Доклад Olivier Denoo на конференции SQA Days-20. 24-26 ноября 2016. Минск www.sqadays.com

1. 1© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Me, myself and I…
I’m 20!

2. 2© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Psychology & Testing
Test Bla bla bla et bla bla tester
bla bla bla test bla…..
Mmh mmh

3. 3© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
I AM NOT A THERAPIST
...BUT I’M WORKING ON IT
Nobody’s perfect!
I suffer from anosognosia: I’m testing things without noticing it

4. 4© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Changes Resistance Manipulations

5. 5© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
BIG C° - 12 MONKEYS
Conflict is a pure by-product of Evolution:
Don’t we say « united like the fingers of the
hand »…although we have opposable
thumbs?

6. 6© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015

7. 7© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015

8. 8© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015

9. 9© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
New = Change
• Usage, Habits = changing is difficult
• Conservative spirit variations
secrets / confidences / seduction
– Inheritance / legacy
– Block any new initiative by adopting a very conformist
behavior
– « initiation » by the elders (managers are rotating
frequently, they seek for support > dependency)
– Closed game / isolation
– Rejecting any non-conforming or undesired situation

10. 10© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
So, you want to introduce structured testing…
First steps
Pressure to
change
Clear and
shared
vision
Capacity to
change
•Internal
•External
•Top-mgt.
•Project Mgt
•Structure
•Systems (IT)
•Systems (common values)
•Style
•Skills
•Staff
•Strategy*
•Pilots
*Source: T. Peters & R. Waterman

11. 11© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
• Better a known adversity than an unknown risk
– Ex1: Useless audits
• Functional automation @ « the King of Sports »
• We keep up with IE6 whatever happens
– EX2:
• portal for multiple Insurance companies – all changes are
systematically refused >> resistance is lead by a Sr who is
also a union representative person within the C°

12. 12© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
How do we get off the runaway train?
• Educate, be honest, communicate what you know
and what you don’t know
• More control
• Less change or less impact
• Same weapons (seduction, initiation)
– Motivators (goals, objectives)
– Facilitators (who?)
– Starters (How?)

13. 13© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
IMAGE
LANGUAGE
& PERCEPTION
You got the « look »

14. 14© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
• Listen to the signals, understand what you’re
supposed to be. Let’s meet the CEO
– EX: So you want an expert…an expert you’ll get
• Not communicating is communicating
• You have the testers you deserve
– If you pay with peanuts, don’t be
surprised if you only attract monkeys
Be what you’re expected to be

15. 15© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Palo Alto Institute - word salad
(M. Erickson)
• My name is George
Javajerkbin tcpip kc o dnsserveurout geekgifpng
pluginjpeg
(Paul Watzlawicz – the language of change – exp. Erickson)

16. 16© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Word salad exposed…

17. 17© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Do you speak Tester?
test coverage
Test depth
Cost, resources
Time
WHAT?
HOW?WHEN?
WHO?
The Project seen
from a tester’s
perspective

18. 18© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
What is your definition of…?
• Test Level?
• Test types?
• Test techniques?
• Ebony & Ivory?
• Nb Test cases?
• Nb Test data sets?
• What else? (quiet George!)
TEST DEPTH

19. 19© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
How about the others, what is their
language???
Functionality
Code
quality
Benefits, market
Value added
risks
Costs
Management, CEO Development
Time Time
Costs, resources
Common values
Time , Money

20. 20© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
So, do they really understand us when
we talk about…?

21. 21© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Let’s put this in context
EX: When facing a limited time / budget
Don’t say:
- we’ll only test for a week
Rather say:
- we’ll make sure essential tests will fit
within a week

22. 23© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
COST
• A simple question (yeah right!)
– What is the ROI of testing?
• A simple answer to a simple question
– What’s the cost of a defect?

23. 24© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Cost of a Defect
• Financial impact?
– Airline companies, NASA
• Damaging the image, lost of trust/confidence
– Dropped purchases, substitution
• Who? How long? What is their cost?
– Analysis, fixing, re-test, deploy
– Complexity of measuring
– The 50,000 $ invoice
(1$ LOC change 49999$ to know where to look at)

24. 25© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Soapy words (slipping on the dock of the bay)
• How to enter a conflict at all time - guaranteed
– « Never »
– « Always »
– « Again »
• « It’s [always] like this with…»
• « You [never] do… »
• « Who [again] ... ?»

25. 28© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
LET’S PLAY THEN!
So you want to change?

