accu agile approach to defect management

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Limbo Lower Now: An Agile

Approach to Defect

Management

ACCU 2011

Lisa Crispin

With Material from Janet Gregory

Copyright 2010: Lisa Crispin

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Introduction

My defect tracking background: As programmer – no DTS Tech support – DTS developed in-house Traditional QA – vendor DTS, customized Agile teams – variety of approaches


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Your Defect Tracking?

How about you? How many use a DTS? How many don’t use one? How low is your “defect limbo” bar?


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Takeaways

Defects and technical debt When to use a Defect Tracking System Alternatives Defect metrics Setting the bar lower


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Traditional View

Bugs must be documented Especially those found in production

Provide information for root cause analysis

Knowledge base – did similar bug occur earlier?

DTS provides useful metrics


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Lean Development / Agile View

Defect queues are queues of rework –waste (Poppendieck)

Find, fix test-first, and forget Better yet, prevent

zero bug tolerance

Bugs => Technical Debt Small experiments


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Choices

An agile approach: Understand the problem Do what works for your team Focus on goals: bug prevention Start simple, add as needed Explore alternatives


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Why Log Bugs – or not

What are the advantages of using a DTS?

What are the downsides to using a DTS?


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Some Advantages of Using DTS

Knowledge base Place to keep supplemental docs

Prioritizing Traceability Distributed/large teams Customer ease, visibility, convenience Metrics

Redundant with test-first, frequent releases


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Some Disadvantages of using DTS

Overhead Duplicates test Impedes communication Waste

Inaccurate or inadequate reports

Caught during development

Won’t get fixed

Doesn't work towards goal zero defects, bug prevention


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Defect Metrics

Traditionally, tell us state of quality, release readiness

Using tests to drive incremental, iterative development tells us this

Trends more important than numbers Who cares how many bugs found in

development? May be useful for team goals Careful how you use metrics


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Some Other Perspectives

What we can learn from bugs Alternatives to logging bugs When tracking defects makes sense


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Bugs as the “Hidden Backlog”

Acceptance tests = desired behavior Defect reports = misbehavior (Antony

Marcano)

Ignored defects = missed features Misbehavior not addressed

Defects prioritized over new features Misbehavior over desired features

Information can get lost in DTS


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Choosing to Not Log a Bug

Unit-level bugs Write a test, not a bug

Higher-level regression failures Test usually enough

Bugs found during development Fix immediately

Log on task card


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Choosing to Log a Bug

Found in later iteration Log if not fixed immediately

Legacy bugs Write new story/feature

Don't log if it won't be fixed

Found in production Fix immediately or

Prioritize, estimate, plan

Non-bug production issues “production support requests”


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Other Approaches To Log or Not?

How do you decide?


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Alternative Ways to Track Bugs

Cards DTS Tests


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Logging Bugs on Cards

Story, task or bug cards – physical or online Tangible Visible – color coding Attach screen prints Use when:

Disciplined team

Bugs need high visibility


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Logging Bugs in DTS

Use a DTS when Team is distributed Audit requirements Release notes Not all bugs will be fixed immediately Legacy system with lots of defects


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Logging Bugs with Tests

Use the test written to reproduce the bug and verify the fix when:

Everything learned from fixing bug is captured in test

Test can be automated Team is disciplined and writes tests for

every bug found


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When to Fix Bugs

Fix now cheaper

prevents technical debt

Estimate, prioritize and fix later complex, high effort

legacy code, may destabilize

customer decision

Never fix about to be rewritten

low risk

don't pretend you'll fix if you won't!


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Lowering the Bar

Exploring alternatives Preventing bugs in the first place


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Experiment ! Start a new project with no DTS, and see

what you need. Set rules - “no more than 10 bugs at once” Use color-coded cards and stickers Fix all bugs Treat bugs as stories


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Make It a Team Problem

Understand your needs Choose solution by team consensus

Cards and stickers (real or online)

Story board

Online DTS

Combo: DTS and cards

Ask other teams


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Focus On Preventing Defects

Teams have achieved zero-defects goal Whole team collaborates on ways to

improve quality Use retrospectives Try small experiments


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Let’s Try an Experiment: Part 1

Pair up with the person next to you One of you take the “tester” role, the other

is “programmer”. Stand back to back. Testers: Take the mini-schedule out of your

badge & open to p. 10 Programmers: take a piece of paper and

pen. You cannot ask questions or turn around.

Testers: Get the programmer to draw what you see on p. 10 – 11 only by describing the shapes & where they are. Do not turn around!


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Let’s Try an Experiment: Part 2

Programmer: Get a new piece of paper. This time, you are allowed to ask questions.

Tester: You may now watch what the programmer draws

Point out “defects” immediately, and answer questions. (Don’t show the actual pages, we’re

trying to simulate real-life coding here!)


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Bug Prevention!

Make testing integrated part of development

Practice TDD and Specification by Example Gain domain expertise Exploratory testing by testing professionals Consider ripple effects of code changes Look at problem areas, experiment with

solutions


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Action!

Think of one thing your team can do to prevent defects, starting next week.

Write it on an index card along with your email address.

Exchange cards with the person next to you.

Email each other every week for 4 weeks with encouragement, questions, support.

Please let me know your results! [email protected]


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How Low Can You Go?

Experiment to find defect management approach that fits best

Zero defects is achievable But go for baby steps

Focus on bug prevention Do what works for your team Test/code together Use retrospectives

Copyright 2010: Lisa Crispin 31

Agile Testing

Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile

Teams

By Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

www.agiletester.ca

Book signing after this session

at the bookstore


All Proceeds to Charity!

Beautiful Testing: Leading Professionals Reveal How

They Improve Software

Edited by Tim Riley, Adam Goucher

Includes chapter by yours truly

Copyright 2010: Lisa Crispin Copyright 2008 Janet Gregory, DragonFire

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Specification by Example

How successful teams deliver the right

software

Gojko Adzic

Case studies from > 50 teams


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Recommended

Bridging the Communication Gap:

Specification By Example and Acceptance

Testing

Gojko Adzic


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Recommended

The Agile Samurai

Jonathan Rasmussen

Great intro to agile

and agile testing


Lean Development

Implementing Lean Development:

From Concept to Cash

Mary and Tom Poppendieck


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Some Agile Testing Resources

lisacrispin.comjanetgregory.caexampler.comagile-testing@yahoogroups.comtestobsessed.comtestingreflections.comdhemery.com


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Questions?

accu agile approach to defect management

Technology

log bugs

metrics11 copyright

defects19 copyright

teams24 copyright

alternatives7 copyright

logging bugs

legacy bugs

bugs alternatives