TestBash Leadership 2022 - Why We Failed at Building in Testability with Jitesh Gosai

🗓️ Events 🪐 TestBash
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This talk is about when @jitgo was a test lead in a development team that moved to testability, succeeded but then ultimately failed to maintain the new way of working.

We’ll use this Club thread to share resources mentioned during the session and answer any questions we don’t get to during the live session.

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Resources Given in Advance:

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I definitely want to +1 this talk, it’s fantastic and important for anyone involved in testing.

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Questions Answered Live:

  1. Jenna Charlton - Any additional tips for creating safety in virtual teams?

  2. Chris McLellan - What out of the behaviours what would you recommond to foucs on first with a new team?

  3. Christian Field - When so many of the team moved on, what do you think, in retrospect, would have made the most difference at that point to have stayed on track?

Questions Not Answered:

  1. Fi Reavley - People learn & take in knowledge differently (watching, reading, listening, doing), any tips on helping a team realise how best to help their fellow team mates?

  2. Victoria Ciobanu - Do you use any metrics to track how well the team is performing in testability and if yes do these draw the right picture in where are the areas for growth?

  3. Auee Tester - How would you establish or address continuity of the team culture with a high Staff attrition common with offshore third-party service providers

  4. Robbie Falck - Did you have any formal agile training around these principles like Psychological safety?

  5. Ady Stokes - Have you seen any challenges on investing in testability and if so how would you respond / advocate for it?

  6. Anonymous - How would you help the teams and their leaders align on these behaviours? How would you raise awareness without needing to pick out a problem to solve?

7 . Hanna Johansson - Will the references mentioned be available outside the video format? + Are there additional sources specifically for Psychological safety?

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Q: Fi Reavley - People learn & take in knowledge differently (watching, reading, listening, doing), any tips on helping a team realise how best to help their fellow team mates?

  • Finding resources that hit all 4 types is usually a really good way. That way people can engage in what they prefer. For workshops I’ve found having a mixture of approaches works really well to keep people engaged. So pre-reading before the workshop which could be a choose 1 from three options: blog, video or podcast. Interactive session during the workshop e…g what did you learn from the pre-reading and sharing in small groups. Listening to small bursts of info and then asking people to share what they learned by writing it down and talking about it. Practical exercises to try out skills and then asking what they learned at the end too. All helps to hit all the different styles
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Q. Victoria Ciobanu - Do you use any metrics to track how well the team is performing in testability and if yes do these draw the right picture in where are the areas for growth?

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Q. Auee Tester - How would you establish or address continuity of the team culture with a high Staff attrition common with offshore third-party service providers

  • I think this is going to be a bigger problem going forward especially with more remote working in the pipeline and there being less taboo around moving around frequently. One way would be to establishing teams way of working either through principles or team charters. This could help with new people coming on board understand how this team works. I’d also allow them to update and contribute to them so they can feel more apart of the process.
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Q. Robbie Falck - Did you have any formal agile training around these principles like Psychological safety?

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Q. Ady Stokes - Have you seen any challenges on investing in testability and if so how would you respond / advocate for it?

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Q. Anonymous - How would you help the teams and their leaders align on these behaviours? How would you raise awareness without needing to pick out a problem to solve?

  • I think this relates back to what Toby Sinclair said in his AMA and it’s about doing things little and often. So finding ways to call out the behaviours when people inadvertently show them and perhaps share why they are good and what they do for others. Understanding what others leadership styles and approaches are either 1-to-1 chat or group chats and using this to find where they overlap with these behaviours. Using leadership forums to hold discussion and what people can do to demonstrate these behaviours. Setting up book or video clubs as Joep Schuurkes mentioned in his book club talk to start discussion on these behaviours.
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Q. Hanna Johansson - Will the references mentioned be available outside the video format? + Are there additional sources specifically for Psychological safety?

  • Links are above but additional Psych. safety resources I would recommend are:
  • Psych. safety weekly newsletter Psychological Safety Weekly Newsletter | Psychological Safety is fantastic and always has links to great resources
  • Read Amy’s book and follow up the sources she mentioned too as they have even more details https://fearlessorganization.com/ - I’ve got the most from this book. Her teaming book is also fantastic and worth the time
  • Follow Amy on twitter. She regularly links to articles and other good and bad examples of psych. safety
  • This space seems to improving quite rapidly as the ideas get out there and people start experimenting so keep an eye out for other resources
  • [shameless plug] I put together this 10 minute talk to help people understand what Psych. safety is which could help Loom | Free Screen & Video Recording Software I’m also working on some other talks on how we can apply the ideas of curiosity, humility and empathy but will see if I can get past the review process MOT calls for papers :crossed_fingers:
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