New technologies and a need for innovation mean we test within a rapidly changing and evolving environment. But no matter how much we estimate and plan, something seems to throw these plans into chaos. Agile helps us to minimise this disruption through an iterative and incremental approach but regardless we seems to get surprised and frustrated by change. Nassim Nicholas Taleb argues that much of what we do lives in Black Swan territory. A black swan is a metaphor for an unpredictable event that in hindsight was preventable. Sound familiar? Software testing is the ultimate black swan challenge. Our very role is to search for unpredictable events. The irony is that in the process of hunting for these black swans, our testing itself becomes the target of black swans! For example, development takes longer than anticipated, business change their minds and bug retesting takes longer than hoped. These black swans impact our ability to accurately estimate and plan. Taleb argues that instead of attempting to improve prediction we are better off developing a more robust approach to change. It’s time for a rethink in testing. It’s time to change our approach from one of control to one that embraces disruption. One in which testing becomes stronger and more valuable as a result of change. But how? The key lies in developing a testing mindset and developing tester skill. In this talk I will discuss how to helps testers become expert black swan hunters and how to develop a testing process that embraces disruption and welcomes change. www.eurostarconferences.com www.testhuddle.com

1. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
D I S R U P T I V E T E S T I N G
A N N E - M A R I E C H A R R E T T
T E S T I N G T I M E S

2. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
M U N S T E R V S
A L L B L A C K S
1 9 7 8
@ C H A R R E T T

3. @ C H A R R E T T

4. T Y P I C A L T E S T P R O C E S S
Test Plan Test Spec Test ExecutionTest Report
@ C H A R R E T T

5. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
D E T E R M I N A S T I
C T E S T I N G
• Meticulous adherence to
test process
• Try and predict precise
estimates
• Try and predict number of
bugs to be found
• Lock down mentality
@ C H A R R E T T C O P Y R I G H T R O N K R O E T Z

6. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
C O P Y R I G H T R A Y M O R R I S

7. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
N A S S I M N I C H O L A S T A L E B
“The black swan theory or theory of black swan
events is a metaphor that describes an event that
comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is
often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with
the benefit of hindsight. ”

8. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
B E N T F L Y V B J E R G & A L E X A N D E R B U D Z I E R ,
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 , " W H Y Y O U R I T P R O J E C T M A Y B E
R I S K I E R T H A N Y O U T H I N K " , H A R V A R D B U S I N E S S
R E V I E W
“average cost of IT projects overrun is only 27%”
“1 in six had a cost overrun of 200% and a
schedule overrun of almost 70%.”

9. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
A V O I D P R E D I C T I O N

10. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
B E C O M E R O B U S T

11. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
W E F O C U S O N T E S T I N G , W E F O C U S O N S K I L L .
- M I C H A E L B O L T O N
FOCUS ON ORGANIZATIONS AND
INDIVIDUALS
THAT ARE PREPARED & EMPOWERED TO
DEAL
MENTALLY, POLITICALLY, AND EMOTIONALLY
WITH SURPRISES

12. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
T O O L S
T E S T I N G
P R O C E S S
C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T

13. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
T H E A G E O F T H E
T H I N K I N G T E S T E R

14. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
T H I N K I N G
T E S T E R
• CRITICAL THINKING
• LATERAL THINKING
• COMPLEXITY
• COMMUNICATION
C O P Y R I G H T B Y R O M A N J O O S T

15. • Embrace Technology
• Join a community
• Look beyond your community
• Develop testing skills
• Study Testing and Development
• Develop an opinion
• Speak about Testing
• Write about Testing
C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T

16. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
H A B I T A T

17. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
C O N D I T I O N S
• AUTONOMY
• COLLABORATION
• CONTINUOUS SELF LEARNING
• EMPOWERMENT
• SAFETY

18. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
- C E M K A N E R
“Exploratory testing is an approach to software
testing that is concisely described as simultaneous
learning, test design and test execution.”

19. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
T E S T E R C E N T R I C
Design
Testing
Learning
Autodidactic
Self Awareness
Autonomy
Courage
Mental Engagement

20. P R O C E S S

21. • You are buying three items at a shop. These are the
prices:
• $19.95
• $39.98
• $29.97
About how much money are you spending?

22. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
H E U R I S T I C S
A heuristic is a fallible method
of solving a problem or
making a decision.
• Requires skill
• Context Dependent
• Less Visible
C O P Y R I G H T S O R E N S I I M
James Bach

24. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
– M I C H A E L B O L T O N
“we can expect the unpredictable, anticipate it to
some degree, manage it as best we can, and learn
from the experience.”
W E C A N N O T P R E D I C T T H E
U N P R E D I C T A B L E

25. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
R E A D I N G
• The Black Swan - NN Taleb
• Antifragile - NN Taleb
• General Systems Thinking - J.Weinberg
• Black Swan & Testing blog series - Michael Bolton
• Heuristics & Testing - James Bach, Michael Bolton,
Cem Kaner, James Lyndsey and any context driven
tester you know of.

26. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
T H A N K Y O U
A V A I L A B L E F O R
T R A I N I N G , C O A C H I N G & C O N S U L T I N G
A M C H A R R E T T @ T E S T I N G T I M E S . C O M . A U

27. C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 4 A C H A R R E T T
A N Y Q U E S T I O N S ?