Even in many agile projects, testers stand aside while others set product and project goals and requirements (stories). These other people aren’t doing poor work but rather are often developing artifacts that are too easily misinterpreted. J.B. Rainsberger presents two value-driven development techniques that testers—who by their very nature are critical thinkers—can use to help the team figure out what to build, which parts to build first, and most importantly, what not to build at all. Learn a powerful modeling technique to reduce a long laundry list of stories down to a clear, high-level path toward a great product. Join J.B. to practice the art of “talking in examples,” which will help you work with product owners, analysts, and programmers to develop a clear picture of what to build. Don’t remain relegated to after-the-fact acceptance testing. Learn how to play a vital role in building the right thing the first time.
J.B. Rainsberger
J.B. Rainsberger (jbrains.ca) helps software companies better satisfy their customers and the businesses they support. Through the years, J.B. has learned how to write valuable software and how to overcome many of his social deficiencies. He has built a life that he enjoys—traveling the world, sharing what he's learned, and helping other people get more of what they want out of work and out of their lives. J.B. provides one-on-one consulting, which lets him help even more people get the advice they need without a large up-front investment. He lives in Atlantic Canada with his wife Sarah and two cats.
After almost fifteen years of history with agile practices, J.B. Rainsberger sees some alarming trends in our attitudes, practices, and even what we teach about agile. At the same time, he sees some progress in approaches and technologies—e.g., behavior-driven development, naked planning, and continuous delivery. Sadly, we still have maturity models, complicated process checklists, and unnecessary certification schemes. In the coming decade, unless we begin to focus on fundamental ingredients absent from many agile teams, J.B. fears we are doomed to miss many opportunities for getting better. It's not good enough anymore just to be a great agile tester. J.B. says testers, programmers, product analysts, and managers must encourage workplace transformations so we can take full advantage of new tools and techniques. He shares a vision of these transformations and calls on testers and test managers, who work with all stakeholder groups, to stand up and lead us into the next decade of agile.