Thinking Visually In
Software Testing
Strategise Visually vs Visual Strategy
Alan Richardson
www.eviltester.com@eviltester
Blogs and Websites
● CompendiumDev.co.uk
● SeleniumSimplified.com
● EvilTester.com
● JavaForTesters.com
● Twitter: @eviltester
Online Training Courses
● Technical Web Testing 101Unow.be/at/techwebtest101
● Intro to SeleniumUnow.be/at/startwebdriver
● Selenium 2 WebDriver APIUnow.be/at/webdriverapi
Videos
youtube.com/user/EviltesterVideos
Books
Selenium Simplified
Unow.be/rc/selsimp
Java For Testers
leanpub.com/javaForTesters
Alan Richardson
uk.linkedin.com/in/eviltester
Independent Test Consultant & Custom Training
Contact Alan
http://compendiumdev.co.uk/contact
What's this all about?
Visual Tools and Techniques to:
Aid your thinking
Make your thinking visual
Aid your communication
“I would rather see your thinking, than see what you think your thinking
should look like”
An adhoc example of Thinking Visually
“Let's think visually about testing the
google search box”
Adhoc Tooling
● Pen and Paper
● Camera
● Scanner
● Evernote
● Paint.net
● … have you examined what you already use?
“Over the years I've moved from; starting with technology and looking for the one true formal representation; to an adhoc multi-view approach”
What is this based on?
● I have based this on my experience
● Learning to communicate more succinctly
● Help me spot gaps in my thinking
● Systems Thinking
● Reviewing Other People's plans & docs
● Writing a diagramming & Outlining Tool
● Learning to read quickly
Uncle Al's Slogans
● How little can you get away with?
● 'game' the templates
● Important things first
● Summarise for the reader
● Meet the reader's needs
Document Examples
How not to think visually
I was taught how to not do this
● Doodles are bad
● You can't draw
● If it was quick it can't be good
!... I was also taught
● Not enough words
● Use more complicated words
● Formal diagramming rules
● … what were you taught?
I unlearned and focus on
● Value
● Communication
● Novelty
● How people remember
● Design
● Flexibility
● … and more
How to trap your thinking and your reader
● The big block of text
● Summarise without value
● Stupor inducing templates
● Hide what is important
How to trap your thinking and your reader
● Use lists to restrict 'what else' thinking
● Copy and Paste rather than re-interpret
● … how else?
Don't Believe me?
“Go find some examples on the web.”
● "test strategy" file:doc
● "test approach" file:doc
● "test plan" file:doc
● "test strategy" file:pdf
● "test approach" file:pdf
● "test plan" file:pdf
Quick tips to shake it up a bit
● If you normally use lined paper, use blank
● If you normally use portrait, use landscape
● If you start at the top, start in the middle
● Take notes positionally, rather than in time line
● … what can you do now to change your approach?
My non-psychology based view
● Words are pictures
● Everything has a visual impact
● Documents are pictures
● Thinking is different from communicating
● Thinking is for us
● Communicating is for them
● Different Visual Models have different purpose
● … think through your insights
Lessons from rapid reading
● Most words are padding
● Outlines reveal big picture
● Images, summaries, callouts
● 1st and last paras
● Read Backwards
● Illustrations vs Diagrams
● … what aids you when you read quickly?
Obvious Thinking Tools First
● Mindmaps
● Diagrams
● Log of train of thought
● Aid memory, Aid Study, ● Not for communication
● Not illustrations● Visual models that communicate
Big Block of Text NotAlways Considered Evil
Loosen Up... Think Spatially
● Single Sheet Viewport to the mind
● Text Editors
● Mind Map Tools for 'big picture' outlines
Think Spatially with Text Editors
A visual thinking process
Collate
Structure
Layout
Visualise
The OutcomeHow will this
be used?
The Consumer
Why and how visually?
● Big picture
● Chunk up and down
● Remodel
● List
● Time
● Attribute Relationships
– Tables, Categories, Outlines
● Space
● Flows
Tools to Experiment With
● Graphviz
● Freemind
● Freeplane
● Xmind
● Evernote
● yED
● yUML
● Umlet
● Drawtiming
● Asciiflow
● Text Editors
● Presentation Tools
● Art Packages
● Screen Capture
… have you got a use, to use , and used list?
You can use
prosaic tools
“Think. Make your thinking visible. Communicate your thinking. And do it your way.”
eviltester.com
Blogs and Websites
● CompendiumDev.co.uk
● SeleniumSimplified.com
● EvilTester.com
● JavaForTesters.com
● Twitter: @eviltester
Online Training Courses
● Technical Web Testing 101Unow.be/at/techwebtest101
● Intro to SeleniumUnow.be/at/startwebdriver
● Selenium 2 WebDriver APIUnow.be/at/webdriverapi
Videos
youtube.com/user/EviltesterVideos
Books
Selenium Simplified
Unow.be/rc/selsimp
Java For Testers
leanpub.com/javaForTesters
Alan Richardson
uk.linkedin.com/in/eviltester
Independent Test Consultant & Custom Training
Contact Alan
http://compendiumdev.co.uk/contact