdown because we are forced
to protect the environment due to climate change or for other reasons? I really learned to
enjoy working remotely in 2020 and it could be a safe and successful way for companies
to set up their teams in the future. With the right tools, the right amount of information
flow, and the right amount of meetings we can ensure that collaboration works perfectly
while, at the same time, we have reduced stress, waste of time and we might even increase
environment protection because we need to travel less.

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Chapter 4

Creativity

Creativity is the ability of an individual or group to imagine or construct and implement

a new concept or object or to discover an original solution to a problem.

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4.1 Creativity : Stories of testers from the present

One of the most used ways of describing creativity is all about thinking "outside the box”

4.1.1 Arun Kumar Dutta

• [successful][thoughts][blogs][outside-the-box][diversity][overview]

Even though a lot of people think that testing doesn’t require much creativity in their daily
work. However, I think creativity is one of the criteria for becoming a successful tester.
We as a team tried to be creative in different ways. It can be some creative test scenarios,
creative test design, creative way of testing which can save time and efforts, creative test
reporting, creative documentation for future references, a creative thought process that
an end-user can think of, creative in terms of best practices, etc. We even tried to write
blog articles by using creative thought processes related to software testing that may be
helpful to other teams in similar kinds of solutions. Testers like us who are in the service
industry always get chances of working with different types of applications, different types
of architectures, and different domains. This assists testers to get a good overall picture
and boost creativity in different ways.

4.1.2 Gerald Habal

• [switch][test automation][innovate][outside-the-box]

It was just two a half years ago when I was given a chance to do full automation and entered
the world of automated testing. Prior to that, for 10 years, I’m doing most manual testing
and a very little bit of automation, if you would qualify it, which is through Selenium IDE,
an add-on in Firefox that is simply “a record and play” and you tweak the generated scripts
to make it work. It was a challenging experience for me who is in a senior role but does
not have yet the required skills for the role, which is automated testing. How did I do it?
Here’s how creativity will help anyone who’s currently in a QA role (manual testing) and
hope to switch to QE role (automated testing).
Could be related to critical thinking, but, applying critical thinking promotes ideas
that serve as a basis for creativity. Applying creativity helps you to innovate and look at
things further, which is very important in work or business. I remember there’s a code
that requires me to upload a file and somehow the “Upload” keyword is not working even
though my peer and I tried any combination or syntax we could try to use that defined
keyword. By then, I got creative and instead of using that “Upload” keyword, I made
use of a simple “Enter” keyword + “the defined file location” and voila, was able to do

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the “Upload” function needed in my test automation script. Creativity not only solves
problems, like that one that I have but also makes us think outside the box, utilize what
is available, and make most of it.

4.1.3 Nithin SS
• [new ways][outside-the-box][testing techniques][idea iteration]

Creative thinking is the way of looking at something in a new way. Normally it is said as
“thinking out of the box.” We turn away from normal assumptions, rules, and procedures
which we used to do before in a new and imaginative way. When it comes to testing,
this can be when and how to apply the new testing techniques rather than following the
existing methods, brainstorming, etc. Once we have an idea, we should think about it in
different aspects and present it better. I follow this iteration: elaborate the idea, refine
the idea, analyze it, and evaluate it. It actually helps to improve and maximizes creative
efforts.

4.1.4 Jesper Ottosen

• [idea generation][visualization][outside-the-box]

Being creative to me is mostly about idea generation and visualization. Finding new ways
to approach and model our test approaches - there’s more to testing than following agile and
v-model approaches. There’s more to testing than testing software development projects.

4.1.5 Simon Tomes

• [judgement][experiment][self-doubt][endeavours][time-box][constrain]

I seem to embrace creativity when I don’t judge myself and just experiment with things.
That’s easier said than done when self-doubt kicks in. Will I look stupid? Will I get it
right? I have no ideas! The usual suspects of my creative endeavors. Yet when I step back
a little and try not to take things too seriously I’m able to embrace my innate creativity –
something I believe all of us have even if we think we’re not creative.
When I’m thinking of risks and questions before I start an exploratory testing session it’s
important I allow my mind to wonder enough but not too much. That’s where constraints
are useful for focusing on creative activities. I use charters to give myself enough space
to frame exploration in a way that is free but not too free. This creates the best form of
creative endeavor – not vast and random yet not restricted or closed.

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I also use a time box to aid creativity. With no time it’s just a random exercise with
no end in sight with many potential holes to fall down. With a time box, I have to stop
and that’s often hard to do even when the timer tells me to do so. It’s a real discipline,
particularly when I’m running an exploratory testing session. If I respect my own time I
respect the time of others, particularly those I’m sharing my test reports with. I don’t want
to overload my audience with too much information. Creativity with constraints helps me
get to the point.

4.1.6 Antonella Scaravilli

• [learning][outside-the-box]

When I was a translator, I had to translate from a software manual, dirty emails (which
served as evidence at a divorce trial), a business proposal of Lithium transportation from
Argentina to Chile, a paper about seismic exploration, and then some. After that, working
as a tester of a construction management product or as a tester of online slot machines,
a SaaS for doctors and patients or an international magazine kiosk didn’t seem so scary.
The more I learn about different subjects, the more creative I can get when I need to find
a solution to a problem, or when I need to think outside the box or even better. . . think as
if there was no box at all!
But obviously, visualization will help you with that

4.1.7 Eric de Graaf

• [underestimated][change][improve][visualization]

Sometimes I think that one of the most overlooked qualities of a software tester is creativity.
Looking at this term, it also implies ’crea’ (making something new), and as a software tester,
you scrutinize other people’s work. And you’re known (and feared) for that aspect of the
job. I’ll try to share my thoughts where I think that software testing requires a creative
mindset by giving an example. The software testing profession is all about mitigating
product risk by proving that software quality standards are met before the product go-live
also, a huge part of our profession is to create acceptance for change, and helping teams
make the next step in their software testing endeavors. The things I mention here are not
trivial, most of the time require a tester to severely think or convince... or prove, etc. While
I definitely would say that people can get pretty creative in finding bugs, my example is
about accepting change. As a Test Automation Architect I’m guiding teams to learning
new things, guiding their way of working (f.e. how the team tests something) to a new
way of working (new improved way of testing). What I see a lot in teams is that ’a new

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way of working’ is quite abstract to grasp, team members almost always want to change -
if they think it’s an improvement - but they often just don’t know what they’re saying yes
to! What I do most of the times is get a little creative in terms of visualizing an abstract
thing (like a process) by creating drawings of the testing process and plot how they test,
when they test (and in which environment), what kind of test (integration, system, e2e)
and what everyone’s role is in the testing process (f.e. functional tester implements end
validates new cases, test developer creates new framework features). When this picture is
aligned within the whole team, after changing the picture to the to-be situation, the next
step to change can be taken because it is better understood when you can see something.
To summarise briefly: use your creative drawing skills to guide a team in improving their
testing process.

4.1.8 Chris van Nieuwenhoven

• [visualization][discussion][understanding]

Picturing the future

When my former work environment was about to start an agile transformation, I was
a test manager in Germany and the test team was in India. Back then most of them had
no idea what agile ways of working would look like. Overall, there was a lot of uncertainty
about what the new structure would look like. During one of my visits to India, I invited
the team to a session and I gave a piece of paper and a pen to all of them and I asked them
to picture what their work environment would possibly look like in six months, in one year
and in five years. Afterward I asked them to introduce their pictures to the team. There
were different ideas and understandings about what was going to happen. This resulted
in constructive discussions. One of the reasons why I chose this creative session was that
the testers who wouldn’t actively participate in a discussion and would follow what others
would come up with used their own creativity to shape a new work environment with
surprisingly interesting results. In fact, together, using every creative mind available we
shaped a better understanding of the future.
And add-on to visualization will be using an analogy

4.1.9 Isabel Evans

• [analogy][practice][physical][virtual][mental model][slide sideways]

By analogy and by practice. By returning to the physical from the virtual - by pen and
paper, paint, and glue - the physical object helps form the mental model. By walking and

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thinking and getting away from the online world. By allowing my mind to slide sideways
into new ideas. By writing poetry, and making quilts, and noticing how those activities
are informed by and inform my testing and my projects.

What to be expected from testers is also that you may expect innovation to solve the
testing challenges

4.1.10 Olivier Denoo

• [tester’s DNA][imagination][simplicity][diversity][test data selection]
[use cases][testing techniques][modeling][customer satisfaction][automation]
[performance][innovation]

Creativity is the nature of the tester’s job. Whether it is to select data or test tech-
niques; imagine a test case or scenario; understand and model a user’s behavior; it is at
the very heart of our DNA. When I hear some people talk about software testing as a set
of boring and repetitive tasks, I tell myself that they never really had a chance to test or
that they didn’t understand anything. I remember I once automated a user platform for a
telecom operator where the customer could update their services and plans. The problem
encountered was a disastrous software performance at the back office level that forced op-
erators to wait for the online customer long and repeatedly. Our mission was to create a
web-based self-care interface that took the customer’s choices and wishes saved them in a
flat-file processed in batch mode by the automaton during the night. Nothing very glorious,
you might say. Light years away from good software practices and automation. Certainly!
I gladly grant you. However, customer satisfaction has increased considerably to the point
that the number of complaints has halved, automation has given the maintenance team
time to correct performance concerns, the total cost has drastically decreased while giving
(in the context of the time) a modern image of the service. The creativity of the tester
is to be able to divert things, to put his understanding of the problem and his experience
in relation to a new solution, to evolve things and products according to challenge others,
and by confronting innovative solutions to problems that often are not..

4.1.11 Clézia Oliveira

• [management 3.0][leadership][innovation]

I confess that at the beginning of the pandemic I was super scared and did not know
exactly how to deal with this situation? How it would motivate my team, in the midst of
so many uncertainties? So I saw that as a manager I would need to be an example and

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look for ways to support the team. It was so I decided to take a Management 3.0 course
and participate in some remote leadership webinars. That was super important, I came
back full of creativity to inspire the team. I started doing virtual happy hours, using a
Kudo box, talking about technology and innovations. I realized that the team was more
alive, happier, and more excited.

and exploration and experimenting can not be left out

4.1.12 Neil Matillano

• [experimenting][open minded][multiple input]

I like to try out different tools, join different webinars, conferences, and training. This
helps me be more open-minded to what is out there and to be creative enough to see how
some of these can be applied to my work as a tester and even to the entire team.

4.1.13 Prashant Hegde

• [mindmapping][exploration][overview][problem solving][exploration]

Software testing is a creative job. Creativity is needed for generating ideas and solving
problems. Creativity does not develop in itself, it requires stimulation. A Mindmap is an
ideal tool for harnessing creativity for effective problem-solving. Mindmapping stimulates
the most creative regions of our brain and fosters a creative flow of ideas, unlike any other
technique.
I use mind mapping on a day-to-day basis to record my exploratory testing. When I
am simultaneously learning about the product, designing test ideas, and executing tests,
mindmaps enable me to visualize my thought process. It gives me a birds-eye view of my
exploration. The best part of mind mapping is that you generate more ideas when drawing
them. I personally prefer mind mapping on a sheet of paper using mind-mapping software.
A mindmap is also the best alternative to traditional documentation. Traditional docu-
mentation is time-intensive, bulky, inflexible to changes and a barrier to the speed of agile.
I create lean/lightweight test artifacts like test plans, test cases, test reports, traceability
matrix, etc.

To do the right experimenting you definitely need diversity to have a look at different
angels

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4.1.14 Sergio Freire

• [diversity]

In our team, everyone is encouraged to contribute with ideas not only to the product
development itself but also to the roadmap, or to what could become new products or
new complements to the existing products. The idea is to foster innovation, technology, in
terms of processes and also in terms of features. We try new ways for having on-demand
environments, to measure and track performance. We also look at different tools to assist
in testing (e.g. test automation, exploratory testing).

And how reading can trigger your creativity

4.1.15 Karlo Smid

• [student creativity][how to search][tools]

By reading the test document, we also triggered student creativity. He figured out how to
set Google search terms to find missing points about system features. Now we have several
Youtube videos that make the onboarding process even shorter, we tested it on the new
addition of developers.

And finally, Amrith gives us some reflections on creativity

4.1.16 Amrith Shetty

• [reflections][conversation]

• When creating new test cases - how can we break the system, is the test case
valid and standalone
• When automating applications - is there a better way of doing things
• While communicating and collaborating - how can we make the conversation
more meaningful

And we end with a quote from Trisha about brainstorming sessions

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4.1.17 Trisha Chetani

• [quote]

We have a regular ongoing brainstorming session where my co-workers can exchange ideas.
We all feel our ideas are valued. How do you think you can apply creativity in the future
as a tester in your team?

4.2 Creativity : Imaginations and thoughts of testers

Creativity is the primary key that will help the tester meet the new needs that tomorrow’s
team and future information systems will experience. The testers voiced their opinions
on the future of creativity, arguing that the ever-increasing complexity of systems requires
more innovation on all scales e.g. from the perspective of exploration.

4.2.1 Olivier Denoo

• [exploration][elaboration]

I am deeply convinced that the tester’s creativity will increase in the years to come. Firstly,
because our information systems are becoming exponentially complex, integrating more and
more finely with each other to form a multitude of on-demand services with increasingly
blurred ins and outs. Today, for example, searching for a product online generates targeted
advertising and tailored marketing; The purchase of a train or plane ticket is accompanied
by proposals for hotel or rental car reservations on arrival; Buying a product comes with
similar proposals that other buyers have also liked or bought... The massification of IT
products and services is inevitably accompanied by new rules, new needs (ergonomics, per-
formance, usability, accessibility, legal constraints, etc.). All these subjects are conducive
to sharpening all the creativity of the tester, so many techniques to refine and develop
(empathy cards, personae, a new approach to test cases, requirements, stories. . . ). The
evolution of development methods, life cycles, and techniques, also contribute to offering
testers opportunities to reinvent their art and craft, while giving free rein to their natural
creativity...

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4.2.2 Eric de Graaf

• [learning][teamwork][demonstration][experimenting][experience]

And how about the future?

Sharing knowledge and experience nowadays is most likely done using video, think of
Youtube f.e. and also all the various e-learning platforms out there. Due to the current
circumstances, people have to work together remotely more and more. It’s quite often
nowadays I see that Sprint demo’s and all kinds of interesting videos are created to assist
the proving and demonstrating of new features Agile teams develop. Also, similarly demon-
strating automatic testing can be quite interesting to show stakeholders. For myself, I’ve
picked up vlogging about tester tech-related subjects and I learned a whole lot along the
way, like setting up your studio, creating a channel, shooting video, editing video to name
some topics. But for the most part, videos should be about the content of the video and
being able to explain in detail how something works and always be looking into interesting
new topics to educate yourself. Creating your first ever video has a steep learning curve ...
but it’s a worthwhile experience and gets the creative juices flowing!
For me, a tip for the future tester skill would be: investigate further to see if you can
innovate yourself and the way you do your work and also how you present the results. In
this fast-paced world we live in now, new innovations seem to be born every day. Having
shared all this I can say that future testers must always be open to look into new ways of
communicating and showing what they’ve done. And I say ’new ways’ because it’s hard
to predict what comes next but if I would fantasize ... how about making a test report
enhanced with augmented reality? Or a crowd-sourced test event where all participants
test a small piece to form one big testing session?

4.2.3 Sandhya Krishnan

• [exploration][courage][failure][adapt][practices][encourage][visualization]
[enhance]

Creativity should be the area where testers should be allowed to dig more and more. Testers
should be motivated to gain the courage to explore unknown areas and have the humility
to recognize mistakes and adapt to the situation. These two behavior traits that are
required for innovation and which will play a great role in delivering high-quality products
or software or service.
Practices should be made to capture inputs as well as broadcast output in more in-
novative and intelligent ways. They should not always stick to traditional reporting or
documenting tools but should explore and learn the latest market line.

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Testers should be encouraged to explore new reporting tools such that they can visually
represent test execution and test completion details. Power BI is one of the best reporting
tool, which would enhance the visual representation of testing details with a wide range of
detailed and attractive visualizations, which would indeed enhance the experiences of the
parties involved. It has wide usage in upper management but limited usage among testers.
Creating defect reports and dashboard using simple or even complex visualizations and can
present the summary from testers to Chief Level in the same place. The attractive part of
Power BI is data source can be Excel or CSV or flat files or can even be configured to read
a source of data and the dashboards are easy to navigate and drill down. Likewise, they
can use Ms- Visio for documentation as it allows them to create flow-diagrams, sequence
diagrams, network diagrams, etc. Testers should also generate ideas to optimize the usage
of time. Testers who are the point of contact for developers, management, or customers
can use tools like Chatbot where you can configure answers for generic questions which in
turn will save testers time to answer the same queries again and again.

Exploration can not start after a good brainstorm was held

4.2.4 Arun Kumar Dutta

• [listening][observing][questioning][personas][brainstorming][curiosity]

For the future, I think basic principles like listening from project team members, closely
monitoring/observing, thinking closely and differently, asking questions, thinking like a
real user, brainstorming with other testers, how different things are interrelated will be the
drivers for creative minds. And of course, technical knowledge will be one of the major
factors. So, testers need to be very keen to enhance their technical knowledge for becoming
creative. Overall, testers need to be curious to be creative.

4.2.5 Prashant Hegde

• [mind mapping][teamwork][discussion][brainstorming][triggers]

Collaborative mind mapping

In our organization, we have mob test design sessions frequently, where we collabora-
tively come up with test ideas. This enables a tester to come up with a lot of test ideas
which they would not have come up with by themselves. We use mindmaps to facilitate
these sessions. Collaborative mind mapping with the team gives amazing results. Here is
how the mob test design sessions work - Before the session, the organizer adds all his ideas

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to a mindmap. Then calls for a mob test design session, which is usually timeboxed. Dur-
ing the meeting, the participants discuss, brainstorm, and start to expand the mindmap
by branching out more and more test ideas, which leads to increased test coverage.
Lean test artifacts - Mind mapping is a cognitive activity that triggers creative ideas
and reduces waste by avoiding comprehensive formats for test documentation. Mindmaps
can be used for: - Test Planning - Requirement analysis - Impact analysis - Task allocation
- Test case design - Traceability - Test reporting - Quick test reports

Brainstorming is there to broaden your mind to get outside that box

4.2.6 Isabel Evans

• [broaden][watching][joining][foolishness]

By continuing to broaden how I think and act, rather than narrowing my actions. By
entering each day aware of my newness and how little I know, by watching others and by
joining in. By allowing a little foolishness to leave the work.

