Sources of Test Ideas

Submitted the below problem statement as an abstract to speak at ConTEST NYC.

Apart from gathering test ideas by referring to the requirements specification document, a new tester is at loss.

What are our goto sources of test ideas?

Why do we stop at the explicit sources of knowledge?

How else can we testers/non-testers generate ideas to test?

What has come to my rescue is being invested in learning from more than one source to gather test ideas. Diverging to learn by observation, by questioning the requirements by donning the thinking hats, testing the design, implemented code, learning from all, and from different fields of study such as cognitive biases, prior experiences that a user and a tester has had testing in the same or similar domain helps to search and find ideas to test (by collecting information relevant to the application under test).

What best way to learn than by asking relevant questions which translates to subjecting the application to tests that lead to naive, accurate or critical responses. Use questioning as a means to spark ideas to test.

Explicit and Implicit Sources of Test Ideas

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• Explicit sources of test ideas such as Help, Guide, and Tutorials prepared by the education team can be used to refer and gather an understanding of the application.

Learn about the anchoring effect which is to heavily rely on the initial piece of information shared by the business owner with the team of software developers. This misunderstanding that the client has figured it out all at the very start, or believing it can lead the team to start working without reaccessing the requirement. Designers, programmers, testers, SEO engineers, and others in the team can fall trap to the anchoring effect.

• Implicit sources of test ideas such as testers experience, knowledge and as we progress with learning we deviate from the explicit sources. The experience that ‘you’ bring to mold a product is essential. Let your testers know this.
• Other sources which we will eventually learn during the various phases of product development, and with the advancement in technology will aid us to include features that were earlier not thought off or remove those that no longer serve our purpose.

What stops us testers from learning using unconventional methods?

Top four-stop criterions are Process, Time, Budget constraints and Lack of test leadership skills.

1. Process - some processes take away the joy of learning and testing, especially in a heavily process-driven organization.
2. Time constraint - if testers are called in late to test. It is a rarity to find testers in one testing team and engaged only in one project from start to end. Testers are switched and swapped between teams and until the code is deployed in the test environment.
3. Budget constraints - not having sufficient testing budget in some firms can dampen the spirits of anyone and affect the training needs of testers.
4. Leadership - lack of strong test leadership qualities, absence of test leaders in some org-structure doesn't help testers. Appointing a test manager who can vouch for their team of testers is a win.

In spite of these known and recurring situations, how else a tester can contribute and learn to gather test ideas?

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By suggesting requirements and by providing better solutions as product engineers backed up with proofs and pieces of evidence, helps.

• Addressing customer feedback helps provide a better buy-in with the client.
• Using credibility to address the problems one may encounter in getting a point across with the business owner.
• Each one’s definition of quality is different and the target is to serve as many users with a better solution and not woo them but wow them if feasible. 
• These are some of the responsibilities that we can take on despite being in the role of a tester.