S13-702: Collaboration Without Chaos

Track: Test Strategy, Process and Design

Sometimes software testers over-value the adherence to the collective wisdom embodied in organizational processes and the efficient mechanical execution of tasks. Overly clear and directive procedures will work – to a point. They project an external impression of very firm, clear control – but do they generate test results that are valuable to our stakeholders? Can you orchestrate everyone’s creative contribution without crushing individual initiative, or inviting unorganized confusion? Is there a model that leverages the knowledge and creativity of the people doing the task, yet exerts reliable control in a different way? Yes, by fusing the ideas of Weinberg, Reasons, Perrow, Boyd, and Serfaty into a new model of control. Griffin examines this model’s prescriptive versus discretionary parts, and its dynamic and adaptive nature. Task activities are classified into types and control preferences. Arch-types of control and their associated underlying values are explored. Leave with an understanding of how you can leverage the wisdom and creativity of people to make your testing more valuable and actionable.

Session Takeaways:

  • The ideas of Weinberg, Reasons, Perrow, Boyd, and Serfaty fused into a new model of control.
  • Use that model to defend and explain how to leverage the wisdom and creativity of Chaos is the manifestation of inconsistency – it is a sign that the controller is failing.
  • To get Collaboration, you need to value it and be consistent.

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Session Speaker:

Griffin JonesGriffin Jones – Consultant, Congruent Compliance
Griffin Jones works as an Agile tester, trainer, coach, and provides consulting on context-driven software testing and regulatory compliance to companies in regulated and unregulated industries. Recently, he was the Director of Quality and Regulatory Compliance at iCardiac Technologies which provides core lab services for the pharmaceutical industry. Griffin was responsible for all matters relating to quality and FDA regulatory compliance including presenting the verification and validation (testing) results to external regulatory auditors. Griffin was previously a Product Quality Lead for eighteen years at Eastman Kodak Co. and is currently a host of the Workshop on Regulated Software Testing (WREST). He can be reached at griffin.jones@congruentcompliance.com.