4.2.7 Gerald Habal

• [playroom][low-code][outside-the-box][challenge]

Related to critical thinking, creativity will be the playroom of testers. This can be from
maximizing what is readily available resources, creating a new one out of it, or totally
being creative from the scratch. The future is exciting and it needs everyone’s creativity.
Even today, more and more automation tools or software applications are being made to
make it easier for the users, who would have known you can automate even if you don’t
know how to code or have a developer background. We, as testers, simulate scenarios, that
are out of the box and beyond the defined acceptance criteria. Applying creativity, we
testers will continue to challenge the status quo.

Your perspective will change and visualization can help you to get another perspective

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4.2.8 Nithin SS
• [perspective][feedback][adaptation][failure][cycles]

Work creatively with others to get diverse perspectives and be open to inputs and feedback.
Think creatively and understand how the real-world adapts to the new idea and don’t get
afraid of failures. Failures are opportunities to learn, if we don’t try we will never know.
Actually, creativity is part of a long-term cyclical process of small successes and frequent
mistakes that lead to innovations. To be creative one should have critical thinking skills.
Then to share/develop/implement our creativity we should be able to communicate it well
to others and to maximize and improve the creative efforts we need to have collaboration
skills. So for me all "4C"’s are tightly coupled to each other, together as a whole it helps
to achieve more than as parts.

4.2.9 Chris van Nieuwenhoven

• [perspective][focus]

Creativity in regulated companies

When we think about advancing technology, there is a lot of room for new methods, new
ways of working, in fact for creativity. But what about the more traditional ones and the
ones regulated by law? They often have extremely strict rules about test documentation
and test coverage. Already in 2020, they are having a hard time to catch up with modern
companies using advanced technology. I looked into a regulated company in the financial
sector and discovered that during the software development cycle there wasn’t much room
for creativity. They know their product and they know their business processes. There
are project management and software development processes in place. So why would we
need to be creative if we already know exactly what the result should look like? Right. . .
This company was focusing on business processes and functional requirements mainly.
What about non-functional requirements? What would we need to do to make a product
more attractive for the customer? How is the user experience while a customer is using
the company’s website? I think it’s time for some companies to change perspective by
focusing on non-functional aspects and looking at their products - regulated or not - from
a customer’s perspective. How can we make the customer happy? There is a lot of room
for creativity once this question is asked.

#21stskills4testers
4.2. Creativity : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 88

4.2.10 Amrith Shetty

• [other ways][sharing][visualization]

• Look for more exciting ways for the team to collaborate

• Present interesting ways to promote test activities
• Find improved ways to visualize the quality of what we do - how are we doing in
releases, as a team?

The soft criteria as freedom and safety still will be a necessity for being creative

4.2.11 Clézia Oliveira

• [stimulation][freedom][confidence][iteration][dynamic][rewarding]

I see innovation as a great success factor, a manager needs to stimulate the team. I believe
that creativity can be achieved with freedom and confidence, so let your collaborators
free to act, stimulate creative thinking, offer courses, create moments of iteration among
employees, make dynamics, recognize and reward the evolution of the team.

4.2.12 Trisha Chetani

• [safety][team morale][fear]

I am expanding my knowledge on Psychological safety and team morale. Psychological

safety can help my team members to engage with creativity by removing the fear of speaking
up and speaking out. Our team can be improved by becoming more creative.

4.2.13 Sergio Freire

• [embrace][knowledge][value][insight][tips]

Creativity should be one thing everyone embraces. It should be at the (testing) heart of
us. We should use creativity to perform testing so that we can achieve goals that otherwise
would be missed. Understand the real value of value· In the future we need to better un-
derstand what is happening in production through deep-levels of observability. That can
tell us more about the real value of our products and their features· We need to figure out
ways of knowing better about what is happening in production, when we’re not allowed to

#21stskills4testers
4.2. Creativity : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 89

perform it actively Testing as an advanced way to guide product usage· Instead of using
testing to find problems or to "avoid" them from the start, we need to use testing to pro-
vide us insights about non-optimized ways of using our products. These smart insights,
based on correlated metrics crossed perhaps with other usages where problems occurred,
can give tips in advance to users so they can use our products more effectively.

Other 21st century skills will be used for creativity such as collaboration and communi-
cation

4.2.14 Simon Tomes

• [writing][publish][conversation][collaboration][focus][sharing]

A future for creativity is to focus on writing. Just write stuff down even if it’s just for
yourself. Better still, publish for others to explore and discover what collaboration it might
start. The best form of creativity is one that encourages conversation and collaboration.
Know that we’re not alone and that it’s normal for our minds to “freeze up” when we’re
trying too hard to be creative. So there’s this funny balance of not focusing too hard yet
focusing just enough. Share with others in whatever state and break the freeze.
The future of creativity lies in creative writing. It will enhance your exploratory testing
note-taking sessions and your test reports. Your notes will start more collaborative conver-
sations and will increase the likelihood of better product decisions. And these important
decisions can only benefit your customers.
Creative writing doesn’t have to lead to shared writing, such as a test report or blog
post. Creative writing is the springboard for many mediums such as video, presentations,
workshops, emails, forums, Slack chats, and more! The more you share the more you learn
and the more you learn the more you share. Write stuff to grow stuff.

Is a part of the collaboration, as described earlier is knowledge sharing?

4.2.15 Karlo Smid

• [knowledge-sharing workshops]

The plan is to present this story to other team members in our knowledge-sharing work-
shops and therefore the stories in this book will help my team to be more creative.

Technology as an augmented reality challenges us to use our creativity

#21stskills4testers
4.2. Creativity : Imaginations and thoughts of testers 90

4.2.16 Jesper Ottosen

• [defining approach][machine learning][augmented reality]

In the future, we need to be creative in finding the right testing approach to new kinds of
projects, for instance in the areas of machine learning systems and augmented reality.
Neil brings is altogether in one quote

4.2.17 Neil Matillano

• [quote]

Having an open mind and not being afraid to try out new tools, new processes out there.

#21stskills4testers
Chapter 5

4C Stories

5.1 4C : Stories of testers from the present

In this chapter, we will place stories combined with one or more "C" of the 21st century
skills for testers.

Maik shared his story within his team and mentioned all the "4Cs" in his journey.

5.1.1 Maik Nogens

• [goal][modern-testing][transformation][outside-the-box]

My recent and still ongoing experience touches all of the "4Cs".

• In my current consulting project, a whole organization is undergoing a change

with the goal of becoming more agile. My mandate is to transform their testing into
a modern way of testing, away from siloed, at-the-end with a heavy emphasis on
GUI automation. Quality issues within their software have become strongly visible
to their customer base and the transformation was started and supported by the
highest management, as there is no alternative for them.
The organization leans toward the “Spotify model” and part of the transformation is
a formal restructure of teams and people.
My team consists of nominally eight people, where seven have a 20% assignment to
it and one person has 80%, I am also 80% on the client. Out of the eight, one has a
kind of modern view on testing and good working skills in automation. The others
are more domain matter experts, who are doing testing. The widest foundation they
have is ISTQB Foundation.

91 #21stskills4testers
5.1. 4C : Stories of testers from the present 92

• That is a setup, which needs a lot of “Creativity” and thinking on your feet. We
structured us loosely by SCRUM and I am trying to create “User stories” which fit in
the estimated 20% (8 hours) assigned time (which often don’t realize due to reasons).

• I have my vision of where I want us to be in 1-2 years and that is part of my

“Collaboration”. The future I envision is often not visible or understandable to my
team, because their company and them have worked in their way for a long time.

• Ownership, self-autonomy, proudness on the one hand and new technologies, new
working models, out-of-the-box expertise, new tools, new requirements onto them
. . . I would assume, some are uncertain, scared even, what this whole change of the
organization means for them and how they can find their place in it.

• I see it as part of my leadership to provide the testing vision and explain or talk
about certain aspects, when they come up, be it test data, virtual environments,
automation and exploratory, test pyramid, etc. (My job title is “Quality Evangelist”
for a reason...) On the other hand, I need to balance the change resistance and stick-
ing to “known” tools and ways and gently push and steer for the changes which are
needed. This cannot happen without good “Communication”.

• And just to remind ourselves, “Testing” is a broad field and many of their topics
are connected to each other. When I think about “test data” and how to make them
available, I am immediately touching “test environments” and preloaded data, which
again connects with pipelines and CI/CD models, which allow me to incorporate
more checks earlier in the pipelines (unit tests), which in this context I have to drive,
since there is (currently) no strong development counterpart, who can establish a
unit test policy (well, there is more to it, but my knowledge about good development
quality practices is limited. And with this “Critical Thinking” I conclude my short
story of the last 3 month in a new project.

#21stskills4testers
5.1. 4C : Stories of testers from the present 93

Beth talked about her public speaking challenge and mentioned the support she received
from the testing community.

5.1.2 Beth Marshall

• [pairing][support][networking][achievement][feedback][community]

In 2019, my New Years Resolution was to dip my toe into public speaking. However,
thinking of a worthwhile topic to discuss in a room full of testers took me nearly all year.
What would I have to say that they’d be remotely interested in? What could they learn
from me? Fast forward ten long months to October and a very nervous me stepped on
stage to do my first lightning talk. The night before I promised myself I’d never put myself
through it again. It took me just a month to break that promise.
• Two heads are better than one

If like me, you struggle with nerves and get worried about presenting on your own, you
have two options. Either you push yourself into going it alone, or, if you feel it would
help you to co-present, do that instead. My first “proper” full-length talk was in November
2019, and having a supportive co-host made it a much more enjoyable experience for me.
• People are more supportive than you think

I decided my next goal would be to attempt a 99-second talk at the Ministry of Testing’s
first fully online Testbash. Nearly 700 people were on the call as I submitted my topic in
the chat window alongside many other amazing sounding talks, and anxiously/excitedly
watched as more and more people voted for mine. Before I knew it I was being introduced.
I had the chat window open while I talked, and although I could only see it out of the
corner of my eye the number of positive messages blew me away – there was a constant
stream of kindness supporting me to get through and, *whispers quietly*, maybe even
enjoy the talk a little bit.
• Everyone has a story

I recently read “How to Speak: Tips for people who want to tell their story” by Russ
Miles. Russ writes that everyone has valuable stories to tell, and you are always the expert
on your stories – a reminder that you are good enough to impart whatever knowledge you
want to share if you’re worried that you don’t have the experience to be authoritative.
• The Benefit of Online Events

The biggest advantage I see of online talks is that they have become much more prevalent
post lockdown – now their daily commute is a thing of the past, more and more people
have the time and willingness to invest in attending events, growing their network, and

#21stskills4testers
5.1. 4C : Stories of testers from the present 94

learning something new. Eventbrite and Meetup are full of interesting talks and new ones
are popping up all the time. If you were looking for a better opportunity to try public
speaking, you are probably not going to find one. Reach out to hosts of events and ask if
they’re looking for a speaker, I’m sure they will bite your handoff.
• Conclusion

I would really encourage anyone who wants to push themselves to give public speaking a
try. The testing community is a very supportive one, and as it’s something so few people
enjoy there are lots of chances to do it, and lots of kudos when you do. I’d love to say the
nerves get easier over time, and I’m still new at this so maybe they will, but feeling the
fear and cracking on anyway is why it feels like such an achievement afterward. Go for it.

Having support from the community is a great asset, that could help reach goals faster.
"Communication" is the key to transfer creative ideas into great talk. "Critical think-
ing" promote the generation of new ideas. Indeed, the combination of the "4Cs" is manda-
tory for today and tomorrow testers.

5.1.3 Nadia Cavalleri

• [discussion][sharing][fun][activities][perspective][community][challenge]

I work for a company that has the "4Cs" as its principles. Nevertheless, they are different
from the 21st-century skills’ "4Cs". Indeed, those that we use are Closeness, Quality,
"Creativity", and Commitment. I know, one of them starts with "Q”, but remember that
in Spanish it is ‘Calidad’ ;-) More than 10 years ago, the heads of our company decided to
implement Communities of practice for each technical specialty in order to develop those
four principles. From that moment on, all the testers of the company (more than 80),
meet on a monthly basis in order to share experiences and lessons learned, to analyze
problems, to discuss some topics, to bring innovations, to study for a testing certification,
among many other valuable activities. In those meetings, we do different activities in order
to make it funny. For instance, we have made ice-breakers, brainstorming sessions, crowd
testing of ongoing projects, coding-dojo, learning sessions, study groups, peer reviews, case
analysis, role-playing, among others. There are many benefits for both the company and
the testers in doing this. For the company, problem-solving becomes easier as we get more
perspectives for each problem. Also, by sharing problems and solutions, we reduce time
and costs regarding troubleshooting. In addition, this space is good for standardization.
Moreover, customers also value these meetings because testers of each project know they
are not alone, as they get access to an extended team (the whole community). Finally,
these communities help the company to increase its talent retention and our knowledge
base. On the other hand, it is also good for testers as they may get support from challenges,

#21stskills4testers
5.1. 4C : Stories of testers from the present 95

access to expertise, increase their sense of belonging, expand their professional network,
and strengthen their skills. Even though the meeting only lasts two hours, we have other
sources to communicate through the course of the month. For example, we use Microsoft
Teams for chatting, Confluence as a repository for useful information, and a shared mailbox.

#21stskills4testers
Conclusion and Reflections

How to draw conclusions from so many unique and diverse stories?

A good question and we will not try to bring all those stories with a "total of 243"
together in a conclusion. But we can use a way of looking at the stories, by looking at
the words that we used to summarize the stories. And if you look at those index words
interesting things can be noticed.
So if we put the most used words in the index together in one paragraph and try to
describe the tester of the 21st century, but it can be something like this?

The tester of the 21st century:

Is an open-minded tester, who values diversity because he/she wants to look at prob-
lems and challenges from different perspectives. The tester is aware of assumptions and
tries to make those assumptions clear and does this by listening and by asking questions
and for feedback if he/she understands what is said. The overview that is created can be
at best visualized If you want to get the maximum out of working together, he/she knows
that discussion is important, but that a discussion needs an environment where we can
trust each other so we are able to learn and to improve.

96 #21stskills4testers
Conclusion and Reflections 97

What would be your definition?

Can you tweet your definition or ideas using our hashtag #21stskills4testers ?
Would this be an interesting description you want to strive for and to become ready for
the rest of the 21st century ?

Reflections

Creating a book like this was a very interesting process also when you look at the process
from the 21st-century skills point-of-view. In this short paragraph, we like to reflect on
how we applied the "4C" in the process of making this book.

"Creativity": it all starts with an idea and how to react to such an idea. The idea
came from Emna, she had the inspiration to do something with the 21st-century skills.
Ard always likes good ideas and during a call so they started brainstorming. This resulted
in the idea of sharing stories and bringing them together in a book.

The first step in a close "Collaboration" was definitely not the last step. This book is a
result of the "Collaboration" of many people. We reached out to the testing community
using digital "Communication" tools so it was possible for all those people from all
around the world to contribute. They wrote their stories down for us and the only thing
we had to do was bring all those stories together in one book.

We are also aware that we have different backgrounds. Emna lives in Tunisia where
they speak quite some French while Ard from the Netherlands is used speaking the English
language. After some "Critical Thinking" and "Creativity" we came to the idea that
it would be great to combine those two backgrounds: a book about testing in French as
well as in English.

That our contributors are also applying "Critical Thinking" became clear when
Anthony Busselier pointed out to us that "Critical Thinking" (or in French "L’Esprit
Critique") has a different meaning or should we say a different angle. In the French
language it means “manage failure”. While in the English language it means: “prevent
failure”. Quite a different perspective, you should be aware of when you are talking to each
other if you have a different background. Using those different perspective (if you come
from a different background) is very valuable, but that is confirmed in the stories about
diversity.

#21stskills4testers
Conclusion and Reflections 98

During the process of creating a website, setting up a book, doing the editing and
this during a Corona pandemic "Communication" was very important. Luckily there
are some digital tools that have helped us to have frequent contact although during this
complete period of creating this book, we never met each other personally.

The result is a book that you are reading right now and we hope that you will enjoy it
as much as we enjoyed creating this book. We proved that applying the skills of the 21st
century can lead to an interesting result and who knows, more new ideas will follow.

