The 2nd day of the EuroSTAR 2019 Software Testing Conference

For the morning session I chose the tutorial “RiskStorming – Build a Strategy That Matters” hosted by Beren Van Daele and co-host Maja Hołyńska.

This tutorial lets us work with RiskStorming (https://www.ministryoftesting.com/testsphere), an alternative way to identify risks with your team and/or other stakeholders. For the exercise, the hosts presented a business case. After this, your group is to select a few quality aspects. Based on these quality aspects the group was to think of risks and put those down in a prescribed format (event, cause, result). TestSphere cards then followed from which a selection is used in context with the risks. The end-result then forms the basis of a concise one-page Strategy we had to devise with each other.

My first impression is that this could be a re-usable alternative visual method wherein with each use you can switch focus for your risk identification. I’ll add it to my repertoire of methods and see if I can make my teams happy with this. Perhaps we’ll see hybrid variants emerge!

The first keynote after lunch was given by Chris McKillop and dealt with the hype and reality of AI. Basically, she strived to counterpoint the beliefs and fears about AI. For example, she tackled some of the Confusion surrounding AI, the Singularity Fever, the way we are Decepted by those behind the AI, Failures of AI, Data Obsession and Empathy Disfunction. A lovely statement in relation to the ‘autopilot’ in self-steering cars was that “Language we use frame our action”; we put faith in this technology; would other phrasings had made a difference? Another statement: we all really need a good-functioning BS (bullshit) – detector. The cure she finally proposed for us humans is: be knowledgeable, have and honor your ethics, have empathy.

Well … do not limit your cure to the BS surrounding AI. Obviously, this cure is universally relevant! In your private life, at work, name it.

The next talk was by Anders Dinsen and concerned the ‘Deep Rationality’ of Software Testing’. Somehow the topic and goal of this talk was not clear-cut for me. I think he tried to define the ‘gut-feeling’ of the tester because somewhere in the past he could not pinpoint this feeling when asked about it. He uses the insights of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher from ages ago who basically stated that observations can be described within four categories dealing with Quantity, Quality, Relation and Modality. And proceeded by transcending knowledge…

I need to do a further read on this topic because I do want to know. And I think that – besides insights – it can yield us an alternative way for collaborative experiencing and learning.

The next talk was by Viktorija Manevska and concerned ‘Unlearning to Facilitate Learning’. An enthusiastic talk explaining Unlearning in order to enable Learning. Not only for an individual, but also for a group (your team at work?), or for an organization. She related to personal experiences and gave other examples with which she illustrated that unlearning is not the same as forgetting. And that in the process of learning and unlearning you should not be afraid to fail; every change needs time to become embedded. She proposed SHIFT as a mental model for unlearning for groups and organizations.

An interesting day, in which I feel I have gained some insights and useful tools to use at work and possibly even in my private life. Wouldn’t that be awesome!