A talk about testing and the attitudes that software teams have towards it. I gave this talk at Mobilize Dublin in February 2019.

1. Pride and Prejudice and
Software Testing
Conor O’Donnell
@ronocod

2. “It is a truth universally
acknowledged...”
How well-tested is our software?

6. What makes software well-
tested?

7. What makes software well-tested?
Code coverage?
- Shows what isn’t tested & what might be
- Doesn’t show quality of testing

8. What makes software well-tested?
Number of bug reports/issues?
- Dependent on number of users, change
rate, etc.
- Bugs may not be clear to users

9. What makes software well-tested?
Change Failure Rate
- Bugs * Changes / Time
- 1 of 4 DORA Key Metrics
- Read “Accelerate”

10. What makes software well-tested?
“We release tonnes of
changes and they always work
as intended”

11. What makes software well-tested?
“We release tonnes of
changes and they always work
as intended”

12. Note:
“Works as intended”
- Need to have a clear goal
- Need a method of checking success

13. “Oh, Lizzy! do anything rather
than marry without affection.”
What makes us dislike testing?

16. Why do we like or dislike
testing?

17. Why do we like or dislike
any activity?

18. Why do we like or dislike any activity?
Intrinsic Motivation
- :) because of the activity itself
Extrinsic motivation
- :) because of what the activity achieves

20. Why do we like or dislike
testing?

21. Intrinsic Motivation
Easy to write & maintain tests
- Boundaries - Gary Bernhardt
- Code quality
Simple, clear, consistent tests :)

22. Intrinsic Motivation
Easy to run tests
- Run on CI + cloud devices
- Fast
Fast tests, easy to run :)

24. Extrinsic Motivation
Confidence in running software
- Use any method that gives you confidence
- Alerts & analytics are tests too
Releasing change without fear :)

26. What makes us like testing?
“We enjoy working with our
tests and we know our
software is well-tested”

27. What makes us like testing?
“We enjoy working with our
tests and we know our
software is well-tested”

28. “I am the happiest creature in
the world.”
Now we’re all great at testing!

30. “An unhappy alternative is
before you, Elizabeth.”
Tomorrow morning...

32. Still not motivated to test
“I don’t have any of this”
- That’s where we all start!
- Setup 1 test that gives you confidence
- Iterate from there

33. Still not motivated to test
“I know my code just works”
- Are you sure?
- Do your colleagues?
- Will it work forever?

34. Still not motivated to test
“Tests aren’t actually valuable”
- Are you sure?
- Try first and then decide
- See how many issues you fix, and how
much faster you fix them

35. A classic tale
“I know my code just works”
&
“Tests aren’t actually valuable”

36. A classic tale
Pride
&
“Tests aren’t actually valuable”

37. A classic tale
Pride
&
Prejudice

38. Thank you
Conor O’Donnell
@ronocod