#21stskills4testers
Index

A B
accountable, 59 biases, 16
accuracy, 17 blogs, 76
accurately, 41 boundary, 73
achieve, 68 brainstorming, 85
achievement, 71, 93 bridge gaps, 71
across teams, 71 broaden, 86
active, 41
C
activities, 94 celebration, 68
adaptation, 49, 87 challenge, 36, 43, 86, 94
advocate, 53 change, 78
agile, 69 clarify, 36, 49
allies, 43, 71 clarity, 19, 27, 36
analogy, 79 coaching, 57
analyse, 13, 19–21, 23, 27, 29 cognitive bias, 27
angles, 13, 31, 66 comfort zone, 35
animation, 47 commitment, 61
applying, 22 common goal, 61, 67
appreciation, 43 communication, 31, 60, 61
approache, 28 community, 93, 94
argument, 43 community of practice, 65
compromise, 61
articulation, 53
confidence, 23, 35, 36, 51, 53, 88
artificial intelligence, 30
connect, 47, 51
assess, 38
consistent, 68
assisting, 64
constrain, 44, 77
assumption, 16, 18, 19, 28, 49, 59 context, 27
attention, 29, 45 continuity, 26
attitude, 39, 65 continuous, 40
augmented reality, 90 contradicting, 16
automation, 80 contribution, 59
autonomy, 69 conversation, 41, 52, 58, 82
avoidance, 20 convincing, 47

99 #21stskills4testers
Index 100

courage, 33 endeavours, 77
credibility, 23 engagement, 48, 60
critique, 19 evaluation, 19, 23
culture, 56 evangelise, 53
curiosity, 15, 29, 33, 34, 85 evidence, 43
customer satisfaction, 80 evolution, 65
cycles, 87 evolving, 30, 51, 53
examine, 19
D examples, 18, 51
debate, 23, 28 exchange, 66, 69
decision, 30 exercise, 27
defining approach, 90 expectation, 16, 41, 49, 52, 64
delegate, 63 experience, 19, 66, 84
demonstration, 44, 84 experiment, 77
dependency, 67 experimenting, 67, 81, 84
destration, 43 expertise, 69
detail, 21, 27, 29, 41 explanation, 39
devils advocate, 30 explicit, 35, 48
dialogue, 36, 37 exploration, 16, 20, 24, 25, 39, 81
differences, 27 explore, 15
discord, 50 expressing, 39
discuss, 38
discussion, 30, 35–37, 39, 41, 42, 46, 49, 52, F
62, 74, 79, 85, 94 face-to-face, 61
distance, 73 failure, 48, 87
diversion, 71 fast, 50
diversity, 34, 46, 48, 69, 76, 80, 82 fear, 88
doubt, 23, 61 feedback, 37, 41, 53, 68, 71, 87, 93
drive, 71 fill the gaps, 19
dynamic, 40, 88 flexibility, 74
flexible, 61, 68
E flow, 74
eagerness, 33 focus, 27, 49, 87
effective, 49 foolishness, 86
effectively, 61 forgetting, 16
efficiency, 26 formula, 30
effort, 22 freedom, 88
embrace, 88 frequently, 52
emotional intelligence, 34 fun, 27, 61, 94
empathy, 57 fundamental, 24
enabler, 39
encouragement, 51 G
encouraging, 35 gamification, 47, 61, 67
end-user, 25 gap, 25

#21stskills4testers
Index 101

goal, 48, 50, 61, 68, 91 L

goal setting, 59 leadership, 80
growth, 65, 68 learning, 19, 21, 28, 44, 51, 52, 66, 68, 78, 84,
93
H link, 45, 48, 58, 59
healthy environment, 68 listening, 25, 38–41, 46, 48, 50, 51, 59, 67, 85
help, 33, 34, 38, 39, 51, 55, 64, 67, 68 look further, 15
holistic, 69 low-code, 86
how, 24
how to search, 82 M
machine learning, 90
I
making contact, 65
idea, 44
management 3.0, 80
idea generation, 77
mapping, 36
idea iteration, 77
meaningfull, 50
identity, 69
meeting, 74
imagination, 80
mental model, 79
impact, 50
mind mapping, 85
improve, 31, 40, 43, 44, 55, 64, 68, 72, 78
mindful, 73
influence, 48, 50, 73
mindmapping, 36, 81
information, 21, 74
mindset, 50, 65, 72
initiative, 65
modeling, 80
innovate, 76
modern-testing, 91
innovation, 80
motivation, 16, 39, 59, 71
insight, 88
multiple input, 81
inspiration, 72
interaction, 46, 47, 58, 73
N
interactive, 45
need, 65
interest, 16
needs, 38, 41, 64
interpretation, 19, 48
networking, 93
investigation, 21
new ways, 77
involvement, 67
no walls, 69, 73
involving, 36
non-verbal, 38, 47
iteration, 88
O
J
objectives, 56
joining, 86
journey, 53, 67 observing, 61, 85
judgement, 25, 41, 77 open, 50, 52, 53, 68
open minded, 81
K optimization, 52
knowledge, 68, 88 other ways, 88
knowledge sharing, 55, 56 outcome, 48
knowledge transfer, 16 outside-the-box, 16, 76–78, 86, 91
knowledge-sharing workshops, 89 overall, 36

#21stskills4testers
Index 102

overview, 18, 19, 23–25, 33, 45, 67, 69, 71, 76, remote, 45, 46, 48
81 required, 22
respect, 57, 61
P responsibility, 50, 56, 62, 68, 71
pair, 58 review, 19
pair-testing, 39 rewarding, 59, 63, 88
pairing, 44, 59, 93 risk, 16, 25
participation, 69 root-cause, 21
passion, 43, 51, 53
patience, 21, 27, 37 S
peer review, 55 safety, 88
perceiving, 43 scenario’s, 22
perception, 43 self-doubt, 77
performance, 80 sessions, 51
persistence, 53 sharing, 23, 35, 37, 39–41, 43–46, 49, 51–53,
personas, 85 55, 72, 73, 88, 94
perspective, 16, 27, 46, 48, 74, 87, 94 silos, 56
persuasion, 43 simplicity, 20, 45, 80
physical, 79 skill, 22, 39, 44
platforms, 72, 73 slide sideways, 79
playroom, 86 solutions, 23
possibilities, 27, 41 speak-up, 36, 49
practice, 49, 79 standing close, 71
prevention, 17 stimulation, 88
proactive, 31 stress, 74
problem solving, 23, 30, 81 student creativity, 82
productivity, 26, 55 success factor, 72
promotion, 73 successful, 76
prove, 30 suggestions, 41, 43
providing, 43 support, 93
punishment, 63 switch, 76
purpose, 41, 49
T
Q team morale, 88
questioning, 13–19, 23, 24, 28, 30, 33–36, 39, teamwork, 84, 85
41, 49, 51, 53, 59, 61, 85 technology practices, 26
quote, 83, 90 test automation, 76
test data selection, 80
R tester’s DNA, 80
reasoning, 31 testing techniques, 77, 80
reflect, 28 testsphere, 51, 53
reflections, 82 thoughts, 76
relations, 43 time-box, 77
relationship, 33, 41, 46, 55, 58 tips, 88

#21stskills4testers
Index 103

tools, 31, 36, 45, 46, 48, 68, 82

training, 16, 27, 46
transformation, 91
transparency, 37, 38, 52, 68
triggers, 85
trust, 37, 41, 50, 53, 57, 61, 68, 69
tune, 61

U
underestimated, 78
understanding, 29, 36, 38, 39, 41, 48, 50, 51,
63, 64, 67, 79
unity, 61
unknown, 25, 52
use cases, 80

V
valuable, 51
value, 22, 25, 39, 43, 64, 88
verbal, 38
verifying, 20
viewpoints, 28
virtual, 79
visualization, 13, 20, 35, 36, 39, 45, 47, 48,
58, 68, 77–79, 88

W
watching, 86
way of thinking, 16
whole team approach, 68
why, 16, 24, 53
workshops, 57
writing, 39, 51

#21stskills4testers
Acronyms

4C • Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity

AI Artificial Intelligence

API Application Programming Interface

BDD Behaviour Driven Development

GUI Graphical User Interface

AWS Amazon Web Services

DoD Definition of Done

ICT Information Communications Technology

JAD Joint Application Design

ROI Return On Investment

POC Proof Of Concept

PO Product Owner

US User Story

CoP Community of Practice

QA Quality Assurance

QE Quality Engineering

SRS Software Requirements Specification

FER Faculty of Electrical Engineering

PR Problem Report

104 #21stskills4testers
 THANK YOU FOR READING
THE ENGLISH PART OF OUR
BILINGUAL TESTING BOOK.

ON VOUS INVITE À
CONTINUER LA SECONDE
PARTIE EN FRANÇAIS.

EMNA AYADI & ARD KRAMER

Les testeurs
sont-ils préparés
aux
compétences
DU 21E SIÈCLE ?

#21STSKILLS4TESTERS
Table des matières

Introduction Générale 109

1 Critical Thinking 113

1.1 L’esprit critique : Histoires présentes des testeurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
1.1.1 Régis Lemaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
1.1.2 Benjamin Butel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
1.1.3 Rachel Da Silva Santos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
1.1.4 Aichetou Dia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
1.1.5 Laurent Perotin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
1.1.6 Jean-Pierre Lambert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
1.1.7 Baptiste Despont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
1.1.8 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
1.1.9 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
1.1.10 Marc Hage Chahine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
1.1.11 Anthony Busselier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
1.2 L’esprit critique : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs . . . . . . . . . . . 118
1.2.1 Danielle Sabourin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
1.2.2 Rachel Da Silva Santos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
1.2.3 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
1.2.4 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
1.2.5 Régis Lemaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
1.2.6 Laurent Perotin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
1.2.7 Jean-Pierre Lambert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
1.2.8 Anthony Busselier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

2 Communication 122
2.1 Communication : Histoires présentes des testeurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
2.1.1 Laurent Perotin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
2.1.2 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
2.1.3 Anthony Busselier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
2.1.4 Marc Hage Chahine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

106 #21stskills4testers
Table des matières 107

2.1.5 Jean-Pierre Lambert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

2.1.6 Benjamin Butel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
2.1.7 Rachel Da Silva Santos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
2.1.8 Aichetou Dia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
2.1.9 Régis Lemaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
2.1.10 Baptiste Despont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
2.1.11 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
2.2 Communication : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
2.2.1 Benjamin Butel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
2.2.2 Jean-Pierre Lambert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
2.2.3 Régis Lemaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
2.2.4 Anthony Busselier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
2.2.5 Laurent Perotin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
2.2.6 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
2.2.7 Rachel Da Silva Santos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
2.2.8 Aichetou Dia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
2.2.9 Danielle Sabourin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
2.2.10 Baptiste Despont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
2.2.11 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

3 Collaboration 133
3.1 Collaboration : Histoires présentes des testeurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
3.1.1 Arnaud Ruch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
3.1.2 Marc Hage Chahine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
3.1.3 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
3.1.4 Laurent Perotin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
3.1.5 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
3.1.6 Anthony Busselier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
3.1.7 Jean-Pierre Lambert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
3.1.8 Rachel Da Silva Santos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
3.1.9 Régis Lemaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
3.1.10 Baptiste Despont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
3.1.11 Danielle Sabourin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
3.1.12 Benjamin Butel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
3.1.13 Aichetou Dia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
3.2 Collaboration : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
3.2.1 Laurent Perotin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
3.2.2 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
3.2.3 Régis Lemaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
3.2.4 Jean-Pierre Lambert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
3.2.5 Rachel Da Silva Santos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

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3.2.6 Aichetou Dia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

3.2.7 Arnaud Ruch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
3.2.8 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
3.2.9 Antony Busselier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

4 Creativity 145
4.1 Créativité : Histoires présentes des testeurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
4.1.1 Laurent Perotin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
4.1.2 Marc Hage Chahine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
4.1.3 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4.1.4 Anthony Busselier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4.1.5 Baptiste Despont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
4.1.6 Régis Lemaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
4.1.7 Jean-Pierre Lambert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
4.1.8 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
4.1.9 Rachel Da Silva Santos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
4.2 Créativité : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
4.2.1 Olivier Denoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
4.2.2 Laurent Perotin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
4.2.3 Régis Lemaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
4.2.4 Aichetou Dia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
4.2.5 Danielle Sabourin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
4.2.6 Jean-Pierre Lambert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
4.2.7 Anthony Busselier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
4.2.8 Rachel Da Silva Santos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Conclusion et Réflexions 154

Index 157

#21stskills4testers
Introduction Générale

Les compétences du 21e siècle ont été le point de départ de ce livre. Nous avons ra-
mené ces compétences du 21e siècle bien connues comme étant les “4C” : communication,
collaboration, créativité et esprit critique.

Si vous regardez ces 4 mots de près, ils ont quelque chose en commun : bien que nous
vivions dans un monde dirigé par la technologie avancée, ces mots se concentrent sur des
caractéristiques humaines spécifiques et ne sont pas basés sur la connaissance technique.
Cela signifie que vous pouvez faire la différence en tant qu’un bon humain qui peut
interagir, donner et gérer les retours, avoir ses propres pensées, etc. Nous étions intéressés
par la manière dont les testeurs du monde entier travaillent sur ces compétences, en ce
moment (et comment ils les appliquent déjà) mais aussi comment améliorer ces compétences

109 #21stskills4testers
Introduction Générale 110

à l’avenir ; toujours des testeurs, c’est quoi la preuve future ? Nous avons lancé un site Web
https://21stskills4testers.online/ et demandé aux gens de contribuer avec leurs
retours d’expériences et leurs réflexions sur l’avenir. Ils ont pu le faire en français ainsi
qu’en anglais et ont abouti à ce premier livre bilingue écrit par des testeurs du monde
entier.

Une question intéressante pour commencer :

Que pensez-vous du "testeur" la preuve du futur qui utilise les compétences du 21e
siècle ?
Une partie de la réponse sera dans ce livre, répondue par les autres mais nous cherchons
vos pensées et nous voulons les entendre. Alors avant de commencer la lecture de ce livre,
nous vous invitons à partager votre point de vue en utilisant notre hashtag.

Que signifient les quatre C ?

Où sont les “4C” dans les compétences du 21e siècle :

Nous vivons dans un siècle de changements rapides qui influencent tout dans notre monde.
En fait, en tant que testeurs, nous sommes bien conscients de ces changements. Mais êtes-
vous prêt pour la prochaine étape ?
Beaucoup de sages pensaient : quel genre de compétences avez-vous besoin pour être prêt
pour agir face à ces changements rapides ? Ils lui ont accordé un nom ; les compétences du
21e siècle.

Les compétences peuvent être divisées en quatre catégories principales :

L’esprit critique (Critical thinking) :

La capacité d’examiner les problèmes de manière plus approfondie et différente en évaluant
également la possibilité d’échec, en trouvant des écarts entre les attentes et la réalité. Le
but ici est de trouver l’inconnu à travers l’esprit analytique et liant votre nouvel appren-
tissage aux étapes de test.

"Testing is an infinite process of comparing the invisible to the ambiguous in order to

avoid the unthinkable happening to the anonymous".– James Bach

Collaboration :
Tester n’est pas une seule étape dans le processus, c’est une tâche partagée qui nécessite les
efforts de toute l’équipe de développement et côté client. En effet les équipes de personnes
ont une intelligence collective indépendante de l’individuelle de chacun et supérieure à la
somme de ces parties.

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Introduction Générale 111

Communication :
Partager vos opinions sur le logiciel que vous testez, être curieux et poser des questions au
sein de l’equipe et proposer vos idées ou solutions.

Créativité (Creativity) :
La capacité de trouver des nouvelles idées utiles tout en explorant le logiciel. L’innovation
est la mise en œuvre réussie d’idées créatives, ce qui inclut à la fois un changement pro-
gressif et radical des systèmes ou des produits pour offrir une meilleure qualité.

Remerciements aux contributeurs

Ce livre aurait été une coque vide si nous n’avions pas eu autant de contributeurs. Tous
les contributeurs sont responsables du contenu de ce livre. Nous apprécions leur contribu-
tion : En montrant leur vulnérabilité, en partageant leurs expériences, leurs idées et leurs
rêves qui prévoient l’avenir des testeurs.

Comment ce livre est-il mis en place ?

Nous avons utilisé les "4C" comme un cadre pour ce livre. Ce qui signifie que chaque
chapitre couvre un de ces "4C" : l’esprit critique, communication, collaboration, et créa-
tivité.

Dans chaque chapitre vous trouverez 2 paragraphes : le premièr paragraphe concerne

les “histoires des testeurs du présent” et nous avons également demandé à nos contributeurs
de partager leurs pensées sur la façon comment nous pouvons appliquer ces compétences
dans le futur pour devenir plus “une preuve du futur” : vous trouverez ces contributions
dans le deuxième paragraphe de chaque chapitre : “Imaginations et pensées des testeurs”.
Le dernier chapitre contient quelques réflexions que nous avons eu après avoir rassemblé
toutes les histoires. Voici le chapitre : “Conclusion et réflexions”.

Les histoires en anglais sont structurées exactement de la même manière, il s’agit des
entrées uniques de la part des contributeurs et pas d’histoires traduites de notre part si
vous êtes bilingue ou une excellente occasion pour améliorer votre anglais.

Nous avons créé deux index à la fin de la partie française et anglaise. Les deux index
sont en anglais. Cela vous aidera à vous faire une idée globale des sujets traités même si
vous ne comprenez pas le français.

Nous espérons que vous apprécierez ce livre conçu d’une manière moderne : vous n’êtes

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Introduction Générale 112

pas obligé de commencer la lecture verticalement du début à la fin, car chaque histoire
vaut la peine d’être lue seule et les histoires sont faciles à lire.
Amusez-vous et, espérons autant de plaisir que nous avons lors de la préparation de ce
livre ensemble !

Emna Ayadi & Ard Kramer

21 January 2021

Emna Ayadi

Passionnée par le test logiciel, Emna travaille d’une manière continue pour s’améliorer.
Elle a cinq ans d’expérience dans différents projets combinées entre des rôles de test et de
coaching.
Elle adore appliquer les jeux dans les tests et l’agilité pour une meilleure expérience de
coaching et pour plus d’ambiance.
Pendant son temps libre, elle organise des meetups au sein de la communauté Ministry
of testing Sfax, elle aime voyager, explorer le monde, cuisiner et assister à des conférences
qui ajoutent des qualités supplémentaires à son profil.
Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/emnaayadi/
Twitter : @emna__ayadi
Blog : https://emnaayadi.com

Ard Kramer
Ard est un consultant qualité originaire des Pays-Bas. Il travaille chez OrangeCrest.
Il appelle lui-même Qualisopher qui signifie “quelqu’un qui aime la vérité et la sagesse et
en même temps décisif afin d’améliorer l’homme et son environnement”. Cela signifie qu’il
s’intéresse au monde qui nous entoure, pour voir ce qu’il peut apprendre et appliquer pour
améliorer la qualité des tests logiciels et les logiciels. Son rêve est de participer, en tant
que qualisopher, à toutes sortes de projets. Des projets qui ajoutent de la valeur à notre
communauté comme la composition d’un livre : il veut inspirer d’autres personnes par la
collaboration, le plaisir et l’empathie aussi, espérons-le, un peu de lumière dans la vie de
quelqu’un.
Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ardkramer/
Twitter : @ard_kramer

#21stskills4testers
Chapitre 1

Critical Thinking

L’esprit critique, considéré comme étant la compétence la plus demandée pour les tes-
teurs parmi les "4C" sans ignorer la nécessité des autres C.
En effet, être un testeur sans avoir l’esprit critique n’a pas de sens. Tester c’est pouvoir
voir les choses autrement et sortir du scénario nominal afin d’imaginer d’autres perspectives
et contribuer au succès du produit, du projet et l’équipe.

113 #21stskills4testers
1.1. L’esprit critique : Histoires présentes des testeurs 114

1.1 L’esprit critique : Histoires présentes des testeurs

Plusieurs histoires ont pu confirmer qu’il s’agit d’une compétence quotidienne qui doit
être acquise par les testeurs. Elle est basée sur l’interaction d’opinions, l’imagination afin
de repousser les limites du testeur.

1.1.1 Régis Lemaire

• [scientific research][hypothesis][procedure][opinions]
Le test est comme la recherche scientifique. Nous collectons des informations, des besoins,
des hypothèses. A partir de cette matière riche nous élaborons des procédures pour vérifier,
valider nos informations, nos hypothèses. L’esprit critique permet à toutes les étapes de
notre métier de se poser des questions, d’aller au-delà d’un résultat. Il nous permet égale-
ment de nous placer sous différents angles de vue tels que le développeur, l’exploitant, le
métier, l’utilisateur, le client.

