Communication, has explicit and implicit messages! Have you got them?

Besides all the technical work the testing team and a tester do, there are times the tester and her/his testing will take a hit.  Here is one such hit and how I solved it.  When working in an organization which is building a product, usually there will be multiple teams involved.  Likewise, multiple people on influencing and making the decision about the product, development and shipment.  Any one miscommunication here and the slipping of time, the testing team gets its time squeezed and cut, most times isn't it?  I have experienced it.

When I looked into what was the problem here and to solve it, I learnt these:

1. When decision makers communicate, they can have two types of communication being conveyed for teams. 
2. One is explicit communication - which is verbal and written.
3. The other is implicit communication - which is neither verbal nor written; but it is expected that it has to be understood by teams.

If the testing team don't catch the implicit communication, what could be the impact in the time given to testing?  It depends on magnitude of the problem!  Most times, the explicit communication made in a context as well goes misinterpreted by the teams.  If you are not part of that teams which misinterpreted and did it right each time, probably you had a better and standing leader in your team who solved the communication problem.

A simple heuristic here for the testing team and others who involved in this context -- How one can misinterpret what I said? Did I misinterpret in what is said?  One can be not that sharp in communication and interpretation, say.  But that number of team members with varied experiences level, are same in that skill?  Could be yes, then we have to help team; if not, then where is the problem?  Here the question is about solving and proceeding further so team can be of help to each others.

I lead the projects and testing delivery while I was working in Moolya Software Testing Pvt. Ltd. Having lead 55+ projects for different customers and its deliveries, in this role, I had to communicate with external teams (programmers and testers), internal teams (i.e. team within Moolya), sales team, recruit team, human resource for skill development programmes and management team (at customer place and in Moolya).  Especially working in the Startup projects will give the lessons very well, at least I have seen it for me.  Note here, if I had one misinterpretation with customer's communication and passing it to my teams in Moolya and to management, how impact that would be? Is it a big cost?  I did misinterpret in initial stages; but then when I observed it, I made sure, I will have to minimize it and keep it to zero if possible.  I worked on it and assisted the teams I was leading to practice it.  For example, say a feature and release date said by customer explicitly and I misinterpreted it. Further customer too assumed I got the message.  Were there any implicit messages here, which customer assumed that I have got it?  So do I assumed that I got it?  Once I found that I was struck with problem here in a project, I fixed it in me for first.  Note, my Moolya is always close to the tester in me!

Here is how I worked on it and continue to work on it. Despite this practice, at times I do still fail and I know I'm human and so are others.  All I check is what is the cost and value of what I did here!

Whenever I'm certain that I fully and completely understand the other person and teams without the benefit of clarifying questions, I ask myself this question -- If I weren’t absolutely, positively certain that I fully and completely understand, what would I ask?  This question helps as a trigger heuristic to know more about my understanding.  But will I do this each time?  No, I pick it in contexts which hints me something is missing. For example, when there is confusion arising in me or in teams; in the time of where major decision leads are being considered in decision being made.  If none of the team have confusion or questions, I still revisit on this and ask teams for saying what is been understood.  How I ask team members is another way of doing it. I will not get into that details, you see that's another challenge and problem to solve. Let me keep one problem here and focus on its solving.  If you said, who will do this when there is no time to do task which I have been assigned, fair enough.  In my role, I will have to do that until I get confidence -- this team or these team members can handle themselves in the situation by questioning and asking for clarification.  My role is not just to lead and deliver the projects.  I'm responsible and accountable for my team members skill development too - which is implicit expectation of an organization though it is not communicated in offer letter or in promotion letter or in promoted role.  If you don't agree or you say I should not be doing this, fine!  One day, when it comes and hits to you or to your team and organization, probably that is the whiteboard day.

I keep in mind that it’s in situations of absolute certainty in which I'm sure I understand and I say it to myself -- I'm most likely to misinterpret. I make it my responsibility to clarify my own terminology to ensure that the other person or team members understands me. As I provide clarification, I ask these questions to myself:

1. What assumptions might I be making about their meaning?
2. What assumptions might they be making about my meaning?
3. How confident am I that I’ve exposed the most damaging misinterpretations?

I see sometimes, people getting annoyed!  But my testing career experience have shown me, the decisions most times goes not conveyed well enough explicitly.  Later it is said, isn't that mean same or no change or there is a change, i.e. it is implicit.  Later, when taken implicitly and proceeded, I was asked why did I do that.  Now should I say -- that isn't implicit as last time?  Then answer is NO.  I decided that I should be avoiding this mistakes and I started to practice -- interpreting and getting clarified it, though few feels annoyed.  I see value here and cost of being catastrophic happening is high if went on assumptions for the implicit meanings that is not literally communicated.

The best solution for me is simply to try to heighten my awareness of the potential for misinterpretation.  I probably can’t catch all communication problems.  But if I do the best I can, and don’t allow myself to feel too rushed or too intimidated to ask for clarification, I should find that I'm in sync with the other person(s) or team(s). If I'm not, it’s better to find out early on, rather later when the consequences could be catastrophic.

I make sure, I ask questions and get it clarified.  I do insist on communicating verbally and in written about the explicit and implicit part of communication and clarification.  I hope this will be helpful to testers and others who work in a team and with teams to deliver the shipment on time.

To end this post, see this is not part of any technology stack, automation, testing, and roles.  It is about how we solve the problem that blocks the core problems which we are solving.  If you happened to see a value in it, do talk a word about it with your team member.  A change in team member or in you, can help your organization, your team, your product, your customer, your promotion and your salary.  

