How can testers spend more time doing productive testing and waste less time preparing "useless" project documentation? Rob Sabourin employs whiteboarding techniques to enable faster, easier, and more powerful communication and collaboration—without all the paperwork. Rob uses whiteboarding to help identify technical risks, understand user needs, and focus testing on what really matters to business stakeholders. Whiteboard block diagrams visualize technical risk to stakeholders. Whiteboard fault models highlight failure modes to developers and testers. Testers can elicit usage scenarios directly from customers using storyboard diagrams. Rob shows how simple whiteboarding strategies help testers learn new concepts, design better tests, and estimate their activities. Rob shares his experiences whiteboarding all kinds of visual models: time sequences, block diagrams, storyboards, state models, control flows, data flows, and mind maps. Save time and avoid the pain of back-and-forth or written document reviews that testers, developers, customers, and users often come to despise.

1. Whiteboarding
Robert Sabourin
President
AmiBug.Com, Inc.
Montreal, Canada
rsabourin@amibug.com
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 1
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

2. Whiteboarding
• Robert Sabourin ,
Software Evangelist
• President
• AmiBug.Com Inc.
• Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
• rsabourin@amibug.com
• www.amibug.com
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 2
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

3. Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 3
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

4. Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 4
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

5. Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 5
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

6. Whiteboarding
What is Whiteboarding?
Collaboration
Coordination
Conceptualization
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 6
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

7. Whiteboarding
Collaboration
Get together
Join forces
Cooperate
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 7
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

8. Whiteboarding
Coordination
Organize
Manage
Align
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 8
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

9. To Do
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 9
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

10. Kanban
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 10
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

11. Homeban
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 11
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

12. Homeban
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 12
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

13. Whiteboarding
Conceptualization
Generate ideas
Design
Visualize
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 13
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

14. Web Globalization
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 14
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

15. Web Globalization
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 15
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

16. Web Globalization
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 16
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

17. Compare Design
Alternatives
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 17
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

18. Mind Maps
Tony Buzan
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 18
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

19. Scenario Based Testing
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 19
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

20. User Mind Map
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 20
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

21. Buying a Book
Usage Scenarios
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 21
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

22. Story Board
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 22
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

23. January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 23
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

24. January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 24
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

25. January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 25
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

26. Social Networking
Usage Scenarios
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 26
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

27. January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 27
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

28. Scenario Based Testing
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 28
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

29. Scenario Based Testing
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 29
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

30. Scenario Based Testing
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 30
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

31. Scenario Based Testing
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 31
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

32. Scenario Based Testing
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 32
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

33. Scenario Based Testing
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 33
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

34. Scenario Based Testing
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 34
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

35. Scenario Based Testing
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 35
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

36. Test Design
Failure Mode Analysis
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 36
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

37. Failure Mode
Analysis
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Create block diagram
List classes of users
Find elements which can fail
Create usage/failure table
Rank potential failure impacts
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 37
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

38. Failure Mode
Analysis
Create block diagram
Blocks
Connector
• System Elements
• Processes
• Subsystems
• Logical relationships
• Physical
relationships
• Process invocations
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 38
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

39. Failure Mode
Analysis
List classes of users
Who are the users?
What are they doing?
Classes
Personas
Context
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 39
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

40. Failure Mode
Analysis
Find elements which can fail
• Break
• Constrained
• Slow
• ABEND
• Crash
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 40
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

41. Failure Mode
Analysis
Create usage/failure
table
•Scenarios
•Interesting blocks
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 41
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

42. Failure Mode
Analysis
Rank potential failure impacts
S4 –
Cosmetic
• User can
accomplish the
task with some
inconvenience
January 16, 2014
S3 –
S2 –
Work around No Work
around
• User can
accomplish
task by
working
around the
problem
• User cannot
accomplish
some tasks
S1 –
Show
stopper
• User cannot
accomplish
any tasks
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
S0 –
No Impact
• User can
accomplish the
task
Slide 42
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

43. Wrap-O-Matic
Failure Mode Analysis
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 43
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

44. Failure Modes
Whiteboarding
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 44
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

45. Failure Mode
Analysis
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 45
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

46. Failure Mode
Analysis
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 46
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

47. Prize Server
Failure Mode Analysis
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 47
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

48. Failure Mode
Analysis
Prize
Manageme
nt Interface
Prize Status
Reporter
January 16, 2014
Prize Table
Prize Server
Game
Server
Prize
Spinner
Game Server
System Elements
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 48
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

49. Failure Mode
Analysis
Users
Prize Administrator
Database Administrator
Auditor
Player
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 49
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

50. Game Server
Prize Spinner
S1
S0
S0
S0
Prize Administrator
Change prize dates
S3
S0
S1
S0
S0
S0
Prize Administrator
Change prize amounts
S3
S0
S1
S0
S0
S0
Prize Administrator
Stop prizes
S3
S0
S1
S0
S0
S0
Prize Administrator
Start prizes
S3
S0
S1
S0
S0
S0
S0
S0
S1
S0
S0
S0
S0
S0
S1
S0
S0
S0
Database Administrator
Prize Server
S0
Scenario
Prize Table
S1
User
Prize Status
Reporter
Add prize
Prize
Management
Interface
Prize Administrator
Prize System Failure Modes
Failure Mode
Analysis
What if the process fails?
Report prize status
Database Administrator
Modify prize status
Auditor
View prize schedule
S0
S3
S1
S0
S0
S0
Auditor
View prizes awarded
S0
S3
S1
S0
S0
S0
Auditor
View prizes remaining
S0
S3
S1
S0
S0
S0
Player
Spin for prize
S0
S1
S1
January 16, 2014
S0
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
S1
Slide 50
S1
AmiBug.Com, Inc.

51. Thank You
• Questions?
January 16, 2014
© Robert Sabourin, 2012
Slide 51
AmiBug.Com, Inc.