1.1.2 Benjamin Butel

• [scientific research][hypothesis][procedure][opinions][team cohesion][ideas]
[visual testing][collaborative approaches][break routine]
La cohésion d’équipe apporte un terrain favorable à la créativité et à l’esprit critique. je
n’ai pas peur de donner mon avis, proposer mes idées, me faire critiquer. Tout cela est fait
avec bienveillance. Il est donc fréquent que je critique le produit ainsi que nos méthodes.
J’essaie de proposer de nouvelles façons d’adresser la qualité : le test visuel, outils de tests,
approches collaboratives, etc...
Je ne reste pas sur mes acquis et j’essaie d’innover constamment. C’est aussi ce qui fait
que mon quotidien n’est pas routinier.

1.1.3 Rachel Da Silva Santos

• [everyday][improvement][opinions]
Au quotidien le ou les testeurs sont impliqués dans le processus de rédaction et de revue des
fonctionnalités de l’application. Dans ce sens, le testeur a un devoir de critiquer le produit
et de proposer des axes d’amélioration si cela est nécessaire. De la même façon, il doit se
placer dans la peau d’un utilisateur au moment de ses tests afin de pouvoir critiquer le
produit et apporter des retours constructifs sur le sujet.

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1.1.4 Aichetou Dia

• [everyday][imagination][more bugs]

En tant que testeur, l’esprit critique est une pratique que j’applique tous les jours. L’écriture
des scénarios de tests, l’analyse des bugs découverts et l’extraction des cas de test à partir
des users stories sont toutes des activités qui nécessitent un esprit critique et une très
bonne imagination. J’essaye toujours de garder un esprit critique pour détecter plus de
bugs possible dans les campagnes de test dans lesquelles je participe.

Laurent a ajouté son histoire en mentionnant que l’esprit critique est la pierre angulaire
de son métier, nécessaire pour le métier, les processus et permet de promouvoir les testeurs
en améliorant leurs compétences

1.1.5 Laurent Perotin

• [everyday][promote tester][processes][methods]

L’esprit critique est la pierre angulaire de mon métier : être un bon testeur, c’est avant
tout avoir un esprit critique très développé. On dit d’ailleurs assez souvent "tester, c’est
douter ! " Un de mes anciens managers me disait aussi "ton métier consiste à ne pas avoir
confiance en ce que te dit le développeur".
Si cette formulation est un peu exagérée, il faut cependant reconnaître que le principe du
testeur est de remettre en question tout ce qu’on lui dit. Par exemple, un développeur me
dit qu’il a déjà testé le code qui fixe un bug urgent en production, et qu’il a confiance
pour livrer directement sans passer par la case QA : mon esprit critique va m’obliger à
lui demander, soit de me montrer quels tests il a fait, soit que je teste personnellement le
nouveau code. Ce n’est pas tant le risque que son code ne fixe pas le problème initial, mais
plutôt qu’il crée des dégâts collatéraux que le développeur n’aurait pas envisagé.
De même que mon esprit critique est nécessaire pour la technique, il est aussi mis à l’épreuve
dans les questions organisationnelles. Le testeur se doit d’être vigilant vis à vis des méthodes
et processus utilisés dans l’entreprise à chaque instant : si l’entreprise embauche de nouvelles
personnes ou met en place une réorganisation, il y a toujours un risque que les processus
qui fonctionnaient avant ne soient plus adaptés.
A l’inverse, si le rythme de mise en production diminue, que le nombre de bugs est en
augmentation, ou encore que la satisfaction des clients est en berne, le testeur peut être
une des personnes alertant sur une mauvaise méthode de travail, et être force de proposition
pour une alternative. C’est cet esprit critique, couplé à une position centrale, qui me permet
aujourd’hui de promouvoir quotidiennement l’intérêt du métier de testeur dans une équipe.

Ayant un esprit critique permet de générer plusieurs questions qui aident le testeur
à imaginer des nouveaux cas de test en repoussant ses limites, Jean-Pierre et Baptiste
racontent leur histoires

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1.1. L’esprit critique : Histoires présentes des testeurs 116

1.1.6 Jean-Pierre Lambert

• [test coverage][boundaries][user experience]

Avec l’avènement de stratégies de test automatisées, purement et simplement nécessaires

sur tous les produits un minimum complexe, l’esprit critique et l’analyse de risque sera
utilisé sur des éléments de plus en plus pointus, et finalement avec de plus en plus de
valeur ajoutée. Il ne sera plus question de savoir comment on évite la catastrophe en
devant re-tester un logiciel énorme en deux jours. On ne sera plus à improviser des tests
simili-exploratoires pour essayer de maximiser la couverture avec un minimum d’effort.
On pourra au contraire réellement anticiper. Se poser la question des charges que doit
supporter le système par exemple. L’impact de l’arrivée de nouvelles fonctionnalités dans
les navigateurs. Et bien d’autres... Encore plus loin, ces éléments permettront de reboucler
la boucle et d’améliorer le produit en profondeur, en prenant en compte les profils et
comportements des utilisateurs.
Quelle est la chance que l’utilisateur utilise bien notre produit comme nous l’imaginons ?
Comment pouvons-nous utiliser des tests A/B ? Quelles conclusions tirer des résultats de
ces tests ?

1.1.7 Baptiste Despont

• [questions][boundaries]

Se remettre tout le temps en question, ne pas toujours capitaliser sur son expérience, si
un test est passant s’assurer qu’un effet de bord n’a pas été introduit plus loins dans le SI,
toujours aller de l’avant et renforcer ses compétences afin de repousser ses limites, voilà
mon état d’esprit.

Alvine fait le lien entre l’esprit critique et les tests de regression, confirmation

1.1.8 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga

• [doubt][confirmation test][regression test]

L’esprit critique est très important en tant que testeur car il s’agit de douter d’une in-
formation ou une affirmation dont on n’a pas vérifiée ou examinée. Ce qui est l’essence
même du testeur avec une affirmation que j’aime bien "Trust but verify". Je l’applique
surtout dans les activités tels que : les tests de confirmation, les tests de régression, et
pourquoi ? parce que lorsque vous faites une vérification et vous vous rendez compte que
l’implémentation faite ne correspond pas aux exigences (par exemple) ou qu’il y a eu une
modification importante, ces deux activités de test permettent de se rassurer que cela a
été prise en compte (ne pas croire sur parole : "oui j’ai pris en compte", "t’inquiète c’est

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1.1. L’esprit critique : Histoires présentes des testeurs 117

corrigé"), toujours se rassurer que l’information ou l’affirmation apportée est exacte.

Olivier montre l’influence bidirectionelle entre le métier du testeur et les autres parties
prenantes ainsi que les techniques utilisées

1.1.9 Olivier Denoo

• [lessons learned][marketing][sales]
S’il est bien une qualité essentielle au testeur, c’est bien l’esprit critique. Ne rien sup-
poser et tout remettre en question, voilà le serment de tout testeur qui se respecte. Il y a
quelques années déjà, j’avais dû reprendre au pied levé un projet de test d’un programme
de fidélité novateur (à l’époque du moins) pour un gros opérateur télécom. Le timing était
tendu et le client attendait de pied ferme la campagne de test. Je n’avais que quelques
jours pour m’approprier le savoir et comprendre la nature profonde du projet. Le prin-
cipe, archi répandu aujourd’hui, était de récompenser l’utilisateur fidèle au travers d’un
système de points acquis au prorata de son usage du service. Au vu de cette description
et des documents techniques, je m’étais fait une idée préconçue d’une sorte de gigantesque
compteur de petits pois (enfin de minutes d’appel plutôt) qu’on échangerait alors contre
d’autres services ou des cadeaux. J’aurais pu me contenter de cela pour concevoir les tests
et orchestrer la campagne, mais la petite voix de l’intuition me susurrait d’aller un peu
plus loin. J’avais donc convoqué les principales parties prenantes pour les interroger sur
le projet, qui répondait au doux nom de King Kong, en commençant par le sponsor, une
responsable marketing. Je me souviens encore de son regard effaré quand je lui demandais
POURQUOI King Kong était fait, à quoi il allait bien servir. Après de longues secondes,
oscillant entre la tentation de me jeter dehors pour incompétence et l’idée qu’il y aurait
peut-être quelque chose à tirer de tout cela, nous eûmes cet échange en symbiose qui fit
basculer le projet : dans un éclair d’intelligence, elle me répondit que King Kong était
pour elle un moyen de retenir ses clients et surtout de communiquer avec eux. L’essentiel
n’était donc pas le compteur de petits pois, mais bien la possibilité de capter leurs coor-
données et de stimuler leur fidélité au travers d’une relation commerciale durable. Si nous
en étions restés aux apparences et au présupposé, jamais King Kong n’aurait eu le succès
qu’il connaît et jamais ma campagne n’aurait testé l’essentiel. Leçon apprise !
Avoir un tel esprit permet de pousser les autres compétences décrites dans ce livre. Marc
a ajouté que l’esprit critique peut améliorer l’efficacité des testeurs en continu.

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1.2. L’esprit critique : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 118

1.1.10 Marc Hage Chahine

• [continuous improvement]
L’esprit critique est ce qui permet d’avancer et de s’améliorer continuellement. C’est le
socle qui permet de pousser la communication, la collaboration et la créativité.
Sans oublier la diversité, Anthony a pointé que l’expression "Critical Thinking" n’a pas
déjà la même explication en changeant de langue

1.1.11 Anthony Busselier

• [cultural gap][prevent failure][manage failure]
Ah l’esprit critique, il est très difficile pour moi de faire une comparaison avec le "critical
thinking" anglo-saxon. Leurs définitions sont vraiment différentes et le facteur culturel y
joue pour beaucoup. Le pessimisme français s’oppose à l’optimisme anglo-saxon, ou le
dilemme du comment prévenir l’échec (FR) au lieu de gérer l’échec (ENG).

1.2 L’esprit critique : Imaginations et pensées des tes-

teurs
La projection de l’esprit critique comme compétence future du testeur a abouti à plu-
sieurs pensées. Danielle a exprimé la nécessité de bien comprendre et écouter l’autre pour
faciliter la compréhension des options de chacun, leurs points communs et comment agir
avec les différences.

1.2.1 Danielle Sabourin

• [understanding][options][similarities]
Avant d’exercer un esprit critique, il est important de comprendre comment chacun
fonctionne, ce qu’il est et comment il raisonne car une critique est toujours subjective,
et cela vaut autant pour celui dont le propos est critiqué que pour celui qui le critique.
Il faut de l’écoute, de la bienveillance, de l’humilité, de l’humanité, un esprit ouvert, du
raisonnement et apprendre à étudier toutes les options. Enfin, il faut que tous les interve-
nants soient considérés sur le même pied d’égalité et que chacun apprenne à se remettre
en question.
L’esprit critique permet de générer les questions nécessaires pour dévoiler ce qu’on ne
connaît pas. Il est plus intéressant de l’exercer en groupe pour un échange plus constructif
surtout pendant les sessions de tests exploratoires.

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1.2. L’esprit critique : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 119

1.2.2 Rachel Da Silva Santos

• [exploratory testing]

Dans mon équipe actuelle nous faisons très peu de tests exploratoires. Ces tests sont
pourtant très importants et peuvent apporter beaucoup dans la qualité d’utilisation du
produit. Dans l’avenir, j’aimerais que nous mettions de manière plus systématique et plus
cadrée des tests exploratoires.

1.2.3 Olivier Denoo

• [good questions][team critical thinking][exploratory testing][artificial
intelligence]

Dans le futur, à mon sens, rien ne va changer et tout va changer à la fois pour le testeur
et son esprit critique. Bien évidemment, les questions essentielles comme POURQUOI,
COMMENT et autres approches dérivées continueront à permettre au testeur de mieux
appréhender le produit ou service sous test. En revanche, je pense qu’il aura le choix,
en fonction de sa plus grande appétence pour la technique ou le métier, d’exercer son
esprit critique à des domaines différents et plus larges. Il ne lui suffira plus de connaître
une application au sens strict du terme, mais bien de la voir comme un élément ou une
brique dans une architecture plus large. Il s’agira sans doute de repousser les limites du
simple SI pour tâter de l’interopérabilité et du service dans un sens plus holistique. La
course à la vitesse et la démultiplication de l’automatisation vont l’amener à se poser des
questions plus fondamentales (que faut-il automatiser ou non et pourquoi / pour quoi ?),
à se poser les bonnes questions et à les partager en équipe. Je le vois comme l’esprit
critique de "la team", le poil à gratter qui appuie où ça fait mal, le casseur d’ambiance
aussi parfois qui remettra l’arbre au milieu de la forêt ou coupera celui qui empêche de
la voir. Il devra se familiariser avec les comportements des utilisateurs, aussi inattendus,
inappropriés et imprévisibles soient-ils et les intégrer à ses explorations puis à les faire
accepter s’ils détectent un problème. Il lui faudra aussi jongler avec les notions de vie
privée, de sécurité et d’éthique, particulièrement lorsqu’il sera confronté à l’émergence de
l’IA encore en plein développement.

Alvine affirme que l’esprit critique doit être présent dès les premières phases de déve-
loppement logiciel tel que la définition de la spécification des besoins.

1.2.4 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga

• [first development phase][requirements]

L’esprit critique doit s’appliquer dès les premières phases du développement du logiciel

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1.2. L’esprit critique : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 120

pour assurer une bonne base de test et par la suite se rassurer que celle ci est correctement
mise en place, c’est-à-dire pendant la définition des exigences . Bien sûr ajouter à ce qui
se fait déjà.
L’esprit critique permet de générer le sens critique pour bien analyser et distinguer
entre les faux positifs et les faux négatifs.

1.2.5 Régis Lemaire

• [progress][feelings][false negative][false positive]
Notre métier évolue. Nos outils évoluent également. Notre esprit critique doit rester pré-
sent et toujours nous permettre de douter d’un résultat et de "sentir" qu’il y a peut être
quelque chose à creuser.
Cet esprit nous permet de trouver ces faux positifs et ces faux négatifs qui peuvent donner
une illusion de qualité.

Laurent donne une bonne illustration de son imagination sur le futur de cette compé-
tence, il est toujours le plus important pour le testeur de demain. Il doit l’exploiter pour
bien réussir l’utilisation des nouveaux modèles, technologies ou marchés qu’ils puissent ap-
paraître.

1.2.6 Laurent Perotin

• [top skill][models][technologies]
L’esprit critique restera pour moi la compétence numéro 1 du testeur dans les années à
venir. Au fur et à mesure que je découvre de nouveaux modèles, de nouvelles technologies,
voire de nouveaux marchés, je dois être attentif aux raisons qui ont poussé à agir de la
sorte. Mon esprit critique m’aidera à remettre en cause des choses qui peuvent sembler
acquises, mais qui, avec un peu de recul, perdent de leur sens.

L’esprit critique permet de générer beaucoup de questions et donc d’imaginer des nou-
veaux cas et situations en repoussant ses limites.

1.2.7 Jean-Pierre Lambert

• [test coverage][boundaries][user experience]
Avec l’avènement de stratégies de test automatisées, purement et simplement nécessaires
sur tous les produits un minimum complexe, l’esprit critique et l’analyse de risque sera
utilisé sur des éléments de plus en plus pointus, et finalement avec de plus en plus de

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1.2. L’esprit critique : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 121

valeur ajoutée. Il ne sera plus question de savoir comment on évite la catastrophe en de-
vant re-tester un logiciel énorme en deux jours. On ne sera plus à improviser des tests
simili-exploratoires pour essayer de maximiser la couverture avec un minimum d’effort. On
pourra au contraire réellement anticiper. Se poser la question des charges que doit sup-
porter le système par exemple. L’impact de l’arrivée de nouvelles fonctionnalités dans les
navigateurs. Et bien d’autres... Encore plus loin, ces éléments permettront de re-boucler
la boucle et d’améliorer le produit en profondeur, en prenant en compte les profils et com-
portements des utilisateurs.
Quelle est la chance que l’utilisateur utilise bien notre produit comme nous l’imaginons ?
Comment pouvons-nous utiliser des tests A/B ?
Quelles conclusions tirer des résultats de ces tests ?

1.2.8 Anthony Busselier

• [pairing][agile][iterative]
En ce qui concerne mon équipe, pour nous la créativité et l’esprit critique vont de paire
lorsqu’on élabore ou crée une solution à un problème. Mais il faut tout de même reconnaître
que parfois c’est en implémentant la solution que l’on se rend compte qu’il y a encore de
l’esprit critique à faire car de nouvelles données entrent en jeu ! D’où l’intérêt d’un modèle
Agile avec plusieurs cycles d’itérations.

#21stskills4testers
Chapitre 2

Communication

La communication est l’ensemble des interactions avec autrui qui transmettent une
quelconque information.

122 #21stskills4testers
2.1. Communication : Histoires présentes des testeurs 123

2.1 Communication : Histoires présentes des testeurs

En parcourant les réponses des différents testeurs par rapport à leur pensée ou leur
utilisation quotidienne de la communication, nous avons trouvé des différents retours d’ex-
périences sous forme d’histoires vécues ou bien leurs opinions. Les histoires étaient diverses
mais ils sont tous convaincus qu’il s’agit de quelque chose de primordial. En effet, il faut
bien fluidifier et simplifier la communication entre les testeurs, les développeurs et l’équipe
métier afin d’éviter les problèmes et éliminer la complexité dans les projets.

