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NEW: Problem 3 (of the final exam)

Problem#3

Let’s assume that you work for the IT department of a small university. The university wanted to come up with a brand new college course scheduler (CCS). Initially the IT department outsourced the project to a small software company, Windy City Development Corporation. The company came up with the System Test Plan for the CCS project (as shown on Page 616 of the textbook by Burnstin). Unfortunately, due to some contractual disagreements, the university fired Windy City Development Corporation and assigned the job to your agile scrum team (let's assume the team is made of 5 software engineers ) to finish the job. You are the tester (say, an agile tester) of this scrum team and you are asked to make a presentation on how to generate test documentation in compliance with the IEEE829-2008 for this project.  

FAQs:

Q. In Problem#3 we need to come up with a ppt-and-mp3 presentation. Is this correct?

A. Yes. In Problem#3, you only need to come up with a presentation (about 30 to 45 minutes long with ppt and mp3 files). No doc file is necessary (i.e., you don't need to write an essay).

Q. What is the title of my presentation?

A. You can come up with any title you see fit as long as your title includes the key word IEEE829-2008.

Q. I don't believe that you can integrate IEEE829-2008 to an agile project. What should I do?

A. You can take an opposing position in your presentation (e.g., trying to persuade your boss to change mind ).

Q. Dr. Chen, your Problem#3 is very vague. I really don't know what you want. Can you be more specific?

A. Yes. My problem statement is vague. Nevertheless, my scenario as in the workplace is quite reasonable. As an employee of your organization, typically you will not receive a well-defined instruction from your boss. (If your boss does have a well-defined instruction, he/she may not need you anymore.)

Q. I still have no clue on what you want me to do. Please help.

A. Maybe you can review the following as a starting point:

Optimizing Your Test Documentation using The New IEEE Standard 829 by Hans Schaefer

IEEE std 829-2008 and Agile Process - Can they work together? by Ning Chen

Testing and Scrum by Ralph van Roosmalen

Enabling Agile Testing Through Continuous Integration by Sean Stolberg 

(For your convenience, I have posted all the above on the class website.)

Q. Do I have to use the references you provided?

A. No. Please feel free to use any references you see fit.

Q. I need to know more about the CCS project. Can you provide more information?

A. Unfortunately the System Test Plan written by the Windy City Development Corporation is the only document we have. You may want to read it to gain some background information.

Q. The information provided by the System Test Plan is far from enough. Can I make assumptions?

A. Yes. You may make any assumption of the CCS project as you see fit.

Q. I am still confused. What do you want me to say in my presentation?

A. I think the key is whether you want to be a reactive or a proactive tester. If your attitude is proactive, I think you have lots possible topics you may want to present. For example, since this is the first meeting of your scrum team, you may want to talk about the master test plan (MTP) first and later follow with some templates of other needed documents for later sprints. Please note that this is just one of the ideas and by no means that I "require" you to take this path.

Q. What is the main objective that, I, as an agile tester, need to achieve in this presentation?

A. I think your objective is to convince your boss and your agile team members that you have an idea on how to integrate IEEE829-2008 to the CCS project. At the end of the CCS project (after several scrum sprints), if your idea works, test documentation in compliance with IEEE829-2008 will be part of the artifact.

Q. Automation is really part of the agile testing. Am I allowed to mention tools in my presentation?

A. You are free to mention anything that you see fit.

Q. The IEEE829-2008 offers great flexibility. It is possible that one can make very simple test documentation that is still in compliance with the standard. Am I allowed to do that?

A. Yes and No. Although we work on a make-believe scenario, in reality, this is still a test in which you may need to demonstrate excellence and to compete with other presentations. I think this is your judgement call.

Q. How

do you grade this problem?

A. The rubric I use covers the following three categories: (1) Effort, (2) Presentation, and (3) Insights.

Q. Can I work with my fellow students in the class?

A. No. If you got caught, either you get an F or you are disqualified from the university. Don’t play fire.