Software testing and amphibious attacks

Once in a while it's difficult to hit the kill-button on the remote while show after show rolls over the screen. Occassionally something interesting comes along. This time it was an analysis and review of two famous marine assaults, their planning, strategy and outcome.

What struck me in particular was the strategy, which resembles very much what we do in software testing.

The strategy for the marine assaults was laid out to contain objective, intelligence, approach, assault, lodging and break-out.

Here's how that goes for software testing:

Objective
This is what we want to accomplish, in short our mission statement - the entire purpose of the operation. Usually we talk of it as a want of demonstrating the systems functionality, or that it will break, or figuring whether it is or isn't vulnarable to a certain threat or risk. But like an army we actually want to conquer and gain control. Marines deals with territory. Software testers deals with information and knowledge.

Intelligence
Once we put our eye to what we want to do, we need to start gathering intelligence, or information. We need to figure whether it's actually possible. No good landing on a beach full of quicksand, right ? Just as bad to base your test on getting data from an external system you can't reach in the test environment. In a way this represents our first test results, but it's just what is needed to sanity check our plan.

Approach
Sure if you're about to land an army at position X, you need to transport it there, without getting sunk, hit or devastated before you reach X.
Likewise in testing - we need to find a way to approach what we're searching for, in a way so we will have all the necessary power and initiatives ready for the actual assault. In other words, we need to prepare test data, user priviliges, test environment and so forth. If we've decided to try to print 1.000 tickets, then we should make sure that the system contains 1.000 tickets in a state where they are ready to be printed.

Assault
How do we do it ? Land the full force in one go ? Establish a single, narrow bridgehead, or spreadout for a simultanous attack on several weak spots at the same time ? It's different from approach, which we can plan ahead and even refine in detail. During the assault we must be agile, open, observant and ready to change direction, method and toolset. Until now we've only modelled the 'landscape', so when we set our foot there, surprises are to be expected. This is also what makes this very interesting.

Lodging
We never really think of it, but of course we have to settle down in the newly won territory. We need to make ourselves safe and enable logistics. We need to transport data (troops and supplies) to the frontline. We need to examine the new ground we conquered. Isn't that what we do ? The first login is always a bit trembling. Soon we login and go much further without blinking. And while some testers will be operating on the frontline, others will have to take on the tasks of creating more test data, hooking up new equipment etc etc. Logistics necessary to keep the operation going.

Break-out
This is the one that makes it all fit together - we can't stay on the beach forever. We can't live with a frontline three miles into the country. We need to 'break through' and finally accomplish our goal. Marines don't establish a bridgehead on a beach just to claim the beach. They do that in order to accomplish something more. Now we've invaded the system, we need to find the weak spots and/or the opportunities to carry on, to conquer the remaining part of the system, so to speak.

I think this is a brilliant way of putting together a strategy, also for software testing.
Don't you ?

Book reviews

I 'ate' a lot of Jerry-books lately. I decided to write something about them.


They are all recommendable and in the following I will tell you why. Overall I enjoyed reading them very much.

Becoming a Technical Leader, by Gerald Weinberg

This is a great book because it tells the reader a lot about what leadership is, how to work towards it and what to be observant about on that road. It's clearly closely connected to the PSL workshop, though being on PSL greatly enhances the experience of reading this book.
As in most of Jerry's books there's some questions for the reader along the way, some of them quite hard. One of the toughest is to start a personal log, a diary. I'm personally succeeding (this far) in my third attempt. It's a book which will dig into the reader and reveal things you either weren't aware of, or don't want to know about. It easily becomes very personal, but I like that. As a professional guide to elaborating on your own self, I think it's a must. As a nice, interesting read, I would say: yes. As something to read and toss away and forget all about, I'd say: I wonder if you can do that. Somethings are bound to touch you.

Introduction to General Systems Thinking, by Gerald Weinberg

This is, I think, the most referred-to book of Jerry's. A lot of people praise it. I found it perhaps the most difficult of his books to read this far. I crashed after the first few chapters in my first attempt, and left it on the shelf for months. Not that I didn't like what I read, but somehow I found it hard to concentrate and perhaps find all the time needed to really work with the text. The second attempt was better, knowing that I should put some effort into it and taking the time to do it.
One of the things I particular like is how it asks questions like 'it's an XXX - how do you know ? what do you understand by "XXX" '. So it sort of starts off from the basics and put things into perspective.

Often it works on the english semantics and words and I at least really feels that english is not my first language. I think I do well on average, but some of the stuff in this book is over my abilities.

Upon finishing the book I have to admit to myself: maybe I didn't quite grasp it all. I intend to give it a second (third) try next year.

Are your lights on ?, by Don Gause and Gerald Weinberg

This is quite a different book. It's smaller and has fewer words per page than the other books. But the content is in top. Everybody can readily identify themselves with the 'hero' in each situation and probably also the villain(s). It takes you through some very ordinary situations and asks simple questions like: whose problem is it ? Questions, which are simple to ask, but very difficult sometimes to answer. And isn't that so in most situations we get ourselves into.

I enjoyed this book a lot, perhaps mostly because it made me think a lot.

Exploring Requirements, by Don Gause and Gerald Weinberg

I actually avoided this book for some time, thinking that 'requirements' - I know that and anyway, isn't it a bit boring ? Well, - no. This is a wonderful read, which gives you a lot of tools, hints and tricks when you try to describe to yourself or others what you want done. It's obviously really applicable if you're writing requirements, but also if you just want to be very clear about what you tell people.
I found lots of gems in this book (and thank you for the recommendation, Leo).

Secrets of Consulting, by Jerry Weinberg

This is a book full of Jerry-stories. If you have ever met Jerry, you'll know that he thinks it's always time for a story. And he's got so many of them. Some got written down in this perl of a book, which tells you important stuff in a nice, informal way. Things to do, consider and remember if you're 'consulting' - which we all are from time to time.
I'm looking forward to start on 'More secrets of consulting', which is one of the new ones in my collection (although none of these books were very recently published...)

Mistress of Molecules, by Gerald Weinberg

This is a fiction book. However, I was fortunate (and fast) enough to buy it as a real book at AYE, which Jerry himself had ordered printed, because, as I heard Jerry mumble: people want real books. I agree.
It's available for a few bucks as a pdf on Jerry's online shop (try google a bit and you'll find it within minutes).
It's a fascinating story, set on distant planets in a future which seems not only foreign and strange, but also strangely familiar. Admitted, it's not completely realistic on some points, but hey, it's fiction and the story works!

I enjoyed reading it for the story, the characters, the science and the many surprises I got along the way.

All good books - get them for x-mas, birthdays or just to fill up on your shelf - but make sure you get to read them too ;-)