2.1.1 Laurent Perotin

• [mandatory][exchanges with developers][adapt][written communica-
tion][simplify complex problems][gherkin]
La communication est un rouage essentiel dans tout métier, et la QA n’échappe pas à
cela : mes parents m’ont d’ailleurs souvent expliqué que "ce qui est difficile dans le travail,
ce n’est pas tant les tâches qui te sont assignées que la communication et le partage des
informations avec le reste de l’équipe." La communication commence bien sûr dans mes
échanges avec les développeurs, où il faut sans cesse s’adapter à l’expérience de chacun :
savoir vulgariser des concepts avec de jeunes ingénieurs sortis d’école, savoir reconnaître son
ignorance sur certains sujets avec des experts, savoir tenir ses positions lorsque nécessaire
(ne pas mettre en production en cas de bug avéré), etc... Je me souviens par exemple
d’une situation où je devais échanger avec un développeur très expérimenté mais dont la
vulgarisation n’était clairement pas sa plus grande force. Je connaissais à peu près le sujet,
mais j’ai très vite senti que la complexité allait me dépasser. J’ai préféré alors "faire le
niais", et volontairement dire au développeur que je ne connaissais rien au sujet pour qu’il
revienne aux fondamentaux, et pour m’assurer que je ne ratais pas un élément essentiel
de la problématique. Avoir une communication impeccable ne se limite pas à l’oral, et elle
commence d’ailleurs aux missions les plus basiques du métier de testeur, comme créer des
tickets de bugs parfaitement clairs, reproductibles et avec un périmètre bien définis, ou
encore comme créer des plan de tests bien architecturés et hiérarchisés. Mais je l’applique
aussi dans des situations plus diverses, comme retranscrire des évolutions demandées par
les PO sous forme de workflow plus techniques, ou encore la rédaction de cas de test au
format Gherkin.
Olivier montre l’importance de la communication et le rôle qu’elle peut jouer entre les
testeurs, les développeurs, les opérations et le métier

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2.1. Communication : Histoires présentes des testeurs 124

2.1.2 Olivier Denoo

• [mandatory][link][overview]
S’il est bien un domaine dans lequel le testeur doit exceller, c’est bien la communication.
Indispensable trait d’union entre le développement, les opérations et le métier, il se doit
de comprendre chaque enjeu et d’adapter son discours à ses interlocuteurs. Le reporting
n’est pas le même si l’on s’adresse à un collègue développeur, un utilisateur, un PO, un
responsable métier ou à son CEO. De même, le testeur se doit de convaincre sans cesse
sur la nécessité et la pertinence de ses actions, sur l’état et la qualité du produit sous
test, sur les enjeux et parfois aussi la politique interne qui bat son plein. Je me souviens
d’un audit au cours duquel une directrice de département, qui avait refusé de me voir,
avait systématiquement remis en cause mes arguments. A chaque explication, à chaque
justification, à chaque argumentation, elle m’opposait inlassablement un classique "oui,
mais...", typique indicateur d’un jeu de pouvoir où la personne souhaite attirer l’attention
et démontrer sa puissance, plutôt que de voir son problème résolu. Après un enchaînement
de "oui, mais...", je m’étais donc résolu à prendre le risque de quitter mon armure d’expert
pour lui laisser la main. J’arrive à court d’arguments, lui avais-je répondu, que suggérez-
vous donc dans ce cas ? Peut-être ai-je raté une chose importante ? Trop ravie de pouvoir
se donner de l’importance, elle avait alors repris et fait siens, un à un, tous les éléments de
mon analyse et les suggestions que je venais d’énoncer. Au demeurant, elle ne manqua pas
en privé d’exprimer sa satisfaction sur mon travail et mon analyse. Au temps pour mon
ego flatté en privé et malmené en public, mais seul le résultat compte après tout !
Anthony partage son expérience en décrivant la charte de son équipe

2.1.3 Anthony Busselier

• [listening][confidence][team chart][team charter][communication me-
thods][human relationship][pairing][feedback]
La communication au sein de mon équipe est tout simplement incroyable, ses deux forces
majeures sont une grande capacité d’écoute et une tribune où tout le monde peut s’exprimer
avec confiance et sans préjudice attaché à son rôle. Nous avons aussi une charte d’équipe,
créée par nos soins, où sont répertoriées nos méthodes de communications préférées et
comment entrer en contact les uns avec les autres. Même en travaillant depuis chez soi,
nous avons réussi à garder contact en privilégiant d’abord le côté humain de nos relations.
Nous avons des réunions où les parents s’entraident et se partagent leurs conseils pour gérer
les enfants et la charge de travail. Côté travail, nous travaillons par paire avec partage
d’écran, ce qui nous permet d’avancer plus vite et d’être deux à réfléchir à une solution
plutôt qu’une. Il y aussi un énorme travail en amont fait par les chefs de projets et product
owners pour donner des lignes directrices précises et bien penser sur le développement futur
de nos infrastructures et logiciels. Nous bénéficions d’un cercle court où nos utilisateurs

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2.1. Communication : Histoires présentes des testeurs 125

sont tous internes et leurs retours sont très appréciés et incorporés dans nos cycles de
développement.

Marc montre le résultat de son expérience avec les systèmes embarqués et l’importance
de la communication pour assurer la résolution de problèmes

2.1.4 Marc Hage Chahine

• [clarifications][problem resolution]

Importance de la communication

Le résultat de l’expérience sur les systèmes embarqués (voir partie sur la créativité)
fut que le problème venait du module téléphonique. En effet le système embarqué qui se
retrouvait avec le module qui avait freezer ne fonctionnait pas alors que celui qui avait
freezé mais dont on avait changé de module fonctionnait correctement. J’ai alors pu com-
muniquer à la société qui nous avait livré le système embarqué le problème afin qu’elle
puisse le résoudre.
Je leur ai envoyé le résultat de mes investigations par mail, leur ai téléphoné et leur ai
servi de support ce qui a permis de faciliter leurs investigations et de trouver rapidement le
problème. Au final c’était une limitation de la version du Linux embarqué qui ne pouvait
pas supporter plus qu’un certain volume de données. Le problème a été résolu avec une
mise à jour de ce système d’exploitation.

Jean-Pierre définit la communication comme étant une clé pour pouvoir s’intégrer dans
l’équipe produit.

2.1.5 Jean-Pierre Lambert

• [key skill][team integration][value]

Sans communication il est impossible de s’intégrer réellement dans une équipe produit,
qui repose avant tout sur la collaboration entre disciplines. C’est donc une compétence clé
pour réellement s’intégrer dans l’équipe et y ajouter de la valeur. C’est peut-être encore
plus vrai pour le testeur, dont ses compétences sont par définition en lien fort avec les
autres compétences : remettre en question des choix de conception, explorer des incréments
produits, etc. Le testeur sera au cœur de l’équipe, et son quotidien sera aussi de servir de
relais de communication.

Plusieurs modes de communication ont été décrites dans les histoires de Benjamin.

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2.1. Communication : Histoires présentes des testeurs 126

2.1.6 Benjamin Butel

• [direct communication][remote][posture][collaboration]

Durant ma carrière, j’ai eu la chance de côtoyer des domaines variés qui m’ont permis
de travailler ma communication, d’exprimer ma créativité, de travailler en équipes et de
renforcer mon esprit critique. Aujourd’hui, ces quatre compétences font partie de mon
quotidien et sont étroitement liées. La communication est omniprésente dans mon travail.
j’échange énormément avec les membres de mon équipe :
• En présentiel : je vais les voir directement si j’ai une question, c’est plus humain.
• En remote : je les contacte soit par le chat si ma demande est rapide soit on se
fait une visio. Là Encore c’est plus humain.

Car la communication, ce n’est pas que des mots (verbal), c’est aussi la manière de les
prononcer (paraverbal) et la posture (non verbal). La communication est un échange entre
humains et c’est une compétence indispensable pour favoriser la collaboration.

Rachel montre le lien avec la collaboration

2.1.7 Rachel Da Silva Santos

• [collaboration][software quality][criticize the product][control commu-
nication]
La communication se fait beaucoup à travers la collaboration. En tant que testeur on a un
devoir de bienveillance sur notre façon de communiquer. Notre mission étant d’aider à la
qualité logicielle et de critiquer le produit, cela peut ne pas toujours être très bien perçu.
C’est pourquoi faire attention à sa communication est très important.

C’est vrai que la communication joue un rôle crucial mais on ne peut pas ignorer qu’elle
peut être une source de conflits si elle n’est pas bien maîtrisée par les testeurs

2.1.8 Aichetou Dia

• [drawback][not trivial][understand feelings]

La communication est le premier obstacle que rencontrent les testeurs surtout ceux qui sont
encore débutants comme moi. Le fait de communiquer les bugs et les défauts du produit
testé n’est pas du tout évident. En tant que testeur j’essaye de comprendre les sentiments
des développeurs avant de leur passer les résultats des tests et surtout de choisir le bon
moment. Dans les “reviews” et les “planning” je prépare la liste des bugs détectées avec les
différents statuts pour les communiquer à toute l’équipe avec objectivité.

Cette compétence est utilisée à la fois pour communiquer les bonnes ainsi que les mau-
vaises nouvelles et toute autre information utile

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2.1.9 Régis Lemaire

• [deliver news][product quality][art]

La communication est une activité essentielle du testeur. Tout d’abord il nous faut
construire des indicateurs pertinents, incontestables sur l’activité du projet, du test et de
la qualité. Le testeur doit être capable de communiquer bonnes et mauvaises nouvelles
sans heurter les équipes afin que le projet prenne les bonnes décisions. Communiquer sur
la qualité du produit est tout un art.

2.1.10 Baptiste Despont

• [deliver informations][oral communication][written communication]

Très peu de communication, je préfère toujours un échange oral, certes moins de traces
et une perte possible d’information, mais à contrario le fait de parler fait passer bien plus
d’information. Ensuite en cas de sujet sensible qui commence à durer je rapporte une trace
écrite.

La communication est un aspect très déterminant en tant que testeur, Alvine a classé
cette compétence en 3 catégories.

2.1.11 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga

• [written communication][progress reports][bug reports] [oral commu-
nication][diplomacy][courtesy][feelings]
• Communication écrite :
Rapports d’avancements : il s’agit de rédiger un rapport qui contient des informa-
tions triées, condensées (sur les résultats de tests) pour ensuite les soumettre aux
décideurs.
Rapports de bug : à travers ce type de rapport on communique aux développeurs
les informations du résultats des test c’est à dire la différence entre les résultats
obtenus et l’attendu.
Ce type de communication demande beaucoup de subtilité au niveau des mots em-
ployés, le ton général des textes (ne doit pas être accusateur, autoritaire).
• Communication orale :
En cas d’ambiguïté sur une fonctionnalité ou incompréhension sur une implémenta-
tion ou concept, il vaut mieux avoir la personne concernée pour en parler directement
de vive voix. Lui faire part de mes doutes, de mon incompréhension et poser des
questions pour plus d’éclairci.

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 128

• La diplomatie :
La courtoisie et la bonne humeur sont mes armes secrètes en équipe. Cela rend son
entourage et son interlocuteur de bonne humeur et cela évite beaucoup de mésen-
tente au sein de l’équipe de la rancœur ...

2.2 Communication : Imaginations et pensées des tes-

teurs
Sur toutes ses formes, la communication est toujours essentielle pour les testeurs dans
leur quotidien en collaborant avec leur équipes et différents stakeholders. Les testeurs ont
exprimé leurs opinions concernant le futur de la communication.
Avant qu’on communique, il faut vraiment avoir le courage, Benjamin nous explique la
relation les deux.

2.2.1 Benjamin Butel

• [express opinions][courage][feedback][progress][adapt]

Pour conclure, je n’aurai qu’un seul conseil que j’ai moi-même suivi durant ma carrière
et que Lisa Crispin a rappelé récemment dans un de ces articles 1 . être courageux ! N’ayez
pas peur de saisir des opportunités, d’exprimer votre avis, de vous tromper. Plus que tout,
n’ayez pas peur de recevoir du feedback, qu’il soit positif ou négatif. Vous verrez qu’il
vous servira à progresser, vous adapter, devenir un “putain de testeur” Note de bas de
page : adaptée de l’expression “putain de nana” de l’équipe de rugby féminine du LMRCV.
Retrouvez leur parcours inspirant dans leur web série 2

Ayant le courage, Jean-Pierre, Régis et Anthony montrent qu’il est intéressant de mettre
l’accent aussi sur la communication centralisée et travailler plus sur la collaboration avec
toutes les disciplines.

2.2.2 Jean-Pierre Lambert

• [product teams][multidisciplinary]

Les équipes produit vont aller vers toujours plus de communication et de collaboration au
sein d’équipes à la multi-disciplinarité toujours plus fortes. Le testeur va continuer d’être
crucial dans cette démarche.
1. https://lisacrispin.com/2020/06/21/needed-more-than-ever-courage/
2. https://www.france.tv/slash/putain-de-nanas/

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 129

2.2.3 Régis Lemaire

• [shared criteria][shared indicators][human][collective][timeless]

Notre communication doit continuellement s’appuyer sur des indicateurs et des critères par-
tagés. Elle doit être factuelle, humaine et mettre en avant le collectif. Cette communication
est intemporelle.

2.2.4 Anthony Busselier

• [centralized][show and tell][recognize]

Vis à vis du futur, je pense que le testeur doit avoir un rôle dans ce que je nomme-
rais les communications centralisées, du genre à l’attention de toute l’entreprise ou d’un
groupe d’utilisateurs important. On ne met jamais assez en avant la contribution du QA,
ce qui me désole beaucoup. Que ce soit dans les "show and tell" ou autre, le travail fourni
par le testeur est souvent laissé dans l’ombre parce qu’il n’est pas glamour. C’est aussi au
testeur à se faire valoir et d’essayer de publiciser ses efforts, il ne faut parfois pas hésiter
à chambouler les processus établis avec candeur, mais insistances, afin de faire reconnaître
sa contribution.

La communication n’est pas innée, on peut l’apprendre en pratiquant à travers plusieurs

techniques tels que la facilitation graphique. Elle joue un rôle important pour bien trans-
mettre le message qu’on veut à notre audience adapté à chaque personne. La communication
est une clé pour résoudre les problèmes techniques qui peuvent être rencontrés.

2.2.5 Laurent Perotin

• [science][learnable][art][adapt][psychological analysis][adapt][visual fa-
cilitation][problem solving]

“La communication est une science difficile. Ce n’est pas une science exacte. ça s’ap-
prend et ça se cultive.". Je suis intimement persuadé que la communication est un art
qu’on ne maîtrise jamais parfaitement, notamment parce qu’il s’agit de l’interaction entre
2 personnes, et qu’il n’existe pas 2 personnes identiques. Il faut donc sans cesse s’adapter,
chacun interprétant et réagissant de manière différente. S’intéresser aux différentes mé-
thodes d’analyse psychologique et comportementale me permettra de mieux appréhender
certaines situations, et ainsi d’avoir une communication pertinente et adaptée à chaque
personne. De même, il pourrait être intéressant de regarder du côté de la facilitation gra-
phique, autre méthode de communication permettant d’appréhender des sujets complexes
grâce à une visualisation adaptée (souvent sous forme de dessins). Ces nouvelles formes
de communication pourraient être appliquées de manière pertinente à des problématiques

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 130

techniques, et le testeur pourrait être un des leviers pour y arriver.

"Entendre ce qui n’est pas dit", là on parle des codes de communication et comment
gérer la situation. Animer les rétrospectives et les autres cérémonies avec les jeux est une
pratique récente qui est devenue tendance pour les testeurs et/ ou les autres membres de
l’équipe, Olivier a traité ce point lors de la projection future de la communication.

2.2.6 Olivier Denoo

• [communication code][gamification in learning][soft skills][visual com-
munication][empathy cards][mental health]
Le testeur de demain devra manier encore mieux les codes de la communication et ses
enjeux. Parce qu’il interagit avec des profils encore plus variés, parce qu’il aura plus encore
ce rôle de liant qu’on lui connaît déjà, il devra exceller à convaincre, maîtriser Cialdini et
Shopenhauer aussi parfois. Les compétences humaines (soft skills) la détection de jeux et
l’analyse de la communication non-verbale seront ses outils quotidiens (c’est déjà souvent
le cas par ailleurs). Il deviendra un expert de la communication positive et excellera dans
l’art d’organiser ateliers et serious games.

Ses nouveaux outils seront des cartes mentales, des séries d’atelier (passons en mode
workshop - Autissier, Moutot) ou des jeux de questions (Test Sphere 3 , JAD 4 , Debriefing
cards 5 ...).

3. https://isleof.it/category/software-testing/testsphere/
4. https://jadcommunications.com/
5. https://thedebriefingcube.com/

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 131

Figure 2.1 – Carte d’empathie de Dave Gray

Il passera à une communication visuelle ou imagée et excellera à se mettre dans la peau

des autres (carte d’empathie 6 , personae, « et si j’étais », ...). Il ajoutera une corde de plus
à son arc et se fera animateur. Qui a dit que le test était mort ou ennuyeux ?
Aujourd’hui, nous sommes immergés dans un monde de plus en plus digitalisé et le
nouveau mode de travail est né : “le télétravail” Suite à cette migration totale ou partielle
vers ce nouveau mode, la communication à distance est devenue l’un des moyens les plus
populaires.

2.2.7 Rachel Da Silva Santos

• [remote communication][remote skills][product quality]
A l’avenir la communication se fera beaucoup moins en direct et plus à distance, poten-
tiellement au téléphone. La gestuelle, les mimiques des personnes seront moins visibles. Il
faudra donc travailler son langage, le vocabulaire utilisé, les intonations de voix, afin que
personne ne se sente fautif, mais que tout le monde puisse avancer en bienveillance pour
délivrer un produit de qualité.

6. https://www.alorsraconte.be/carte-dempathie/

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2.2. Communication : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 132

2.2.8 Aichetou Dia

• [remote tools][remote communication][friendly environment]
Le télétravail va imposer des nouvelles techniques de communication qui s’adaptent à la
nouvelle situation que nous vivons actuellement. Apprendre à transférer des messages clairs
et des feedbacks positifs avec toute l’équipe à distance sera une compétence indispensable
pour tous les testeurs. Personnellement je trouve qu’apprendre à communiquer à distance
et savoir établir des bon liens avec l’équipe dans une ambiance amicale sera le premier
objectif pour pouvoir améliorer ma communication.
Autres pensées des testeurs, ils ont insisté que dans le monde d’aujourd’hui trop digi-
talisé, il faut minimiser les emails et favoriser plus la communication directe.

2.2.9 Danielle Sabourin

• [less emails][analytical mind][return on investment]
Pour une bonne communication, efficace et pertinente, il faut avoir un esprit de synthèse
pour émettre sans perte de temps, sans élément inutile pour éviter les interprétations
erronées. Une réunion n’a pas lieu d’être si l’investissement en temps qu’elle suscite et
son contenu ne permettent pas d’évaluer son R.O.I. Trop de mails multiplie les risques de
mauvaise compréhension, mieux vaut se voir ou s’appeler. On oublie trop souvent que nos
collègues sont à côté ou que le téléphone existe. Cependant, avant de déranger quelqu’un,
toujours lui demander s’il est disponible ou quand il le sera, simple, rapide et efficace !

2.2.10 Baptiste Despont

• [less emails][interactive discussions]
Limiter les emails, continuer les dialogues et renforcer les rapports de réunion afin de mieux
faire circuler l’information.
Pour finir Alvine a donné une autre perspective de la communication, elle a parlé des
rencontres hors cadre professionnel qui peuvent ajouter de la valeur, la confiance entre les
membres d’une même équipe.