26. 29© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Autopsy of a (psychological) game
(E Berne – S Karpman – transactional analysis)
MODUS OPERANDI
• Player A throws the ball*
• The balls hits player B’s weak point
• Player B sends an automatic response
• Roles are assigned
• Some booby-trapped transactions
(hidden goals) are exchanged between
players
• One of the player scores and provoques
a role change
• The other player(s) feel(s) confused and
ashamed
• Negative feelings and procrastination
are distributed to all players as a reward
ESCAPE ROUTES
• Ignore / elicit / defuse (humor)
• Ignore / shield / acknowledge
• Prepare alternative answers
• Refuse to take the role
• Rephrase / question / get the hidden
goals exposed
• TOO LATE to exit, still time to debrief or
analyze
*Can be verbal (« you looked more brilliant
last time ») or non-verbal (sighing, whispering,
pulling a face with no explanation…)

27. 30© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
You can’t make an omelette…
• It’s all predictable
(I knew it, It was for sure)
• Games are counterproductive and end-up badly
• Games are repetitive, systematic
• Public may have a capital role
• Games are often inconscous and have hidden or non
percieved goals.
(attract attention, feel reassured, avoid responsibilities)

28. 31© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Karpman’s drama triangle
PERSECUTOR
RESCUER
VICTIM

29. 32© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Major characteristics
– Rigid, superior
– Critical, oppressive – It’s all your fault
– Manipulative, blackmailing
– « you should… », « it would get better if… »
– Starter
– Rescues spontaneously, no direct demand or sollicitation
– Feels guilty if he doesn’t go to the rescue / self-esteem (white knight)
– Keeps the victim dependent (permission to fail)
– « let me help you… »
– Enabler
– Oppressed, helpless, victimized, not responsible, powerless, ashamed
– Indirect complaints and demands
– Poor self-image, focuses on the negative aspects, unable to act or make
decisions
– « he makes my life a Hell… », « poor me… », « it only happens to me… »
– Starter

30. 33© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Secondary benefits and motivations
– Avoid their own problems and responsibilities (it’s your fault)
– Response to a forme deceptive environment
– Feels empowered, all almighty
– Avoid their own problems and responsibilities (it’s not their fault)
– Effort to attract attention
– Feels fine and increased self-esteem (do the good) or self-control / balance
– Maintains dependency (if not > persecutor)
– Avoid their own problems and responsibilities (it’s not my fault)
– Encountered real pain and sad situations
– Comfort zone (assisted)
If you cannot act upon it or change it = it is NOT YOUR FAULT!!!

31. 34© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Drama:
• Roles are complementary (co-dependancy)
– No victim no persecutor!
– Avoid to consider a broader dysfunction or harm
– We all have a favorite role to play
• Players can change roles
from time to time:

32. 35© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Some examples of role-changes
– EX1: 3 behaviors on the same projects
• Testers feel like second-class citizens = victims
• Testers « covering » les developers = saviors
• Testers accusing developers = persecutors
– EX2: the fate of unemployment
• poor unemployed people fired by persecuting management
• Unemployment office trying to help them find a new job
• Unemployment office persecuting them by asking evidences and
threatening them of suspending their allocation
• Unemployment office feeling bad because there’s no job available
or they don’t get enough resources to do thier job properly
• …/…

33. 36© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Saturday Night Fever
• Friday’s bug
– Technicians
• victims
• saviors (non recognized > victims)
– Management
• saviors
• persecutors
• victims (budgets – operational management)
• Manage crisis
or manage BY crisis?

34. 38© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
How do you get off the runaway train?
• Know that you’re playing = you’re not naïve anymore
• Change of perspective (from state to action)
– « I am a victim » = TO BE
– « I have a problem » = TO HAVE
• Refuse to play, refuse to take the expected part
– No players, no game
• Think, take time and let silence do the trick
– Don’t rush
– Filter, not everything is for granted
– Ask yourself / others questions «why am I told this? » , « what am I
going to do with it? »
– Make the game harder
• Reformulating / ask for more information
– Gain time
– Make the game harder, less attractive
!

35. 40© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Yes, but…learned sabotage
• The movie (with G. Jugnot)

36. 41© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015

37. 42© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
It’s not my fault… (audit)
CONTEXT = audit feedback
• MGR: our quality problem comes from the users
• TC: can’t you talk to them so as to get a grip on what they
really want?
• MGR: BUT we do that already
• TC: so, all you have to do is to document it on your side and
it’s done!
• MGR: YES BUT this is their job, not mine
• MOI: of course, BUT you are suffering from that, so how
about dealing with take your problem
• MGR: YES BUT we have more and more demands and less
and less budget, so it is not possible…
• …/…

38. 43© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
• How would you solve this?
• How did I do that?
– I stopped playing immediately when I realized
– I took some risk and ask her
« what would you suggest then? »
– 3 possibilities
• Exit (anyway, whatever)
• Come back to the situation where I’m in charge
• She takes over (with my own ideas) not to loose her
face (what she did)

