“Explore the context of the test project, your givens, and your mission”
Context-Free Questions for Testing,
Michael Bolton, DevelopSense

Weekend Testing Americas (WTA) session #3 was planned and facilitated by Michael Larsen. This time we got something special.

The objective

Produce either a list or a mind map of the features of Rapid Reporter
with the goal of guiding a future session of testing

Breaking down the objective

Who is my client?

– WT facilitator.

What is the client’s need?

– The client wants me to provide the following information.

• What if we use Rapid Reporter in WT sessions?
• What do I need to know about this idea?
• What features will be of help?
• What are the possible drawbacks?
• What are other dependencies?

What is my mission?

– To learn/gather/compile information about the context, which includes but not limited to:

• The environment (where the product is deployed)
• The process (how the product is involved)
• The end-users (experience, expectations, needs, etc)

– To learn about the product, which includes but not limited to:

• What the product is claimed to be providing?
• What are the circumstances when the product is not capable of fulfilling the claims?
• What are the side effects accompanying the product’s functionalities? Do they create positive or negative effect?
• Besides claimed ones, what are the other areas where one can apply the product? With what outcome?

What is my goal?

– To map together knowledge about the context and knowledge about the product, and provide the client with a structured summary (and any additional details per request).

Handling the mission

Darren McMillan and I paired up for this session. Pairing is not required in WT, but recommended, and I’d say it’s an amazing way to learn (and have a lot of fun).

Here’s how we split the mission: Darren put focus on the product, and I put focus on the context.
We both produced mind maps, and started putting it together when we ran out of time. After all, 30 minutes is a too short timeframe :)

Here are the mind maps.

What’s about the goal?

Here’s what we have to say, my report on behalf of Darren and myself.

Dear Client,

We thank you for the opportunity to work on this mission.

Summary
We think, that employing Rapid Reporter in WT sessions will be of value for you and participants.
In the timeframe given, we have not discovered any major threats to the value, or serious risks, associated with the tool.

The outcomes
With Rapid Reporter, WT participants can on-the-fly create experience reports, which are the valuable part of WT sessions.
As Rapid Reporter is a product which is specifically intended to support session-based exploratory testing (ET), using it encourages learning of ET and provides an opportunity to practice SBET.

The product
The tool has an intuitive interface and is very easy in use.
It is lightweight but has powerful enough note-taking functionalities.
The tool has certain minor defects, and there is a room for enhancement.
It’s system requirements are Windows / .NET 3.5.

Dependencies
Although Rapid Reporter requires minimal effort for installation, considering the tight timeline of WT sessions, we recommend instructing participants to set up the tool prior to the session and to spend some time getting familiar with it.

Sincerely,
Albert Gareev & Darren McMillan