2.2.11 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga

• [team building][trust]
Une meilleure communication dans une équipe passe également par le relationnel, comme
des rencontres hors cadre professionnel (activités sportives, rencontre après travail) cela
fait tomber les masques, permet aux uns et autres de mieux se connaître.

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Chapitre 3

Collaboration

La collaboration est l’acte de travailler ou de réfléchir ensemble pour atteindre un

objectif. La collaboration peut se faire avec deux ou plusieurs personnes ou organisations
qui ont un objectif commun à atteindre.

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3.1. Collaboration : Histoires présentes des testeurs 134

3.1 Collaboration : Histoires présentes des testeurs

La collaboration se base sur le partage. Dans la première histoire Arnaud nous a donné
une définition plus profonde de la collaboration et son retour de plus de 20 ans d’expérience,
pour lui la collaboration dépasse le travail ensemble en allant plus loin pour construire la
solution ensemble, résoudre les problèmes qui peuvent être rencontrés en groupe.

3.1.1 Arnaud Ruch

• [help][cocreate solution][problem solving]

La collaboration. . . Mais qu’est-ce que c’est ? Voici plus de vingt ans que je suis dans
le milieu professionnel, et je me suis toujours perçu comme quelqu’un de collaboratif. Tou-
jours prêt à donner un coup de main lorsque nécessaire. N’hésitant pas à appeler à l’aide
lorsque j’avais du mal à avancer, lorsque je ne trouvais pas la solution au problème que
j’étais en train de traiter. Oui, très collaboratif. . .
Vraiment ?
Ce serait donc ça, la collaboration ?
Donner de l’aide, en demander lorsque nécessaire ?
Au fil du temps, j’ai pris conscience que là n’était pas l’essentiel.
Collaborer, ce n’est pas juste travailler ensemble et s’entraider. Collaborer, c’est construire
ensemble une solution, résoudre ensemble un problème, en partant du principe qu’une
solution construite à plusieurs sera toujours meilleure qu’une solution construite seule.
Collaborer, c’est travailler ensemble alors qu’on pourrait travailler seul, parce que le regard
de l’autre, les idées de l’autre, les questions de l’autre, permettront d’obtenir un meilleur
résultat. Collaborer, c’est faire preuve d’humilité. C’est admettre qu’on n’a pas toutes les
réponses, ou toutes les bonnes réponses. Collaborer, enfin, c’est lâcher prise. C’est cesser
de porter seul sur ses épaules l’écrasante responsabilité de fournir un travail parfait. C’est
accepter aussi que l’apport de l’autre n’est pas une remise en cause de soi.
Comment s’est faite cette prise de conscience ? Longtemps, j’ai été dans des environne-
ments pratiquant le cycle en V. Chacun avait un rôle bien défini, des tâches très précises.
Et chacun était censé se préoccuper de ses tâches et pas de celle des autres. Chacun sa
responsabilité, pas question pour un développeur de contribuer au design de la solution,
pas question pour un testeur de se préoccuper de la façon dont un développeur interprétait
et implémentait une spécification. L’agilité a changé cela. Tout du moins permet-elle de le
faire (on trouve malheureusement encore trop de projets « agiles » qui ne sont en pratique
qu’une succession rapide de petits cycles en V). Parce qu’elle met en avant la responsabilité
collective de l’équipe, parce qu’elle privilégie les interactions par rapport aux processus,
l’agilité donne un cadre dans lequel peut se mettre en place une réelle collaboration.

La collaboration représente une nécessité pour arriver à n’importe quel objectif partagé.

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3.1. Collaboration : Histoires présentes des testeurs 135

Marc et Olivier racontent des exemples réels qui montrent son importance le risque de son
absence dans l’équipe.

3.1.2 Marc Hage Chahine

• [quality][risk]
Je suis arrivé en février au moment de la livraison d’un logiciel de réservation. La personne
que je remplaçais m’a présenté le projet et indiqué le travail que je devais faire. J’ai alors,
"dans mon coin", conçu des tests et une campagne que j’avais rempli dans un fichier
Excel. Pour les anomalies nous avions Mantis qui permettait de communiquer les bugs à la
société développant le logiciel. Lorsque ma campagne fut terminée et le niveau de qualité
jugé "suffisant" j’ai présenté, fait une démonstration et formé les agents de réservation à
l’utilisation du logiciel. Une mise en production a alors été faite un vendredi après-midi.
Je partais en week-end l’esprit libre avec le sentiment de travail accompli. En arrivant le
lundi matin, je m’aperçois que j’avais reçu un très grand nombre de mails pendant le week-
end (les bus roulent aussi le week-end !). Une erreur majeure (qui aurait été critique si les
agents de réservations n’avaient pas été vigilants) se trouvait dans le logiciel. L’algorithme
de réservation ne prenait pas les réservations qui permettent d’arriver le plus tôt à la
destination mais le bus qui partait le plus tôt quitte à faire des correspondances et des
boucles. On pouvait se retrouver pour un trajet "A => B" à faire "A => C => A =>
B" et arriver 2 heures plus tard.
Nous avons alors fait un roll-back puis corrigé l’anomalie. Conscient de mes lacunes, j’ai
décidé de collaborer avec les agents de réservations pour concevoir les tests mais nous avons
également organisé des sessions de tests exploratoires afin de s’assurer de la qualité. Grâce
à cette collaboration, nous n’avons plus connu de bug majeur sur les versions suivantes.

3.1.3 Olivier Denoo

• [crucial][quality][multidisciplinary][risk]
La collaboration et la multidisciplinarité ont toujours constitué, pour moi, un rôle essentiel
dans le métier de testeur. Je vois ce dernier comme un élément central et fédérateur capable
d’accorder technique et métier, de surpasser les codes et les langages (pas seulement au sens
informatique du terme) pour assurer la bonne compréhension dans nos trop nombreuses
tours de Babel, quand elles ne sont pas d’ivoire. Je me souviens d’un projet où, suite à de
nombreux dérapages de planning, le responsable du développement avait ordonné à "ses
troupes" de corriger dix défauts chaque jour, sous peine de sanctions. Lorsque je lui avais
fait part de mes doutes quant à cette approche, et que j’avais prôné plus de mesure, il
m’avait simplement éconduit en me demandant de me mêler de mes affaires et de me tenir
prêt à retester. Comme je m’y attendais, je n’ai pas été déçu ! Certes, dix défauts ont bien
été corrigés chaque jour par chaque développeur. C’est bien logique quand votre prime et

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3.1. Collaboration : Histoires présentes des testeurs 136

votre carrière en dépendent...Mais quels défauts ! Seuls les défauts "faciles" à corriger ont
été pris en compte, indépendamment de toute notion de priorité ou de sévérité. Après tout,
on ne leur demandait que de corriger dix défauts, sans préciser lesquels. Pire, en moins de
quinze jours, le nombre de "retours" (défaut soient disant non-reproductibles) à plus que
triplé - car un défaut non-reproductible, c’est une erreur du testeur, décomptée du quota à
corriger par les développeurs, ce qui, en termes de reporting équivaut à un défaut en moins.
Bien évidemment, la majeure partie de ceux-ci étaient bien réels. Il ne s’agissait que d’une
boucle de recirculation, d’un simple "jeu", coûteux au demeurant car il nécessitait une
re-vérification de chaque défaut contesté, des explications supplémentaires permettant sa
reproduction et qu’entre temps les progrès de l’équipe de test étaient fortement impactés.
Il a fallu une sérieuse mise au point, la levée de ces mesures avant que le projet puisse
renouer avec une collaboration saine et sereine. La qualité est l’affaire de tous et implique
toutes les parties prenantes. Une collaboration ouverte et efficace est indispensable au bon
fonctionnement du projet, quel que soit l’approche ou le mode choisi.

La collaboration représente un pilier fondamental pour les testeurs, en effet le testeur

doit collaborer non seulement avec son équipe de test mais avec d’autres rôles tel que le PO
et les développeurs et surtout comprendre les autres disciplines.

3.1.4 Laurent Perotin

• [pillar][vision][adapt][product quality]
Le testeur a une place bien particulière dans l’équipe, et la collaboration est donc un pilier
fondamental de mon métier. D’une part, en tant que premier utilisateur du produit, ma
relation avec les PO doit être excellente : ils sont les relais des besoins clients, et ils me
donnent la vision à long terme du système. La transmission de leur savoir me permet de
concevoir des tests pertinents et de m’assurer que le logiciel livré répond aux bonnes problé-
matiques. Cette relation se fait aussi dans l’autre sens, puisque je les aide en retour à avoir
un produit robuste, et qui s’adapte correctement à toutes les situations possibles. Grâce
à cette assurance, les POs peuvent se concentrer exclusivement sur leur cœur de métier :
interviewer/sonder les clients, en faire émerger des besoins, et imaginer des réponses à ces
besoins. D’autre part, je dois aussi collaborer étroitement avec les développeurs. Je peux
me faire le relais des PO (notamment en leur absence) auprès des équipes techniques, et
ainsi répondre à la grande majorité de leurs questions durant les phases d’implémentation.
A l’inverse, j’ai besoin des développeurs pour me challenger au jour le jour sur les tests
automatisés que je peux concevoir, apprendre de leur expertise sur les bonnes pratiques de
programmation, et être en constante amélioration. De même, grâce à leurs explications sur
l’architecture logiciel, je peux plus facilement donner des périmètres précis et pertinents
aux bugs que je peux remonter. Il m’arrive même de les alerter avant même l’implémen-
tation d’une feature sur les principaux risques de bugs associés. Il est donc fondamental

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3.1. Collaboration : Histoires présentes des testeurs 137

que la confiance soit totale entre les développeurs et moi lorsque nous échangeons sur une
anomalie ou un comportement du logiciel : nos expertises mutuelles se complètent l’une et
l’autre et permettent d’améliorer constamment le produit.

3.1.5 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga

• [perspectives][different skills]

L’application de la collaboration en tant que testeur dans mon travail se fait sur la base
de la considération du travail de l’autre. Nous sommes une équipe avec des compétences
différentes, il est important de faire comprendre l’autre le rôle, la plus-value de son travail
et du travail de l’autre.

3.1.6 Anthony Busselier

• [no labels][pairing][testing practices]

Dans mon équipe, la collaboration commence en premier lieu par l’abolition des titres et
des intitulés de postes, je ne suis plus un testeur, ingénieur de données, codeur en java,
chef de projet etc. Nous sommes tous développeurs, mais avec des disciplines différentes et
ces spécialités font notre force sans pour autant être réductrices. Pratiquement toutes les
tâches se font à deux ou à plusieurs, celui ou celle qui a la meilleure maîtrise de la discipline
requise pour la tâche à accomplir fournit souvent le plus d’efforts. Mais en contrepartie,
les connaissances de cette discipline sont transmises à d’autres membres de l’équipe et le
spécialiste se voit souvent confronté à de nouvelles solutions proposées par celui avec qui il
ou elle travaille. Il arrive de nombreuses fois que des suggestions doivent être écartées avec
une explication concrète qui renforce l’apprentissage, mais il arrive parfois que de fraîche
idées change totalement la perspective et la façon de faire du spécialiste, ce qui résulte en
de nouvelles solutions que l’on aurait pas imaginé avant. Au final, je ne suis pas un testeur
dans mon équipe, juste la personne de référence lorsqu’on touche à la discipline du test.
Je passe la moitié de mon temps sur des tâches qui n’ont rien avoir avec le test, bon j’en
profite pour prêcher la bonne parole et faire inclure certains concepts du test en amont,
mais je profite d’une liberté d’action assez phénoménale.

3.1.7 Jean-Pierre Lambert

• [agile team][team goal][workshops][definition of done][three amigos][key
expertise]

Dans une organisation réellement agile, le testeur fait partie d’une équipe produit et non
pas d’une entité ou d’un département à part, transverse ou dédié à certaines activités. Il
collabore ainsi quotidiennement avec les différents acteurs autour de la construction du

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3.1. Collaboration : Histoires présentes des testeurs 138

produit, qu’il s’agisse des experts métiers, des designers, des développeurs ou de toutes
les autres compétences. Concrètement, les tâches de test doivent apparaître sur le tableau
commun des tâches de l’équipe. Elles sont visibles de tous, et même si le testeur est l’expert
du test de l’équipe, ce ne sont pas ses tâches attitrées. Cela s’applique également dans l’autre
sens avec les autres tâches de l’équipe. L’équipe est menée par un but commun et c’est la
responsabilité collective de l’équipe. Bien sûr, il en est de même de la qualité. C’est une
responsabilité commune et collective de l’équipe. Ainsi, la stratégie de test est consciente et
a été formalisée. Le testeur joue un rôle important dans cette formalisation, mais là encore
le plus important est de bien impliquer tous les acteurs et en particulier toute l’équipe. Cela
passe par des ateliers d’équipe, et par le Definition of Done qui mentionne clairement ces
éléments. Le moment où la collaboration du testeur avec son équipe s’exprime le plus est
peut-être pendant les réunions ou ateliers d’affinage du backlog produit. C’est le fameux
"3 Amigos" : il faut avoir les différentes expertises clés autour de la table, et l’une d’elles
est le test. Ces réunions et ateliers sont les moments où le testeur est le plus présent.

3.1.8 Rachel Da Silva Santos

• [agile team][common goal][ceremonies]
Mon équipe est une équipe agile, elle est constituée de différents types de personnes, des
développeurs, des testeurs mais aussi un PO, un scrum master, un UX designer. Tout un
ensemble de personnes qui doivent collaborer dans un même but : réaliser un produit qui
répondra aux besoins de ses utilisateurs. C’est pourquoi la collaboration est primordiale !
Pour l’appliquer au quotidien, on s’appuie sur la méthodologie agile : le ou les testeurs font
partie de l’équipe, et participent aux différentes cérémonies (daily meeting, sprint planning,
rétrospectives, . . . ). L’équipe de test est généralement physiquement présente au côté des
développeurs ce qui permet de faciliter les échanges.

3.1.9 Régis Lemaire

• [common goal][multi collaboration]
Au quotidien, le testeur collabore avec de multiples acteurs du projet. Nul ne connaît
tout du projet et donc une collaboration est nécessaire. La réussite d’un projet vient de
la collaboration des équipes et l’appartenance à un projet commun. Le testeur est géné-
ralement au carrefour de différentes équipes et un acteur majeur de cette collaboration. Il
échange avec le développeur, le métier, les admins systems, la production, le support, et
tant d’autres. Par son rôle de test des fonctionnalités, histoires utilisateurs, il fait le lien
entre les équipes et doit subtilement collaborer avec chacune d’elles. Le test peut tout à
la fois révéler des erreurs dans le besoin, que des erreurs dans le produit, que des erreurs
dans les tests. La collaboration s’est sortir de ses phrases toutes prêtes et destructrices :
"ils ont encore fait de la merde", "le test est mal écrit", "c’est l’Out Of The Box on ne

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corrigera pas". Collaborer est “réaliser en équipe” un produit dont nous serons fier et que
l’utilisateur plébiscite.”

En effet, c’est une opportunité d’apprendre de différentes disciplines impliqués dans le

même projet pour être aligné avec eux.

3.1.10 Baptiste Despont

• [technical knowledge]

De mon côté la collaboration se joue sur 2 plans :

• N’étant pas très porté sur la partie technique, je tente d’être le plus présent
pour mes dev afin que le petit nom propre de chaque API évoque tout de suite pour
eux différentes fonctionnalités ou impact possible sur le reste du SI. Et ça dès le
chiffrage des US.
• En 2eme point quand la situation le permet, me rapprocher des DEVS afin de
connaître tous les tests unitaires et intégration de l’US afin d’être aligné avec eux.

3.1.11 Danielle Sabourin

• [defects][agile] [scrum]

Les échanges réguliers avec les équipes projets et les développeurs font une grande partie
de la qualité des livrables par une meilleure compréhension des exigences et une meilleure
communication sur les anomalies avec les développeurs. La méthode Agile Scrum est un
excellent moyen de faire circuler l’information de même que leur proximité géographique.

Benjamin a défini la collaboration comme étant l’intelligence collective au service d’un

objectif commun.

3.1.12 Benjamin Butel

• [collective intelligence][common objective][team goal]

La collaboration est pour moi essentielle dans mon épanouissement professionnel. Ne la

confondons pas avec le collectif. J’ai connu des équipes collectives où chaque individu
contribue seul dans son coin à la réalisation de tâches pour satisfaire une tâche de plus
grande envergure. Mais ce qui me manque dans le collectif, c’est l’objectif commun. La
collaboration est l’intelligence collective au service d’un objectif commun. Mes collègues
et moi-même collaborons tout le temps pour construire le produit. Cette collaboration
s’exprime aussi dans l’entraide que chacun peut apporter aux autres. Par exemple, les
développeurs de mon équipe m’aident souvent dans la réalisation des tests. Ils ont à cœur

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3.2. Collaboration : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 140

d’atteindre les objectifs et les priorités de l’équipe plutôt que de démarrer un nouveau
développement moins prioritaire.

Sans oublier que la collaboration n’est pas juste une étape pendant le déroulement du
projet, elle doit être intégrée en continue durant tout le cycle de développement logiciel.

3.1.13 Aichetou Dia

• [software life cylce][product owner][user story]

Dans le métier du test, on est toujours amené à collaborer avec toute l’équipe afin de
bien faire notre job. Je collabore tout d’abord avec mes collègues testeur lors de la pla-
nification des tests, l’exécution des scénarios de tests et l’implémentation de ces derniers.
Je suis également amenée à collaborer souvent avec notre PO dans l’analyse des US, des
nouvelles spécifications ou modifications ainsi que la livraison.

Pour conclure, tester n’est pas une activité indépendante du cycle de développement
logiciel qui ne peut se faire qu’avec la collaboration de toutes les parties intéressées.

3.2 Collaboration : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs

Plusieurs pensées ont été générées sur le futur de la collaboration pour les testeurs du
21e siècle, tel que l’extension de son cadre en collaborant avec d’autres équipes comme les
commerciaux, le support ou encore les équipes marketing.

