BigVisible Blog

I really like hanging out with Test folks. Their clarity and willingness to face what is happening is refreshing, invigorating and also a complete downer.
Sunday at Agile 2010 was the aa-ftt workshop and some of the most important thought leaders you don’t know were going at hammer and tong.
A couple of hours into “Al” (an Alias because I can’t get a hold of him to ask permission to quote) said “Developers treat test as the car wash, they drive their code up and expect us to clean off the bugs on the windscreen”. My mind went into hyper drive and the great comedy “Car Wash” would not leave me alone.

“Al” was right on the money.  In a traditional or even many agile-lite environments stories are planned, tasks created and – at the very end of the sprint (if you are lucky) the test task is there.  Yup.  Here comes the latest in cool code.

It is like you build a car got it ready to roll and took it to the car wash.  When it comes out the other end you are really upset because it is full of water, soap, and all the pizza bones, old soda bottles, and that missing fooz ball are floating around in the  passenger compartment.  Jeez those clowns at the car wash should have been more careful.  Didn’t they see the windows were mocks, the roof was a shell, I mean all that was need was to clean the three little bugs off the windscreen and fine tune the horn.

In a more mature agile shop there would have been an acceptance requirement that the code had to be able to go through the car wash.  But even that level of sophistication will fail because it lacks the clarity of why it has to go through and most of all what it should look like after it is done.  three fourths of this car came out the other end, the wheels, rims, and interior were lost, and the team was incensed they could get the credit for the work that past. – all because the clowns at the car wash won’t take a broader view of the acceptance criteria – I mean come on dude, Most of it got through.

Then there is the business attitude toward the car wash employees.  The dudes with the rags get labeled surly, arrogant, and picky as the dickens when it comes to NOT doing somethings.  Business wants a good job for as little as they can pay for.  Look is it too much to ask for a clean car, vacuumed mats, windows that shine, as well as the removal of the unknown projectiles lodged in the mini-grill of the sub woofers stored in the trunk?  No I am not going to pay all that money for a detailing job so the car looks as good as new.  I just want to have it look that way for no additional cost.  And while you are at it, balance the engine, tune the suspension, lube it and put in the best oil and filter you can.

So thanks big Al.  We are all going to start moving to the tune.