Understanding The Context

Establishing the context is essential when conversing, writing and especially when testing.

Reasons why establishing the context prior to testing can be missed out:

• Ignorant or Unaware –Testers/Leaders are not yet aware of the science behind establishing a context.
• Code and test enthusiasts hastening to verify and validate the product against set requirements.
• By not encouraging the idea of questioning at every stage of software development, one could dampen the outcome of testing. Relevant and well-timed questioning leads to challenging the status quo and learn new dimensions and the changing contexts that are akin to testing. 
• Change in requirements requires a change in context, which is seldom accommodated in ardent and uncompromising work cultures.

The above scenarios can occur in instances when:

• The team has not set clear team and individual objectives prior to testing.
• The code delivered to be tested is delayed and has passed the test execution start date. 
• When the manager is pushing for testing to be completed and delivered at the earliest. 
• Every member of the team wants to be in the good books of everyone else and is not asking lost time to test.
• There is a mentor missing whose guidance can help in fire-fighting.

What is the context?

*Context - The set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or an event. 

*Definition via the WordWeb.

De-constructing Context

• Making sense of the system under test is itself the beginning of testing and is the first step in knowing the system.
• Understanding the circumstances that surround a situation or an event - In this context, the system under test is needed to be understood in the environment it operates in, in order to test the system in an interactive mode.

Why is it important to establish the context when testing?

It is required in order to construct solutions for testing problems and to understand the system’s isolated and interactive behavior. 

Testing is to learn and to know the system under test.

I would like to suggest further reading of Chapter 1 from the book ‘An Introduction to General Systems Thinking’ authored by Gerald Marvin Weinberg to understand, to know, to extend, to limit the learning/testing and how far we can/need to go when subjecting the system under test to contextual mode.

An analogy

Recently, I was asked to prepare interview questions on logical reasoning and this request came as a 1 liner. I went ahead without questioning (or establishing the context) and spent a considerable amount of time defining, redefining, learning about questions, various types, and modes of questioning and learned the definition of logic, reasoning, facts, ways of thinking, asking and framing questions. Found various online resources to learn about questioning and interviews and I finally submitted the 20 questions that I prepared with some original questions in the list.

It was only later and when I asked for a review did I learn that since the context was missing in the written communication(the e-mail request sent) the effort was rendered waste, however original. The email clearly lacked the information that was required about the context and I had assumed the context of my current understanding and this whole effort was rendered a waste of valuable time for all involved.

Key Takeaways

• Do not hesitate to ask relevant questions.
• Establish context whenever needed.
• This tweet from JeanAnn Harrison sums up the other lesson learned.

Optional reading

http://www.testthisblog.com/2008/10/i-got-tested-by-James-bach.html

http://roadlesstested.com/2013/07/13/3-practical-takeaways-from-playing-the-dice-game/

http://www.bettertesting.co.uk/content/?p=438