3.2.1 Laurent Perotin

• [multidisciplinary][sales][support][marketing]

“La collaboration du testeur peut aller bien au- delà de l’équipe technique, et pourrait
s’étendre à de nombreux autres métiers dans l’entreprise. Grâce à son aspect technico-
fonctionnel, le testeur pourrait collaborer plus étroitement avec d’autres équipes, comme
les commerciaux, le support ou encore les équipes marketing. Dans le cas des commerciaux
par exemple, notre capacité à vulgariser des contraintes techniques tout en prenant en
compte les besoins métier, permettrait de sensibiliser les vendeurs à des problématiques
qui leur sont souvent étrangères. Ils pourraient peut-être vendre plus efficacement lors de
rendez-vous avec des clients particulièrement techniques, en étant capables de répondre à
davantage de questions, ou en se démarquant de la concurrence grâce à leurs connaissances
plus approfondies. Dans le cas du support, les plans de tests et documents de conception
rédigés par les testeurs pourraient servir de référence aux équipes support. Étant donné
certaines pratiques de développement, comme la living documentation visant à avoir une

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documentation toujours à jour, ces documents permettraient au Support d’avoir toujours

une vision claire et précise de ce que peut (et ne peut pas) faire le logiciel. Enfin, dans
le cas du marketing, certaines campagnes de promotion peuvent être conditionnées à des
fonctionnalités du logiciel. Or, il existe souvent un décalage entre ce que le produit contient
comme fonctionnalités, et ce que les équipes hors-technique pensent que le logiciel possède.
Le testeur peut jouer ce rôle de garant de l’état des lieux du produit à tout instant.”

D’autres challenges pourront être rencontrés et d’autres façons de collaborer afin de

minimiser les conflits que le testeur peut rencontrer dans son quotidien.

3.2.2 Olivier Denoo

• [agile][trust][autonomy][no walls][identity][expertise][diversity][exchange]
[holistic][overview][participation]

L’avenir du test et du projet informatique passe immanquablement par une plus grande
collaboration. L’Agilité ne s’est pas trompée en inscrivant celle-ci au cœur de son approche
et en s’appuyant sur des valeurs de confiance et d’autonomie, plus ou moins limitées, plus
ou moins cadrées selon les cas. En rapprochant le testeur du développeur et de la technique,
au sein d’équipes pluridisciplinaires, c’est non seulement un mur que l’on a fait tomber,
mais encore un pan entier d’incompréhensions, de méfiance mutuelle voire d’opposition
franche que l’on a abattu, avec tout ce que cela peut présenter de complexité humaine, de
jeux de pouvoirs et de relations parfois troubles entre DEV et TEST. S’il faut se féliciter
de cette évolution fondamentale et salvatrice, il faut toutefois modérer le propos lorsque le
testeur (comme l’analyste métier d’ailleurs), en vient à perdre son identité ou sa spécificité
et que son expertise ou son opinion se retrouve comme "diluée dans la masse" des meetings
journaliers et autres revues. Car tester est un art et un métier, avec ses spécificités, son
expertise et ses codes. L’erreur majeure serait de l’oublier ou de le minorer en l’absorbant.
Par ailleurs, un autre mur, tout aussi difficile à faire tomber, sinon plus, s’érige encore entre
le projet et la qualité : celui constitué par le métier (en partie représenté par le Product
Owner s’il est à l’aise dans son rôle et dans ses tâches), mais aussi les utilisateurs, bien
souvent méconnus, voire simplement négligés alors que les TIC s’orientent de plus en plus
vers des produits et services de masse, destinés à un panel toujours plus large d’utilisateurs.
De nouveaux défis s’offrent à nous et de nouvelles collaborations : ergonomie, utilisabilité,
performances, interopérabilité et portabilité des services, sécurité, IA...toutes disciplines
qui requièrent de nouvelles collaborations, de nouveaux échanges, de nouvelles règles aussi
parfois. Il est sans doute temps de nous pencher sur une approche inclusive, donnant la part
belle à l’utilisateur (qui somme toute est le plus proche de la Valeur portée par les méthodes
modernes), voire au design itératif et participatif. De beaux challenges en perspective !

Les autres stratégies de collaboration peuvent être issues de l’agilité et du design thinking

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qui visent à casser les silos en écrivant tous ensemble la solution.

3.2.3 Régis Lemaire

• [agile][design thinking][break silos][tools]
Les dernières méthodes de l’agilité, du design thinking rapprochent les équipes et in-
tègrent le testeur au cœur du projet. Elles permettent de casser les silos dans lesquels se
trouvaient chacun. Elles nous poussent à nous parler et à écrire ensemble la solution pour
réaliser le produit. Les outils d’automatisations poussent également testeurs et dévelop-
peurs à collaborer, à coder du beau code et du beau test.

Casser les silos c’est ce qu’il faut dans les équipes de personnes, créer une communauté
de pratique est un excellent moyen qui permet de briser les silos d’une entreprise, Jean-
Pierre propose ses idées sur le futur de la collaboration.

3.2.4 Jean-Pierre Lambert

• [legacy][complex software][testing strategy][community of practice][mindset]
[culture]
La seule certitude sur l’avenir du métier de testeur, c’est que ce sera un rôle avec un
fort accent sur la collaboration. Même les testeurs indépendants des équipes produits -
parfois nécessaires pour gérer le Legacy ou face à un logiciel particulièrement complexe -
travaillent en étroite collaboration avec ces dernières. Il ne sera aucunement question d’être
"le dernier rempart avec la prod" mais bel et bien de compléter les stratégies de test des
équipes produit pour donner du sens à la stratégie test globale. De la même manière, les
testeurs dans les équipes produits joueront un rôle très important en collaborant ensemble
via les communautés de pratiques pour relever des challenges communs. Autre vision, dans
beaucoup d’équipes le rôle de testeur deviendra justement un rôle collaboratif, tenu par
tout le monde et sans testeur avec une expertise spécifique. Le test fait partie intégrante
de la culture de l’entreprise.

Depuis 2020, on parle d’une nouvelle tendance, celle de la migration vers le télétravail
et de l’importance du management d’équipe dans un contexte multi-sites, multi-projets,
multi-pays, multi-tâches.

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3.2.5 Rachel Da Silva Santos

• [remote work][transparency][team spirit]
L’avenir semble se tourner vers plus de télétravail ou de travail à distance. Cela implique
un changement dans le mode de communication, et demandera plus de vigilance sur le sujet.
Pour garder au mieux une bonne communication, je pense que la transparence sur ce qui
est fait ou ce dont on va avoir besoin sera très importante. Et un travail sur l’esprit d’équipe
devra être fait.

Il faut penser à d’autres techniques rassemblant les 3 amigos et/ou les membres de
l’équipes de test, Aichetou et Arnaud nous parlent plus en détails dans ce qui suit en
mentionnant le pairing, grooming, mobbing et les sessions liées aux tests exploratoires.

3.2.6 Aichetou Dia

• [grooming][pairing][t-shaped-skills]
Dans le futur, je pense que je dois améliorer cette compétence en participant plus dans
les sessions de grooming, dans le travail en pair que ça soit avec les développeurs, testeurs
ou PO.

3.2.7 Arnaud Ruch

• [extrovert][introvert][bdd][example mapping][three amigos][pairing][mob
testing][exploratory testing]
Alors comment être plus collaboratif ? En soumettant son travail à l’autre. Pas pour le
valider. Pour que l’autre nous aide à le rendre encore meilleur. En apportant l’idée qui
nous a échappé, en apportant le point de vue que nous n’avons pas identifié, en trouvant la
faille que nous avons laissé passer. Mieux encore, en s’astreignant à construire à plusieurs.
Si l’on est plutôt introverti, partir d’une idée, ébaucher un premier brouillon, puis le sou-
mettre à l’autre pour l’enrichir, le remettre en cause, l’étayer. A l’inverse, si l’on est plutôt
extraverti, co-construire cette première ébauche dans le cadre d’un échange à plusieurs.

La bonne nouvelle, c’est que l’agilité nous aide en cela grâce aux nombreuses pratiques
collaboratives qu’elle met en avant. Le Behaviour Driven Development, par exemple, qui
encourage la collaboration entre QA, développeurs et participants non techniques d’un
projet, en particulier lors de la phase de découverte du besoin. Les pratiques associées,
telles que l’ "Example Mapping" 1 ou les ateliers "3 amigos" 2 sont de puissants outils pour
1. https://cucumber.io/blog/bdd/example-mapping-introduction/
2. https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/three-amigos/

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favoriser la collaboration au sein d’une équipe. Le pair programming, issu de l’Extreme

Programming (XP), est un autre exemple de pratique collaborative qui permet d’obtenir
en travaillant à plusieurs de meilleurs résultats que lorsque le développement est assuré
par un développeur isolé. Le mob testing, pour prendre un dernier exemple, fait levier sur
les différentes perspectives apportées par les membres d’un groupe et sur leurs expériences
diverses pour maximiser l’efficacité de sessions de tests exploratoires.

Pour conclure, j’ajouterais que même si elles sont pour la plupart issues de contextes et
méthodes liés à l’agilité, aucune de ces pratiques n’impose de travailler selon un cycle de
développement agile. Il vous appartient donc, même dans un cadre plus "traditionnel", de
mettre en place telle ou telle de ces pratiques. Et de bénéficier ainsi des nombreux bienfaits
apportés par une meilleure collaboration !
A noter que la confiance joue un rôle majeur pour réussir tout genre de collaboration

3.2.8 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga

• [productivity][mutual respect]
En tant que testeur mon champ d’action est réduit mais une collaboration basée sur la
confiance mutuelle, l’entraide (car nul ne détient le monopole du savoir) permettrait d’avoir
une équipe soudée et plus efficace, plus productive avec des collaborateurs se respectant
mutuellement.

3.2.9 Antony Busselier

• [settings][agile ceremonies][context switching]
Il s’agit de faire des petits réglages mécaniques afin que la machine tourne mieux, lourdeur
de certaines cérémonies Agile, temps de travail utiliser plus efficacement en concentrant les
meetings, limitation du "context switching".

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Chapitre 4

Creativity

La créativité est la capacité d’un individu ou d’un groupe à imaginer ou construire et

mettre en œuvre un nouveau concept ou objet ou à découvrir une solution originale à un
problème.

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4.1 Créativité : Histoires présentes des testeurs

Avoir des compétences multiples est un art pour être plus créatif. Laurent raconte son
histoire et montre la richesse de la créativité en s’adaptant à chaque situation, à chaque
technologie pour trouver une solution pertinente inspirée des autres disciplines

4.1.1 Laurent Perotin

• [story][optional][adapt][t-shaped skills][flowcharts]
La créativité s’insinue un peu partout dans mon métier. Ce n’est pas, à mon avis, la
compétence la plus indispensable dans la panoplie du testeur, mais il faut savoir en faire
preuve à différents moments. Je pense par exemple à toute l’automatisation des tests,
périmètre quasi inexistant dans les startups dans lesquelles j’ai pu travailler. Il faut alors
savoir se lancer dans ce chantier, imaginer une architecture pertinente, et faire face à toutes
les difficultés inhérentes à toute automatisation de test :
comment détecter correctement qu’une page a fini de se charger ?
Quels logs faut-il mettre en place pour bien déboguer un test en échec ?
Comment rendre un test en échec intelligible pour quelqu’un hors QA, voire en dehors de
l’équipe technique ? Etc. . .
Il existe de nombreuses manières de répondre à toutes ces questions, et il faut savoir
s’adapter à chaque situation, à chaque technologie pour trouver une solution pertinente.
Il m’arrive aussi d’être créatif lorsque je sors du périmètre classique du testeur, lorsque par
exemple je dois faire le travail du PO si nous manquons de cette compétence en interne :
au lieu de rédiger des cahiers des charges ou des spécifications telles que l’aurait fait un
membre de l’équipe produit, j’essaie plutôt d’aborder le sujet tel que j’aurais aimé avoir
les informations, en tant que testeur.
J’essaie par exemple de rédiger plus tôt les critères d’acceptation, plutôt que des règles
métiers souvent génériques et abstraites. Je fais davantage de flowcharts permettant de
mieux cerner l’enchaînement des écrans, au détriment d’avoir un design figé pour chacun. . .
Je ne dis pas que ces spécifications sont plus pertinentes que celles d’un PO, mais je me
laisse cette liberté et cette créativité qui permettent de rendre mon métier toujours un peu
plus riche, et qui participe aussi à l’émulation de l’équipe.
Nous continuons avec Marc, il raconte son histoire avec la créativité et l’imagination
lors de son travail dans les systèmes embarqués en parlant des différentes investigations et
la création d’un nouveau framework

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4.1.2 Marc Hage Chahine

• [story][embedded systems][imagination][hypothesis][framework crea-
tion]

Créativité dans les investigations

Les systèmes embarqués, qui étaient attendus en mai-juin nous ont finalement été livrés
en juillet. Entre temps j’avais préparé ma campagne en concevant mes tests et en colla-
borant avec les responsables des dépôts afin de m’assurer de la pertinence de ceux-ci et
de l’ensemble de la campagne. A la livraison nous avons fait des essais directement dans
un bus pour valider que les branchements étaient fonctionnels et que le réseau télépho-
nique était suffisant. Suite à cela j’ai commencé des tests avec peu de données et dans
mon bureau. J’ai alors organisé des sessions de formation pour les conducteurs. Dans un
souci de pertinence j’avais implémenté les données de telle sorte que cela soit proche de
la réalité (nombreuses courses, nombreux clients. . . ) . . . l’histoire m’a donné raison, lors
des formations, les systèmes embarqués freezaient au bout de 30 minutes d’utilisation et
se retrouvaient hors service pendant au moins 30 minutes. Les systèmes embarqués étaient
inutilisables en conditions réelles ! J’ai alors dû investiguer. Savoir d’où venait le problème
et pour cela il m’a fallu faire preuve d’imagination et de créativité.

• Première hypothèse : le problème était lié au système utilisé en test. J’ai alors
testé tous les systèmes 1 par 1 : tous avaient les mêmes symptômes.
• Deuxième hypothèse : le problème venait potentiellement des bus et de la ten-
sion (qui se trouvait être très variable après mesure). J’ai tenté la même expérience
sur mon bureau avec les données faites sur les bus : même problème.
• Troisième hypothèse : le problème venait du volume des données. J’ai fait des
tests avec différents volumes. Plus le volume était important plus le problème sur-
vient tôt : il fallait maintenant savoir pourquoi !

Suite à cette découverte j’ai voulu savoir ce qui posait problème. Le problème était lié au
système en lui-même ou à ce par quoi passait les données, c’est-à-dire la partie "téléphone".
J’ai alors créé un protocole de test nécessitant de démonter les systèmes embarqués. Ce
protocole ressembler à cela :

• Prendre 2 systèmes embarqués

• Les "ouvrir" pour avoir accès à la partie téléphone
• Faire planter un système embarqué
• Échanger les modules téléphoniques des 2 systèmes embarqués
• Vérifier le fonctionnement des 2 systèmes.

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Olivier continue son histoire avec la créativité, il l’a nommé comme étant inscrite dans
le cœur de notre ADN et la relation avec la satisfaction client.

4.1.3 Olivier Denoo

• [tester’s DNA][testing techniques][modeling][customer satisfaction]
[automation]
La créativité est le propre du métier de testeur. Que ce soit pour sélectionner les données
ou techniques de test ; imaginer un cas de test ou un scénario ; comprendre et modéliser
le comportement d’un utilisateur ; elle s’inscrit au cœur même de notre ADN. Quand j’en-
tends certains évoquer le test de logiciel en évoquant un métier ennuyeux et répétitif, je
me dis qu’ils n’ont jamais vraiment eu la chance de tester ou qu’ils n’ont rien compris. Je
me souviens avoir automatisé une plateforme utilisateur, pour un opérateur télécom, où
le client pouvait mettre à jour ses services et forfaits. La problématique rencontrée était
une performance logicielle désastreuse au niveau du back-office qui forçait les opérateurs
en ligne à faire patienter le client en ligne longuement et de manière répétée. Notre mission
consistait à créer une interface en mode self-service, basée sur le web qui reprenait les choix
et les souhaits du client, les sauvegardant dans un fichier plat traité en mode batch par
l’automate durant la nuit. Rien de très glorieux me direz-vous. A des années-lumière des
bonnes pratiques logicielles et de l’automatisation. Certes ! Je vous l’accorde volontiers.
Toutefois, la satisfaction client a considérablement augmenté au point que le nombre de
plaintes a baissé de moitié, l’automatisation a donné le temps à l’équipe de maintenance
de corriger les soucis de performance, le coût total a dramatiquement diminué tout en
donnant (dans le contexte de l’époque) une image moderne du service. La créativité du
testeur, c’est de pouvoir détourner les choses, de mettre sa compréhension de la probléma-
tique et son expérience au regard d’une solution nouvelle, de faire évoluer les choses et les
produits en fonction en les challengeant et en confrontant des solutions innovantes à des
problématiques qui bien souvent ne le sont pas.

Anthony affirme que la création d’une solution de test est aussi une preuve de créativité

4.1.4 Anthony Busselier

• [solution][acceptance criterias][confidence][listening]
Pour ce qui est d’appliquer de la créativité au travail au sein de mon équipe, il m’est dif-
ficile de trouver un exemple précis. Le travail d’un développeur n’est pas de coder, mais
de trouver une solution à un problème donné. C’est dans l’élaboration et la création de
cette solution qu’en tant que spécialiste du test, je peux faire preuve de créativité. Que ce

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soit en incorporant le test dans la fabrique même de notre solution, ou en proposant de

nouveaux critères pour les "Acceptance Criterias". Je me retrouve souvent à penser à tout,
à essayer d’anticiper notre future en me basant sur nos expériences passées, je me perçois
souvent en archiviste en plus de mes autres rôles. Mais tout le monde possède un degré
certain de créativité en soi, pour faire mûrir et cultiver cette créativité, il est important
de posséder ce dont je bénéficie au sein de mon équipe : la confiance et l’écoute de ses pairs.

Autres idées, que nous avons recueillies de la part des testeurs que la preuve de concept
(POC) ou démonstration de faisabilité, est une réalisation ayant pour vocation de montrer
la faisabilité d’un procédé ou d’une innovation fait partie de la créativité.

4.1.5 Baptiste Despont

• [proof of concept][system architecture][legacy]

Par la mise en place de POC sur certains outils permettant de faciliter mon travail au
quotidien, par la compréhension architecturale du SI afin d’effectuer les test des bricks
oubliés (legacy)
Revenant vers la collaboration et la notion de T-shaped profil, la convergence et partage des
compétences de plusieurs disciplines ajoute une teinte de créativité surtout en développant
des outils innovants pour tester les logiciels. Régis et Jean-Pierre partagent leurs opinions
à propos le partage des compétences et la relation avec la créativité.

