Bug Detection:

Adventures in Intuition and Tacit Knowledge

Can Stock Photo Inc. / fre

Iain McCowatt
http://exploringuncertainty.com
iain@exploringuncertainty.com
@imccowatt
imccowatt

An Unhappy Engagement

They dont notice obvious bugs

Were not allowed to ask questions

The tests arent relevant

The KT didnt make sense

They dont have the

Domain knowledge

We get thrown specs and

told to get on with it

How We Detect Bugs: Two Modes

The
analytic:
Deductio
n
Explicit
Models
Hypothes
is Testing
(Checkin
g)

The
intuitive:
Induction
Experien
ce
Pattern
Recogniti
on

How We Detect Bugs: Two Modes

The
analytic:
Deductio
n
Explicit
Models
Hypothes
is Testing
(Checkin
g)

The
intuitive:
Induction
Experien
ce
Pattern
Recogniti
on

Tacit & Explicit Knowledge

Explicit Knowledge: that which

has been explicated

Weak Tacit Knowledge: not

explicated, and for no deep
reason
Strong Tacit Knowledge: not
been explicated, rooted in society

If you havent done so yet, make Tacit & Explicit Knowledge by Harry Collins

Dependency on the Tacit

Solve:
10+10

20?
1010?
(no RST grads
100?
False?
please!)
32?
True?

Two Modes Revisited

The analytic:
Seemingly
explicit
Yet tacitladen

The
intuitive:
Predominant
ly tacit

Turning to Expertise

Contributory Expertise: Possesses TK

and can do
Interactional Expertise:
Possesses TK, can speak the
language but not do
Interactive Ability: The ability
to interact, socialize in a domain,
and gain TK

Implications: Looking for Interactive

Ability

Interactive Ability, the ability

to develop interactional
expertise, may be THE
primary attribute of a good
tester
Possible indicators:
Active listening
Relating to target context
Bootstrapping from
neighboring domains
Mirroring language

Implications: Location, Location,

Location
The greater the cultural
distance, the larger the
required message size
At some point even very
large messages will fail
Remote teams have
fewer opportunities for
socialization
Remote teams are more
reliant on formal
communications
A double whammy:

Implications: Independence

Interdependence

Independence

More likely to
share biases?

Less likely to
have requisite
tacit knowledge

BUT: Possessing TK in one domain does not preclude

possessing TK in another

Implications: Diversity

If these are the domains

of what we know, what
we would recognize as a
problem, then which
offers the greatest bug
recognition potential?
This applies to both the
individual and the team.

Last Word

No matter how it
looks at first, it's
always a people
problem
-Gerald M. Weinberg

Questions?

Iain McCowatt
http://exploringuncertainty.com
iain@exploringuncertainty.com
@imccowatt
imccowatt