It Works...

I couldn’t wait to get home and write this blog. I had quite the interesting conversation with my supervisor at work today. One aspect of being a tester that I enjoy most is the ability to think outside of the box. This is a skill that I’m always trying to strengthen. Long after a conversation has ended with co-workers regarding methodologies, testing approaches etc, I find myself re-evaluating the conversation to assess my responses to make an even more effective argument next time around. Through this assessment I may discover another perspective that will stretch not only my mind but the minds of others as well. Well that happened today w/ my supervisor at work, whose name will remain anonymous to protect the innocent…namely me. At my current employer, the mandated software development process that we are to follow is the V-Model tailored to our business. However, due to increasing aggressive timelines mandated by executive management centered around time to market based systems, the development group has adopted a quasi Agile methodology. I personally do not have a problem with Agile and see the benefits this methodology offers. However, my direct supervisor has made it clear, painfully at times, that all QA staff must follow and enforce the V-Model approach. It should come as no surprise that this kind of environment makes for a very challenging work day. Too often the QA staff is simply unable to keep pace with the dev group and provide the real-time feedback and responsiveness necessary to ensure our overall success. Agile is centered around a more iterative approach while V-Model has the feel of a more progressive waterfall approach. This becomes an even greater oxymoron when you consider the fact that we actually sit in the same cubicle area with our developers to promote collaboration. Ultimately the QA staff becomes a huge bottleneck in the overall development process. This brings me to topic of my bog, “It Works”. The frustration of trying to work in this seemingly impossible environment led to a conversation with my supervisor. I expressed my concerns similar to what is in this blog. My supervisor’s response in a nutshell…”our tailored V-Model works. We have conducted case studies in times past and have proven that this process works when we are disciplined and follow it to the letter.” Wow, how do I respond to that? It would appear that my argument was shot. I mean after all she had proof that the V-Model works at our organization. However after re-evaluating this conversation I’m now able to present another perspective. Just because a approach works, doesn’t mean that it is the most effective and efficient approach. Let’s consider the carpenter working on a housing project. The builder ultimately want’s to build a high quality home for the customer that is also cost effective. In order to meet this objective the contractor will utilize whatever tools are at their disposal that makes them more effective and efficient at what they do. The project manager would never require the carpenter to use a manual Phillips head screw driver when technological innovation gave birth to the power drill. Anyone who has ever used a regular Phillips head screw driver and a power drill will tell you the drastic difference between these two tools. Both will do the job. We are appreciative of the manual Phillips; however we can not overlook the advancements made regarding this simple tool. A contractor will be doing themselves a terrible disservice by not taking advantage of a tool that allows them to be more effective and efficient at their jobs. Perhaps it’s more difficult to research and try different software development methodologies or “tools” because they aren’t as tangible, I don’t know. Whatever the reason may be, if we don’t seek to continue to educate ourselves on various software development and testing approaches, we will inevitably fall prey to a company that is able to produce a home that not only has high quality, but is also cost effective.