A short intro to the topic of why seeing problems is just not enough. Problems are easy to find. Keeping ears and eyes open one will find plenty of matters at hand. If you find yourself asking “Why do we do that?”, the next question should be “What have I done to understand why we do it?”
What have I done to understand why we do it?
I don’t prescribe to the theory that problems are only the responsibility of management. The concept of seeing something and throwing it over the fence and hope for the best, or perhaps worse of seeing an issue and just working around it without saying something just never sat right with me. There may be reasons why something is done a certain way, but if you never invest the time to understand, ask questions, look for options, you will never know and you may miss out on opportunities.
Let’s look at an example. Someone is performing manual functional testing of a website. The person has a long list of test cases that they have to execute manually, over and over again, every release. It is tedious work, but necessary as the system is still maturing and change is considerable. Often times timelines are compressed which drives long hours at the end of the sprint for test validation. This person knows that there are tools in the marketplace that would allow the automation of the test case operations. The test engine can perform most of the same tests in much less time, more often, and not make data entry mistakes. Why aren’t we using it?
This person has a conversation with their manager and the discussion brings up a number of different points:
- Automated testing requires someone with an extended set of skills that can build test cases
- Automated testing requires additional infrastructure to run the test suites
- There was a cost analysis done just the year before that showed with the current systems under test (SUT) and the expectations for the test coverage it would take roughly 4 months for an automation platform to be designed, stood up with the same test suite being written and running to an acceptable level to use for validation purposes.
- Automation can and only should do so much, some test cases/scenarios still make the most sense to do manually and exploratory test cases will still need to be captured and designed, then fed to the automation platform
- This cost of capital and time was deemed too high at that juncture to make the jump
After this conversation, the tester and the manager has a better idea (hopefully) as to why they are still doing all manual testing. It does NOT mean the idea of automation is off the table, it only means that a combination of circumstances for successful implementation is not yet present. Circumstances change and having your front-line people be cognizant of those conditions puts them in a better position to advise. Examples of changing circumstances include:
- A testing framework is discovered or newly put out that reduces coding time by 20%
- Regulatory pressure(s) sets forth a reporting/auditing standard that encourages automation
- The number of sites/projects that become SUT increases
- There is an increase in test coverage requirements in more environments that make it impossible to meet with manual only testing operations.
- Defects are found in releases and root cause analysis (RCA) suggests that testing was insufficient as the defect(s) found were due to unexpected side effects of expected changes and only a full regression would have caught it.
- Timezone diversification of development staff causes code changes being introduced all hours of the day in lower environments but the tester is not available to validate until the next business day.
Notice I did not say that the current tester expands skill set into automation? I believe people have finite capabilities and should only be asked to wear so many hats. Like the phrase “I got one foot on the platform, the other foot on the train.”, that’s can work if the train never moves! I am all for fostering growth in people, however, I also believe that setting expectations that they can do the new job and yet keep up with everything in their existing role is just too much to ask and can put both the person and the new initiative at risk. If the existing staff member branches into the automation space how will the company adapt the staffing model and/or workflows to best ensure success?
Looking at problems as opportunities
I like to think that there are no unsolvable problems. With enough time, money, skill, and will, any problem can be solved. Changing the mindset from problem to opportunity often helps the will aspect of this matter. Opportunity is motivating, opportunity is easier to gain buy-in from those one needs the help of. Think of it like this:
A: “Our site is 9.25% slower during peak hours and a few of our clients are seeing errors.”
B: “If we improved our site performance to handle an additional 10% load during peak hours we would improve our user experience by 30% which has the potential to increase our sales by 5%”
Which one is more likely to gain traction? The second position is for the same issue as the first, but adds an understanding of the business impact, implies that a solution to the problem is already conceived and an understanding of how we can measure improvement is instantiated. More effort and understanding is required to present the second position, which is where the opportunity comes from!
So where does the value come from seeing the solution then?
In every company, there is always that one, or two, or a group of people that always seem to have a good reading on the pulse of an organization, see problems/opportunities current and on the horizon and have a plan to address them. These individuals earn respect from others as problem solvers, even visionaries perhaps (a debatable term, maybe a future blog topic). They are able to drive solutions, increase efficiency, keep the business out of trouble (usually, sometimes life happens). They gain value as they drive business viability and grow not only themselves and those they work with. It shows dedication and attention to detail, a willingness to be a student of the business. All these are qualities we want in ourselves and with our coworkers.