Anders Dinsen

ASYM APS

To me, quality has four domains. The first two are commonly addressed in testing: One domain is about things that are quantifiable and measureable, e.g. meeting requirements and bugs we have found and described. Another domain is about values which we can assess with the help of someone, e.g. usability and fitness for purpose.

The remaining are complex as a third domain is associated with its ethical values: Safety is often a factor here. And then there’s the fourth, which is associated with relational values. Relational values are values that only emerge in interaction: Will the product actually help people? That’s an impossible question to answer objectively.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, and to understand quality, I find we have to address all four domains. To me, it’s about understanding what quality is in its full context.

I’m working with dialogue to grow shared understanding about quality. Dialogue usually takes informal water-cooler and coffee-machine conversations. But I find they can also be framed and explored using techniques from modern 3rd generation coaching.

I will demonstrate how these techniques can be used to frame and have a fruitful dialogue about quality. I will also discuss how this may help increase the outcomes and value of testing.

Anders won the EuroSTAR 2019 Best Paper Award for his paper on The Deep Rationality of Software Testing which was released as an eBook here on EuroSTAR Huddle.