Rolling your own methodology

I came across someone asking for an answer to the old “How do you test a stapler” question, and in light of my new role, I thought this was a good opportunity to start taking up James Bach’s methodology challenge, using the stapler example as a starting point.

I’m starting with the meta-questions, those which I need to answer *before* I can begin to think about what and how I’m going to test it.

• Who is the stapler for? Who is it *not* for?
• Why do they want a stapler?
• How might the different stapler users know that the stapler has fulfilled their needs? What stapler features are unimportant?
• When does it need to be tested by? What will happen if it’s not done by then?
• How much can I spend to test the stapler?
• Who else can help me test the stapler?
• Does it need to be tested by anyone else before it can be considered ‘ready’?
• Does anyone else need to check the stapler, or approve my work before the stapler can be used by the person who wants the stapler?
• Is there anyone who doesn’t want the stapler to be had?
• What tools am I allowed to use to test the stapler? What tools do I know how to use that might help?
• Who might need to test the stapler at a later date? Who is going to read my tests? What documents do I need to create? Where do they need to live?
• Who shouldn’t be able to use the stapler?
• How critical is the success of the stapler? What might happen if it isn’t tested adequately, or fails to meet the needs of the stakeholders?
• Are there any standards our testing needs to comply with?
• Are there any legal constraints?
• What kind of staples does it need to work with?
• What kind of materials should it be able to staple?
• Does it need to work in conjunction with anything else?

I’m sure I will continue to add to this list and organize it, but it’s a start.

I’ve also found I need to develop a checklist to hit the ground running and ensure that I look far enough forward when my involvement with a project begins. For this, I’m grouping some questions under the heading “Start from the end”. This is a subset of the above questions, but are the questions I think I’m most likely to leave until too late if left to my own devices.

• What does success look like?
• What are the release processes/signoffs? Who are the stakeholders who need to sign off?
• When does it need to ship by? What is depending on it being released on that date? What else does our product depend on?

And so, it begins. If only I’d started earlier!