Beautiful Testing

Conclusions

Testing has many stakeholders. Beautiful testing satisfies those stakeholders. The tester knows the stakeholders and their objectives and expectations for testing. The tester works with the stakeholders to ensure realistic objectives and expectations, and defines metrics to measure effectiveness and efficiency. He takes special care with neutral stakeholders and anti-stakeholders.

The tester knows how internal test processes support effectiveness and efficiency, too, and takes steps to improve those over time. Through a concerted focus on delivering ever-improving test services, and continuously improving his testing practices, he works effectively, efficiently, and elegantly. Not only is he delighted in his own work, but the other stakeholders are delighted, too. Such testers do beautiful work.

In this chapter, I’ve given you some ideas on objectives and metrics for those objectives that will help you make your testing more beautiful. You’ll need to take those ideas further, as these objectives and metrics are just a starting point. I recommend a thorough assessment to kick off your journey toward beautiful testing, considering these four steps:

1. Know your stakeholders.

2. Know their objectives and expectations for testing.

3. Establish metrics and targets for stakeholder objectives and expectations (external beauty).

4. Establish metrics and targets for testing objectives and expectations (internal beauty).

Once you have a framework in place for achieving beautiful testing, start ...