39. 44© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Manage the delivery
• His boss asks him to get the delivery on time
– Yes, but I’m already overloaded with…
– Why don’t you ask X to help you?
– Yes, but you know X, he always wants a payback…
– Ask your team to come earlier then
– Yes, but you know the union will not appreciate overhours…
– And what if I speak to the union?
– Yes, but my budgets will blow out then…
– …/…

40. 45© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
How do you get off the runaway train?
• Identify
• Understand
• Act
• Change context and bounce back
• Don’t play with their rules (or at all)

41. 46© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
« Gotcha »…
• Start = So you said that your Robot was able to capture the Outlook bar, right?
– Weak point = we’re discussing technique and value my recommendation
– Answer = yes, of course, the tool is able to do this in principle … (suspicion, distance)
• Dramatic turn of events
– So why can’t it see our modified component in detail? (single object & coordinates)
ALLUSION: I invested time and money in this « crap tool »…
• Confusion
– I’m not developing the tool (not MY tool) and I don’t know anythng about the toolbar either
• Dammages
– He thinks I’m incompetent vs. he thinks I bugged hime = in front of my whole team
(in fact the toolbar is NOT a real Outlook bar – the REAL one
is plainly recognized)
(some may play the victim so as to better criticize later on)

42. 47© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
• How would you solve this?
• How did I do that?
– I played exactly the same « gotcha » game in front
of his own team:
• Didn’t you tell me that you used an Outlook bar?
• Well…erh…yes, a slightly modified one, indeed
• Of course! Than how can you explain that the
REAL Oultook bar is fully captured by MY tool, as it
shows here? (showing the results)
• Well…actually we bought the component from a
Russian C° on the web…but it is exactly the same look
and feel…
• Right! But not the same code obviously.
Now let’s sit down together and see how we can
solve the issue…

43. 48© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
YES, WE ARE HIGHLY
SUBJECT TO
MANIPULATION
Tricks, bad faith, mentalism…

44. 49© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Bertram Forer
• You have a great need for other people to like and admire you.
• You have a tendency to be critical of yourself.
• You have a great deal of unused capacity which you have not
turned to your advantage.
• While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally
able to compensate for them.
• Your sexual adjustment has presented problems for you.
• Disciplined and self-controlled outside, you tend to be
worrisome and insecure inside.
• At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made
the right decision or done the right thing.
• You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become
dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations.
• You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept
others’ statements without satisfactory proof.
• You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to
others.
• At times you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other
times you are introverted, wary, reserved.
• Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic.
• Security is one of your major goals in life.
Forer BR (1949). The fallacy of
personal validation: A classroom
demonstration of gullibility
Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology. 44, 118-123.
Average scoring 4,2 / 5

45. 50© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
What is essential to a tester?
• What do you think?
• Resistance to stress
• Communication
• Resilience
• Attention to details
How good do you think you are?

46. 51© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015

47. 52© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Let’s manipulate - procurement
• The technique of the funnel (sales)
– Do you rather look for a profile type like X or Y?
– In the X type of profiles, we have P* or M* (who has
more experience, but who is a bit more expensive)
– M* and P* are both mobile and available right now.
They both know your business / technology.
– Of course, J* is fine too…would you like to decide now
or do you wish to think a bit more about it and select
one of those 2?
– Excellent, you made the right choice.
You’ll be happy with it.

48. 53© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
…and back
• Reversed funnel (procurement)
– EX1: Do me your best price, and we sign right now if I
get 20% off
– EX2: Press exclusivity – you deliver good contents, the
journalist just integrates it with a limited visibility…and
no counterpart!
– EX3: Partner: your best price is not enough!
Competition is presenting a « big hitter »…
but don’t worry I know the customer well

49. 54© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Double bind (Bateson - Watzlawick)
• Of stepmothers and ties
• Be spontaneous / it is forbidden to forbid / be great my little one
– EX1: You decide / It’s your choice / It’s your call
– EX2: Business refusing to work with IT
What to do when the solution obviously involves both of them?
– EX3: Get overall acceptance for the audit within the
TST dept. and show the lacks in DEV and PRD
• Court = tie parties together when the
choice is not obvious

50. 55© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
How do you get off the runaway train?
• Find the return on investment (what’s in it for me?)
• Understand and decrypt (you cannot play anymore if you know it)
• Share (involve/comit) – together
– Mobilize and define common goals
• Confront (adult to adult)
– What do you mean exactly?
– Where is the problem?
• Defuse with humor or playing the fool (why don’t you go and play
elsewhere?)
• Remove ambiguities
• Do not play the part you’re expected to play
– I’m not your victim
– Help me
– Mind you!