Software Testing as I see - A decade back and today, here is a start to the story of reality

This blog post shares insights of a tester who have crossed a decade, doing testing and practicing the testing.  If you are also a decade young, or bit more younger, or a tester who got into testing in recent times, you should be reading this.  If you are not a tester but you work with tester or the testers report to you or there are testers in your organization, then you should be reading this blog post.

It was around 2006, when I got into testing.  Among the standard questions, these question was common in the interview then -- explain the SDLC and explain the V model.  Forget the word Agile, it was not even relevant then.  By 2012 i.e. the word Agile started to appear as a question in the interview.

A decade back the internet was not strong as today.  Today, we have information written and web can host it.  Then, there was no community visibility as today, though it existed.  Internet was not available to all then, you won't believe this.  Today we carry internet in our pockets and palm.  

Most who hired a tester, would have asked to write test case and ask how test would be, in interview. The question around QTP, Load Runner and Cross Browser Testing.  Further a case asking the difference between sanity and smoke.  If went ahead, it was how would you test a pen, that was the question.  Then the tester was said -- you don't have to code; you don't have to learn programming; you have to test, that's big enough task.  Today, the story has changed -- we hear you to have code and not test, for a tester.  Don't you agree?  You have not been said this today?  Or did someone from your friend did not share this with you, that what happened to her or him?

If stood above all this and looked, there was one missing element.  The Software Industry then did not know how to assist a Software Tester to build her/his career.  So the management and peers, did not have much idea on how to assist a tester in her/his team.  That have come in generations passed on and as my seniors went on and got it, I too received it.

If there was one exposed and relevant tester who had vision for today's need, probably the shaping of me would have been so different.  I have tried my best and trying my best, when I learned this isn't what I should be doing as a tester.  

I know in 2019, still there are management and team, which do not know how to help tester in their organization and team.  It is no change, I see there.  But there are few companies which have shown the changes, but it is invisible when seen a picture as a whole.  All the buzzword -- Agile, Sprint, Backlogs, Automation, x Testing, CI & CD, DevOps, xDD etc., have come and striving to remain.  Yet there is no much change in life of a Tester in the Industry.   I had the same thought then as well and today as well.  Then, why didn't I solve it and just saying i.e. writing here?

I have done my best to the team and to organization with which I have worked.  I have to align to vision and goals of the organization as well, while I say the testing can be this today.  Change in the organization and industry, is not so easy.  But I see, it is a ripple, someone did there and when it ripples, the industry i.e. different organization want to ripple the same.  Note that the culture and practice who did it initially, had it so much into it; but the one followed the ripple just imitated it and imitating it, without knowing, without understanding and by not practicing like the one who did and found the value out of it.  This created the difference and misunderstanding, in my opinion.  And this is continuing today as well.  May be it will continue.  This is not a worth problem to solve in my opinion.  Because the delusion of ripple cannot be changed to who see it and want to do same.  Then, what's the point in reading further in this writing, right? Wait!

I see testers asking what should I do to programmers and managers despite they are testing for 'n' years.  Do a chef in hotel and mother in home ask how should I cook and can I do it this way?  Won't we wait for their cooking and eat?  Then, why the testers ask their managers/programmers should I do this or not -- while manager has no idea of testing as the tester has?  Learning from manager/programmer by asking is good; but not how to test and what to do after certain point of time.  I understand, we should inform the manager and stakeholders on what we are doing and why, but not asking what to do.  If asked that probably the manager should get additional (part of salary) salary of tester as well.  If the manager is not getting that additional salary, that manager is being cheated miserably.  This problem did exist a decade back, two decades back, exist today too, it will be there for in future as well, if a tester don't understand testing and practice testing.  If I'm a manager, I will in-turn ask "what you want to do, you do, just let me know in brief before you do that; if there is anything I want to say on that, I will.".  Further, I will ask, "how can I help you?" to testers.  As a manager, I will be wanting to build testers who decide what they should be in their job as a practitioners; I do not want to be instructing as steps in the test cases, step-1 do this, step-2 do this, and this is expected result and asking what is your result? It is our result, when I assist them to grow! You can read it again, the last 5 sentences in this paragraph and it is worth, I see.  

On the upper view like a view from the eagle eyes (see it is so clear), the testing management most times was in hands of people who never tested and it is continuing to be so.  Could be this is one of the primary reason why the testing takes a big hit most times and the testing practice goes to below par each time.  What could be done here?  As a tester, I feel, I should be assisting the testers who are interested and determined to be a value adding tester.  I don't want to change management mindset or testers mindset.  I want to assist a tester by pairing up in practice, that's all.  If I can do that with just fewest testers, that's enough, I feel.  Those testers will do much better when they see their practice and what it has to be.  I just want to pair up and practice with testers in their mindset and not in my mindset; this is easier than working to change the industry and management.  I see the tester as a velocity; while the industry and organization is the acceleration.  To see a better picture of acceleration, velocity has to be clear in its deeds.  Hey, I have a fundamental problem topic i.e. tester not getting the thoughts of business and management. I will write it under a different series of post, soon.  This fundamental problem has created much bigger problems than management and industry not understanding the testing. You know why, because tester did not understand manager, business, organization and industry.

In the next continued post of this series, I will share about the testing practice assistance that was received a decade back and today.  Till then, if you disagree or agree or neither of this, do let me know, if you wish.