Struggle and Enlightenment A Tale of Clarity in

Struggle and Enlightenment A Tale of Clarity in the Midst of Chaos courtesy of Excel John N. Daughety Team Lead, Development HBK Investments, L. P. jndaughety@yahoo. com 1

The Scene… • A small, old office building backing up to a car dealership • Tight quarters, furnished affordably by other startup failures • Dozens of busy bees dreaming up telecom software and talking idly of retirement • Airplanes carrying banners offering “more than they pay you” to all who pass below • Less than 10% unoccupied office space at Nortel, Alcatel HQ 2

The Challenges… • Startup company – no money or time (or desire) formal process • No money for test support software • Requirements not defined, scattered throughout the brains of several • “Hallway design meetings” • Hard to hear near the windows – pages for service techs at the dealership • Very short delivery schedules…in theory 3

The Hero… • • New to the industry One of two testers in the company Release testing starts in two weeks The hero must prepare for testing the GUI…alone! • It is really hard to get on the service road for 75 when he goes home each night 4

The Villains… • Developers with $$$’s in their eyes • CEO with $$$’s in his eyes • Marketing truly believing they don’t have to do anything to succeed • These offices really are cramped… • “I think I’ll buy one of those new S 2000’s when I sell my stock. ” 5

It’s Not All Bad for the Hero • His partner has extensive industry experience • They have no problem communicating – typing at the same time is tough, though • He has his own PC… with MS Office • Much of the GUI has been created • That dealership does great work on his car 6

Goals Enter Stage Left… • Set of test cases that must cover the GUI • “Document” that people can confirm is correct (an ad hoc design spec) • Something even the villains will review: – easy to read/review – easy to look at specific parts only – easily accessible • Easily updated as the design. . . er, code, changes 7

A Ray of Hope Appears… • Excel can organize GUI test cases • It supports a modular design – Easy to read all or specific parts – Easy to change as product changes • It can be shared on the network – Everyone can view it, and it is always current 8

A New Hero Emerges • Test Cases were completed with Excel • They clarified some potentially harmful misunderstandings • They scared up some good bugs • They defined the application better than any other document (or person) • Excel saved the day! 9

Now For A Legal Example… • Dialogs are from a test-case management application – User creates, edits test cases – User creates, edits test runs – User creates, edits test scripts and manages test cases in script • Three artifacts: – Test Case: a description of a test and the expected results – Test Run: details for execution of a test case on a specific software release or build – Test Script: a collection of test cases performed in a specific order • Only Test Cases and Test Scripts will be used in the example 10

Overview Worksheet • First worksheet in workbook is overview – Screenshot of dialog – Basic information – Type – How to open – How to close – List of menu items – hyperlinks to detail – List of controls – hyperlinks to detail 11

Overview Worksheet 12

Control Details • Each control has its own worksheet in the workbook • Typical characteristics noted: – Default state when applicable (e. g. , checked/unchecked for a checkbox control) – Contents when applicable (e. g. , for a textbox control) – Behavior in response to specified actions • Characteristics broken down by state • States applicable to a control enumerated 13

Control Detail Worksheet 14

A Word on Menu Items • Top-level menu choices listed on Overview page • Two ways to handle details – Link to other sheets in workbook – Link to other workbook with menu only • Worksheets organize menu choices nicely • Menu selections can link to dialogs they open or functionality they drive 15

Menu Workbook – Main Menu 16

Menu Workbook - Sub. Menu 17

Navigation Paths Dialog Overview Hyperlink in list of controls Control Detail Menu – 1 st Level Hyperlink in Command Name Menu – 2 nd Level Hyperlink in Command Name Hyperlink in description of action Menu – 3 rd Level Hyperlink in Functional Link column Functional Description Menu – 1 st Level Hyperlink in Dialog Link column Dialog Overview Hyperlink in list of controls Control Detail Hyperlink in description of action Functional Description 18

Back to Our Story… • The hero has a nice testing guide • Linking files allow users to “see” navigation • Files that define functional design can be added to provide a complete picture • He has free time to walk over and ogle that S 2000… 19

The Hero Believes in Evolution • First, got something on paper – Excel spreadsheet with lots of text • Improved it as he worked – Better organization – Add screenshots • Discovered additional uses/benefits – Links to other dialogs – “Functional Design” spreadsheets • Adapted for greater purpose – The only single source of application information – A great guide for Tech Docs team 20

Requirements for the Role of Hero • Design for portability – Ideally, keep all workbooks in a single file folder – Use relative address when creating hyperlinks (select link files from Current Folder list choice) • Use File/Page Setup for good printed version – Titles include sheet names – Time-stamped for “freshness rating” • If sharing, make sure to allow read-only access – Get Edits/comments via email • Other tools could be the hero as well – Use what you know well when possible 21

The Rest of the Story… • • The Hero did lots of testing The CEO did lots of thinking about $$ (no longer $$$) Marketing never started thinking… The developers really believed whatever they built would sell The Hero is now in another building with another company The S 2000 is still in the showroom… His car runs great! As soon as the company is gone, his resume will reflect a new job title - President, maybe… 22

The Materials Presented • I am happy to email copies of Excel files used in the presentation • Send me a request at: jndaughety@yahoo. com 23