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Should Test Managers Get Emotionally Involved?Paul GerrardGerrard Consulting1 Old Forge CloseMaidenheadBerkshireSL6 2RD UK

e: paul@gerrardconsulting.comw: http://gerrardconsulting.comt: 01628 639173

Countless conversations with emotional Test Managers

Bewilderment, frustration, helplessness, anxiety, fear, apprehension, anger, relief, joy etc...

Should emotion be part of test management? Can we control the emotions, particularly worry?

Caveat: I’m not a psychologist (thank goodness).

Background

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Seem to be large range of emotions involved in test management

But this goes for everyone on the project Testers and test managers seem more prone

to worry and upset – why? To be concerned is professional (and is a key

part of your job), but worry can be stressful and destructive

Worry and stress are a pre-cursor to more serious emotions and breakdowns

How can we counter worry, whilst still being concerned?.

Worry is stressful and destructive

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Pronunciation [wur-ee, wuhr-ee]1. to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.2. to move with effort: an old car worrying uphill. –verb (used with

object)3. to torment with cares, anxieties, etc.; trouble; plague.4. to seize, esp. by the throat, with the teeth and shake or

mangle, as one animal does another.5. to harass by repeated biting, snapping, etc. –noun6. a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.7. a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.8. act of worrying.9. Fox Hunting. the action of the hounds in tearing to pieces the

carcass of a fox. —Verb phrase10. worry along or through, Informal. to progress or succeed by

constant effort, despite difficulty: to worry through an intolerable situation.

worry (from dictionary.com)    

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Worry is there for a reason- A state of mind intended to focus you on self-

preservation - a good thing!- But worry can also focus you on other people’s

problems, not your own There’s an aspect of us all that expects

perfection, completion, certainty – but we just can’t have it

Worry about what is under your control and what you can change, not what you can’t control

Perhaps, it’s all about managing expectations - ours and others’?

Perhaps we can identify expectation mismatches and fix them?

How can we counter worry?

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The Weight of Expectation

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What we expect from

ourselves

What others expect from us

A professiona

l job

ID We Expect Others Expect Its Our Job

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Seven areas of expectation – six of frustration, one of perfection

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Dangerous assumptions for a test manager:- Perfect requirements- Delivery on time- High quality software to test- 100% coverage- Fully resourced teams- Reasonable timescales

Theoretical, absolute, ideal world situations are for the classroom, not the real world

We need to negotiate, assume, caveat and compromise.

1. We expect, others don’t, it is not part of the job

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Certainty is our expectation and we struggle to achieve it Testers argue for objective exit criteria and get them in

plans But should we get frustrated when they aren’t met? Exit criteria are not concrete hurdles or gates that must be

overcome on the very day that testing completes- Imagine what kind of crystal ball is required to meet that

expectation! They are simply planning assumptions When they are not met on the day, exit criteria should

trigger a change in project behaviour- Extend test phase to meet criteria- Realign expectations of quality (downwards)- Review our perception of risk- Adjust the project plan to adjust approach, timescales,

resource.

2. We expect, others expect, but it is not part of the job

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Do we ever expect testing to go smoothly? Bumpy rides seem to be par for the course- Software isn’t ready (but we carry on anyway)- We find more bugs- It takes longer, it costs more- The system just doesn’t work

Inexperienced managers and stakeholders are surprised and upset by this

We have to manage their expectations.

3. We expect, others don’t expect, but it is part of the job

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We’d all like to think that- We don’t take the acceptance decision- We just provide evidence- It’s a stakeholder decision

But our stakeholders need advice beyond raw test statistics

We need to be expert witnesses- Able to analyse AND interpret stats- Willing to advise safer and less safe courses of

action- Articulate the risks of proceeding, whilst

understanding the business risks of not proceeding.

4. We don’t expect, others expect, and it is part of the job

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Our stakeholders want commitments, but we need to be very careful what we promise- Zero defects, 100% coverage of everything,

absolute certainty- A surprise-free test phase- An easy exit or acceptance decision- Finishing on time and to budget

Infinite attention to detail and a perfect outcome in a finite time and budget is an irrational expectation.

5. We don’t expect, others expect, and it is not part of the job

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Most of us are in testing because we have a passion for- Finding problems- Getting things right- Telling the truth

We know there’s a psychological aspect to testing and our relationship with developers and management

We shouldn’t get ‘too emotional’ when:- Our plans are ‘re-scoped’- Defects appear to be acceptable- We have to lower our standards to deliver

Get over it – it’s part of the job.

6. We don’t expect, others don’t expect, but it is part of the job

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Define and understand the job that is required and is possible (very important!) in your context

Ensure your peers, stakeholders and managers understand what that job is

Expect to do your job; anything out of scope

is a Change Request Part of everyone’s job is expectation

management Folk just expect a little more than is possible

from testing.

How to get out of the mess of expectations

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Are you bovvered? Want to share an experience or two? How do you ‘get over it’? Where are the really sensitive areas we

need to watch out for? Do we need to worry about other

peoples’ emotions? Does anyone care about your emotions?

Admit it – you’ve been emotional

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Should Test Managers Get Emotionally

Involved?

I think it’s inevitable.

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