51. 56© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
LET’S MANIPULATE

52. 57© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
It’s nobody’s fault
• Stop the thieve
– The « watch dog » behavior changes drastically if it has
been asked first (20% vs. 95%)
– Ex: the TM goes on holidays, reporting stops, test
environment doesn’t get maintained etc. etc.
• Commitment is key

53. 58© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
• (PSY) Conditioning (<> flattering or seduce)
– She looks at a XVth century virgin
• « You seem to be so sentive to the human pain »
• …so she will be enclined to donate to charity
– EX: It’s only business
• I see you’re serious about the quality of your
product…
• So, a small extra sacrifice (invest) will not
make much of a difference
• ATTN: do the right conditioning or
prepare to fail!
Manipulations & C° (Joule - Beauvois)

54. 59© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Abstruse trap
• When you have a good story…
– Is it a good story after all?
– Wasted money
• Wrong purchase of a trip on the same WE 1000 € vs. 500€ (more fun)
– no refund – 54% choose the first option though!!!
– Outsourced billing system is going nuts
• Integrator has no influence on the core billing (slow, unstable)
• The choice has been made but changing is still possible
• They keep on with specific development and try to
find workarounds (like asynchronous automation)
• They will even export stupidity in the whole Group.

55. 60© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
The foot in the door
• An expected behevior is « prepared » by a harmless and apparently
costless action, It is then activated by an implicit or explicit demand
– (You, the Office expert) can you remind me how to do a conditional sum in
Excel? (conditionning)
• The expected behavior is more « expensive » and would probably not
be obtained spontaneously
– Can you get me all critical defects in billing module since version 2,3 sorted
by date with the corresponding developer who fixed them (demand)
• The result is much better when they had the choice / when the freely
chose to do it (« you are free to… » / « your choice» = 4X higher)
Thare are limits and expiry time (1 week to 10 days in general)
– Ex: The increased efficiency after « team events »
(Usually not lasting over 10 days)

56. 61© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Slam the door in their face
• A strong and obviously unacceptable demand…meant to be refused!!!
– Can you replay all tests related to application X on version 3.1.5?
(it will take me the whole day and more – let’s try to escape this)
• …followed by a weaker demand (as unacceptable at first however)
meant to be accepted (as if the fact that they refused the first was
forcing them to accept the latter)
– …yes, I understand, I would have done the same. But if I just got an idea of
what it does on module Z, that would really save my life,
(OK, it’s only a couple of hours and I already said no – you can’t say no to
everything after all!)
• The higher the perceived contrast the better
(shirt 140€ vs 65€ - the Souk of Cairo)
• Direct contact and the small time between demands help a lot
(much more than for the foot in the door)
• Reciprocity
(give and take / split the compromise / return the favor)

57. 62© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
You’ve got the touch, you’ve got the look
• In many cases, touching the one you’re asking a favor to
favors contact and good will (pat on the back, touching
arms…)
– EX: from 63% (questioned) vs 93% (questioned and touched) give the
money left in a phone booth
• Looking straight in the eyes (but not too intensively neither
too long)

58. 63© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
The foot…in the mouth
• « How are you doing? » facilitates contacts for a
great deal. It also helps in getting a yes, evn if
everyone seems not to care.
• The mood or the answer do not matter
– Most mails or sales meetings start with this…and it is not
purely social

59. 64© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
So, it is not that terrible after all…
• Annonce the drama or let them think the catastrophe is coming then ask
them (for a lesser impact…however)
– Sales Techniques or effects of surprise based upon doom-mongering
(the more they think they avoid the worst, the better)
– EX1: Some companies who do not use our services had their website hacked
recently and their commercial and employee data exposed publicly…
– EX2: This morning, the first test results tended to show a project shift of about 3
month. After a more detailed analysis, it turned out that we could reduce it to a
month and a half. (Phew! That was close!)

60. 65© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
CONCLUSIONS
Les hommes passent leur vie à la recherche
d'eux même. On n'arrive jamais à une
conclusion définitive en ce domaine.
Men spend their life seeking themselves.
One never comes to a final conclusion in this
matter.
Rosa Candida (2010)
Audur Ava Olafsdottir

61. 66© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Conclusions
• Introducing structured or professional software
testing is a (major) CHANGE
• Change is usually facing RESISTANCE that can be
organized (consciously or not) in the form of
GAMES (destructive)
• We can COUNTERACT but also USE GAMES and
techniques to POSITIVELY MANIPULATE our
environment and organize the desired CHANGE

62. 67© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Some useful references
• Petit traité de manipulation à l'usage des honnêtes gens (Joule – Beauvois)
• The games we play – (Berne)
• How To Break Free of the Drama Triangle and Victim Consciousness (Weinhold)
• Jeux de manipulation (Cardon)
• La double contrainte - mémoire - (Courtois)
• The monkey thoery (Stephenson)
• Field theory and DFT (Lewin)
• The language of change (Watzlawick)
• Oui, mais / yes, but…

63. 68© Olivier Denoo – Psychologie du Test – ps_testware 2015
Thank You - It’s question time
Now or never…