Mob Exploratory Testing Workshop

About this Presentation

“All the brilliant people, working on the same thing, at the same time, in the same space, and at the same computer.“ - that is Mob Programming. When the activity we mob on is exploratory testing, or the viewpoint to being a programming mob is that of an exploratory tester, we call it Mob Testing. Mob testing - a group testing activity utilizing one computer - voices out the tacit knowledge in the group of individuals on shared tasks. Facilitated by an expert, it makes a great mechanism for building habits and transferring skills over passing knowledge.

In this workshop, we amp up our testing skills by learning from one another, and learn in a mob, getting the best knowledge out of the team into the task at hand. With mob testing, we get a glimpse into the head of the testers while they test because “for an idea to go from your head to the computer, it must go through someone else’s hands”. This is a specific communication style called Strong-style pairing, and it connects the group of brilliant minds in the mob in a shared experience.

The workshop gives you ideas on:
How mobbing gets the tacit knowledge out in a team in an actionable format
How to introduce learning in mobbing format at your place of work
What would it look like to think like an exploratory tester, with intent of understanding coverage while uncovering useful information
What would it look like to apply testing skills while joining a group programming activity
How you can improve your collaboration skills in hands-on work

We will set the room up to two main roles: the mob and the observers in the fashion shown in the picture below. Observers can rotate into the mob and throughout the session play a significant role in regular retrospectives distilling learnings. Don't be afraid, you will not need technical skills to join the mob.