4.1.6 Régis Lemaire

• [testing tools][data][analysis][t-shaped skills]

La créativité est particulièrement utile pour le développement d’outils pour tester les logi-
ciels, pour produire des données et des indicateurs. La créativité est également savoir aller
chercher dans d’autres discipline, d’autres métiers des méthodes et outils.

4.1.7 Jean-Pierre Lambert

• [exploratory testing][shared skill][product][quality][different faces]

Les tests exploratoires. C’est une compétence dont manquent cruellement la plupart des
équipes hors testeur. À vrai dire, les équipes maîtrisant les tests exploratoires ont toutes
été en contact prolongé avec un testeur. La compétence s’est diffusée au sein de l’équipe.
Rappelons la définition de "Testé" selon Elisabeth Hendrickson : Testé = Vérifié + Exploré
On néglige trop souvent l’exploration, qui est pourtant au cœur des produits de qualité.

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L’exploration a énormément de facettes, qui dépasse de loin les comportements fonction-

nels et techniques. C’est parfois simplement se demander si le produit allait rapporter de
l’argent !
Alvine nous parle de la créativité comme étant un art qu’on peut développer en donnant
des exemples

4.1.8 Alvine yolande Kegne Kamga

• [art][operational][relational][testing strategy][relationship]
En tant que testeur je l’applique à tous les niveaux allant de l’opérationnel au relationnel
c’est à dire :

• Opérationnel : Le test est un long processus constitué d’un groupe d’activités et

les projets peuvent se ressembler mais ne sont pas les mêmes. Ce qui veut dire qu’en
fonction du projet, et selon les activités à mener les connaissances représentent 80%
et la créativité 20%.
Par exemple, dans le choix d’une stratégie de test, on doit donner différentes ap-
proches, apporter un plus pour mieux l’adapter au contexte.
• Relationnel : trouver des astuces, des méthodes pour garder un bon relationnel
avec les autres membres de l’équipe. C’est important pour maintenir un bon climat
(surtout avec les développeurs).
Ne pas suivre un plan et travailler son quotidien sans utiliser les mêmes pratiques, être
innovant et avoir un peu de liberté dans le travail va stimuler notre créativité. En effet, le
rendement des testeurs sera plus efficace en pensant autrement.

4.1.9 Rachel Da Silva Santos

• [exploration][free mindset]
En tant que testeur, la créativité est rapidement nécessaire au moment de rédiger des
scénarios ou des cas de tests qui sortent un peu du commun et qui n’ont pas toujours était
prévu pour cela.
Quelques exemples qui permettent d’offrir un peu de liberté et de créativité aux testeurs
et de choisir des données de tests qui peuvent avoir un sens, parfois humoristique, ce qui
permet au testeur de se sentir libre de proposer des choses et d’exprimer sa créativité.

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4.2 Créativité : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs

La créativité est la clé primordiale qui va aider le testeur à répondre aux nouveaux
besoins que l’équipe de demain et les futurs systèmes d’information vont subir. Les testeurs
ont exprimé leurs opinions concernant le futur de la créativité. Olivier nous parle de la
relation entre la complexité des systèmes et créativité.

4.2.1 Olivier Denoo

• [more creativity][complexity][adaptive marketing][rules][natural crea-
tivity][art][techniques]
Je suis intimement convaincu que la créativité du testeur va aller croissant dans les années
à venir. Tout d’abord parce que nos systèmes d’information se complexifient de manière
exponentielle, qu’ils s’intègrent de plus en plus finement les uns aux autres pour former
une multitude de services à la demande aux tenants et aboutissants de plus en plus flous.
Aujourd’hui, par exemple, le fait de chercher un produit en ligne génère l’émission de pu-
blicité ciblée et de marketing adapté ; l’achat d’un billet de train ou d’avion s’accompagne
de propositions de réservations d’hôtel ou de voiture de location à l’arrivée ; l’achat d’un
produit s’accompagne de propositions similaires que d’autres acheteurs ont aussi aimé ou
acheté... La massification des produits et services de l’IT s’accompagne immanquablement
de nouvelles règles, de nouveaux besoins (ergonomie, performance, utilisabilité, accessi-
bilité, contraintes légales...). Autant de sujets propices à aiguiser toute la créativité du
testeur, autant de techniques à peaufiner et à développer (cartes d’empathie, personae,
nouvelle approche des cas de test, des exigences). L’évolution des méthodes de dévelop-
pement, des cycles de vie et des techniques, contribuent tout autant à offrir aux testeurs
des opportunités de réinventer leur art et leur métier, tout en donnant libre cours à leur
créativité naturelle.
L’intelligence artificielle est un accélérateur de la créativité, les testeurs doivent s’adap-
ter rapidement aux nouveaux changements qui vont être générés prochainement tels que les
nouveaux outils à tester, nouvelles techniques, méthodes ainsi que les perspectives futures.

4.2.2 Laurent Perotin

• [testing methods][artificial intelligence][outside-the-box][adapt][challenges]
Il est très probable que la créativité du testeur de demain sera associée aux nouvelles
méthodes de test, et en particulier celles pilotées par l’Intelligence Artificielle. Etant donné
que les tests consistent souvent à répéter les mêmes actions, le jeu de données disponibles
peut vite devenir assez important et peut donc alimenter correctement un algorithme d’IA.
Pour autant, le testeur ne sera pas "à mettre à la poubelle" : il devra juste savoir s’adapter

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4.2. Créativité : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 152

et être créatif pour trouver sa place face à cette nouvelle technologie. Le testeur pourra
sûrement passer moins de temps sur les tâches répétitives et à faible valeur ajoutée (que sont
les tests manuels par exemple) pour s’attacher davantage à des activités plus pertinentes,
comme le monitoring de la production, le chaos testing, etc. . .

4.2.3 Régis Lemaire

• [artificial intelligence][testing tools][perspectives][testing methods]

Le développement de l’IA doit nous pousser dans notre créativité. L’IA nous apporte à la
fois de nouveaux types de logiciels à tester et de nouvelles perspectives d’outils de test.
Comment tester une IA ?
Comment une IA peut-elle créer de nouvelles méthodes de test ?
Quelles nouvelles méthodes allons-nous créer pour notre métier du test ?

4.2.4 Aichetou Dia

• [experience][testing techniques][best practices]

Je pense que cette compétence évolue avec le temps, plus le testeur gagne de l’expérience. Je
compte améliorer cette compétence en lisant et pratiquant plus les techniques de tests, les
bonnes pratiques de ce métier et surtout écouter les conseils des testeurs plus expérimentés
et leurs retours d’expérience.

Il faut certainement éliminer toute barrière qui pourra faire face à l’avancement pour
simuler la créativité avec un esprit libre.

4.2.5 Danielle Sabourin

• [imagination][scenarios][free spirit][remove barriers][critical spirits]
[group thinking]

La créativité doit permettre d’imaginer autant des scénarios que des fonctionnalités ou
comment on parvient à un résultat idéal. Pour cela, les esprits doivent être réellement
libres de s’exprimer, car seul un esprit libre est créatif... peu importe le rôle des managers,
quand on parle de créativité, aucune barrière, aucun à priori, aucun esprit critique ni aucun
jugement ne doivent être présents. On exprime tout ce qu’on imagine, ensuite, par petit
groupe, les idées émises sont étudiées pour estimer ce qu’elles peuvent apporter et si elles
sont réalisables.

L’exploration génère plus de scénarios et sera de plus importante dans le futur, en

particulier les tests de crowdtesting sont devenus une tendance dans le domaine de tests

#21stskills4testers
4.2. Créativité : Imaginations et pensées des testeurs 153

logiciel qui exploitent les avantages, l’efficacité et l’efficience du crowdsourcing et du cloud.

Jean-Pierre exprime ses pensées à propos ces points

4.2.6 Jean-Pierre Lambert

• [user experience][exploratory testing][crowdtesting]
Les tests exploratoires vont devenir de plus en plus outillés pour dépasser les tests
manuels.
Pourquoi ne pas utiliser les outils d’automatisation de test pour définir à la volée un
ensemble de nouveaux cas de tests exploratoires ?
Quid du monitoring ?
Comment le mettre en place et l’exploiter pour aller au-delà des sentiers battus et explorer
l’expérience utilisateur, la robustesse et la pertinence du produit ?
Il devient aussi courant de monter des groupes de beta-testeurs pour faire du crowdtesting.
Anthony donne des alertes à propos du danger qui menace la créativité humaine à cause
des outils puissants. Ces derniers peuvent la remplacer ou s’éloigner des besoins exacts du
client

4.2.7 Anthony Busselier

• [cloud][danger][legacy]
Pour ce qui est du futur, la créativité sera toujours de mise dans mon équipe, mais elle est,
selon moi, en danger. Travaillant beaucoup avec AWS ou le Cloud, j’ai remarqué qu’à cause
de contraintes budgétaires, on se retrouve souvent avec des solutions "off the shelf" ou des
"package" qui ne reflètent pas nécessairement nos besoins ou qui limitent la créativité.
Les "third party" ou "legacy application" contribuent aussi à cette mise en danger, on se
retrouve à devoir être créatif avec de trop nombreuses contraintes, ce qui peut générer une
frustration contre-productive.
Télétravail = un nouveau mode de travail pour certains. Les échanges entre les différents
membres vont sûrement changer d’aspect ce qui va stimuler la créativité pour répondre à
toutes les nouveautés

4.2.8 Rachel Da Silva Santos

• [remote][improvement]
L’avenir se tournant vers plus de travail à distance, je pense que la créativité dans
les modes d’échanges ou de travail va être nécessaire pour trouver le bon équilibre et la
meilleure façon de travailler pour chaque équipe.

#21stskills4testers
Conclusion et Réflexions

Comment tirer des conclusions de toutes ces contributions uniques et di-

verses ?

Une bonne question, nous n’essaierons pas de rassembler toutes ces “243 contributions”
au total dans une conclusion. Mais nous pouvons utiliser une stratégie pour regarder ces
histoires, en focalisant sur les mots que nous avons utilisés pour résumer les histoires. Et
si vous regardez ces mots dans l’index, des choses intéressantes peuvent être remarquées.

Donc, si nous rassemblons les mots les plus utilisés dans l’index dans un seul paragraphe
et essayons de décrire le testeur du 21e siècle, mais ça pourra aboutir à quelque chose de
similaire ?

Le testeur du 21e siècle :

C’est un testeur ouvert d’esprit, qui valorise la diversité parce qu’il/elle veut examiner
les problèmes et les défis sous différents angles. Conscient des hypothèses, le testeur essaie
de les rendre claires le sujet tout en écoutant, en posant des questions et en demandant
des feedbacks. L’aperçu créé peut être visualisé au mieux si vous apportez le maximum
du travail ensemble, il/elle sait que la discussion est importante, mais qu’une discussion
a besoin d’un environnement dans lequel nous pouvons nous faire confiance afin que nous
puissions apprendre et pour s’améliorer.

154 #21stskills4testers
Conclusion et Réflexions 155

Quelle serait votre définition ?

Pouvez-vous tweeter votre définition en utilisant notre hashtag #21stskills4testers ?
S’agit-il d’une description intéressante pour laquelle vous allez vous battre et vous préparer
pour le reste du 21e siècle ?

Réflexions

Créer un livre pareil était un processus très intéressant aussi si vous voyez ce processus
du point de vue des compétences du 21e siècle. Dans ce court paragraphe, nous aimons
refléter la manière dont nous avons appliqué les "4C" dans le processus de création de ce
livre.

"Creativity" : Tout commence par une idée et comment agir à une telle idée. L’idée
est venue d’Emna, elle a eu l’inspiration de faire quelque chose avec les compétences du
21e siècle. Ard aime toujours les bonnes idées et lors d’un appel, ils ont donc commencé
à réfléchir. Ce qui a abouti à l’idée de partager des histoires et de les rassembler dans un
livre.

La première étape d’une "Collaboration" étroite n’était certainement pas la dernière

étape. Ce livre est le résultat d’une "Collaboration" de plusieurs personnes.
Nous avons contacté la communauté de test en utilisant des outils de "Communica-
tion" numérique afin que toutes ces personnes du monde entier puissent contribuer.
Ils ont écrit leurs histoires pour nous, la seule chose que nous devions faire était de
rassembler toutes ces histoires en un seul livre.

Nous sommes conscients que nous avons des origines différentes. Emna est Tunisienne,
pays francophone, et Ard est Néerlandais, pays anglophone. Après quelques "Critical
Thinking" et "Créativité", nous sommes arrivés à l’idée qu’il serait formidable de com-
biner ces deux origines : un livre sur les tests en français et en anglais.

Le fait que nos contributeurs appliquent aussi le "Critical Thinking" est devenu
évident lorsque Anthony Busselier nous a fait remarquer que "Critical Thinking" (ou
en français "L’Esprit Critique") a un autre sens ou devrons-nous dire depuis un angle
différent. En français, cela signifie textbf "gérer l’échec” tandis qu’en anglais, cela signifie :
“prévenir l’échec”. Une perspective tout à fait différente, vous devez être conscient lorsque
vous vous parlez si vous avez des origines différentes. Utiliser ces différentes perspectives
(si vous venez d’un autre milieu) est très précieux, mais cela est confirmé dans les histoires
sur la diversité.

#21stskills4testers
Conclusion et Réflexions 156

Durant le processus de création de site web, la mise en place du livre, le montage

et ceci pendant la pandémie de 2020 “Covid19” la "Communication" était cruciale.
Heureusement, il existe des outils numériques qui nous ont aidés à avoir des contacts
fréquents, même si pendant toute cette période de création de ce livre, nous ne nous
sommes jamais rencontrés en personne.

Le résultat est un livre que vous lisez maintenant, nous espérons que vous l’apprécierez
autant que nous en avons pris plaisir lors de sa création. Nous avons prouvé que l’application
des compétences du 21e siècle peut conduire à un résultat intéressant et peut être d’autres
nouvelles idées pourront se générer.

#21stskills4testers
Index

A communication methods, 124

acceptance criterias, 148 community of practice, 142
adapt, 123, 129, 136, 146, 151 complex software, 142
adaptive marketing, 151 complexity, 151
agile, 121, 139, 142 confidence, 124, 148
agile ceremonies, 144 confirmation test, 116
agile team, 137, 138 context switching, 144
analysis, 149 continuous improvement, 118
analytical mind, 132 control communication, 126
art, 127, 129, 150, 151 courtesy, 127
artificial intelligence, 119, 151, 152 critical spirits, 152
automation, 148 criticize the product, 126
crowdtesting, 153
B crucial, 135
best practices, 152 cultural gap, 118
boundaries, 116, 120 culture, 142
break routine, 114 customer satisfaction, 148
break silos, 142
D
bug reports, 127
danger, 153
data, 149
C
defects, 139
centralized, 129
definition of done, 137
ceremonies, 138
deliver informations, 127
challenges, 151
deliver news, 127
clarifications, 125
design thinking, 142
cloud, 153
different faces, 149
cocreate solution, 134
different skills, 137
collaboration, 126
diplomacy, 127
collaborative approaches, 114
direct communication, 126
collective, 129
doubt, 116
collective intelligence, 139
drawback, 126
common goal, 138
common objective, 139 E
communication code, 130 embedded systems, 147

157 #21stskills4testers
Index 158

empathy cards, 130 L

everyday, 114, 115 learnable, 129
example mapping, 143 legacy, 142, 149, 153
experience, 152 less emails, 132
exploration, 150 lessons learned, 117
exploratory testing, 119, 143, 149, 153 link, 124
express opinions, 128 listening, 124, 148
extrovert, 143
M
F manage failure, 118
false negative, 120 mandatory, 123, 124
false positive, 120 marketing, 117, 140
feedback, 124 mental health, 130
feelings, 120, 127 methods, 115
first development phase, 119 mindset, 142
flowcharts, 146 mob testing, 143
framework creation, 147 modeling, 148
free mindset, 150 models, 120
free spirit, 152 more bugs, 115
friendly environment, 132 more creativity, 151
multi collaboration, 138
G multidisciplinary, 128, 135, 140
gamification in learning, 130 mutual respect, 144
gherkin, 123
N
good questions, 119
natural creativity, 151
grooming, 143
no labels, 137
group thinking, 152 not trivial, 126
H O
help, 134 operational, 150
human, 129 opinions, 114
human relationship, 124 optional, 146
hypothesis, 114, 147 options, 118
oral communication, 127
I outside-the-box, 151
ideas, 114 overview, 124
imagination, 115, 147, 152
improvement, 114, 153 P
introvert, 143 pairing, 121, 124, 137, 143
iterative, 121 perspectives, 137, 152
pillar, 136
K posture, 126
key expertise, 137 prevent failure, 118
key skill, 125 problem resolution, 125

#21stskills4testers
Index 159

problem solving, 129, 134 show and tell, 129

procedure, 114 similarities, 118
processes, 115 simplify complex problems, 123
product, 149 soft skills, 130
product owner, 140 software life cylce, 140
product quality, 127, 131, 136 software quality, 126
product teams, 128 solution, 148
productivity, 144 story, 146, 147
progress, 120 support, 140
progress reports, 127 system architecture, 149
promote tester, 115
proof of concept, 149 T
psychological analysis, 129 t-shaped skills, 146, 149
team building, 132
Q team chart, 124
quality, 135, 149 team cohesion, 114
questions, 116 team critical thinking, 119
team goal, 137, 139
R
team integration, 125
recognize, 129
team spirit, 143
regression test], 116
technical knowledge, 139
relational, 150
techniques, 151
relationship, 150
technologies, 120
remote, 126, 153
remote communication, 131, 132 test coverage, 116, 120
remote skills, 131 tester’s DNA, 148
remote tools, 132 testing methods, 151, 152
remote work, 143 testing practices, 137
remove barriers, 152 testing strategy, 142, 150
requirements, 119 testing techniques, 148, 152
return on investment, 132 testing tools, 149, 152
risk, 135 three amigo, 137
rules, 151 three amigos, 143
timeless, 129
S tools, 142
sales, 117, 140 top skill, 120
scenarios, 152 transparency, 143
science, 129 trust, 132
scientific research, 114
scrum, 139 U
settings, 144 understand feelings, 126
shared criteria, 129 understanding, 118
shared indicators, 129 user experience, 116, 120, 153
shared skill, 149 user story, 140

#21stskills4testers
Index 160

V
value, 125
vision, 136
visual communication, 130
visual facilitation, 129
visual testing, 114

W
workshops, 137
written communication, 123, 127

#21stskills4testers
The end ...

#21STSKILLS4TESTERS