Lateral and critical thinking

Lateral thinking is where we try to think creatively about an idea, requirement, or piece of information from different angles to uncover more information about variables and perspectives relating to that initial information. And critical thinking is where we critically assess the information that we have, thinking about risks, assumptions, and problems relating to that information that we are assessing. 

So thinking laterally about dice, it can have between four and a hundred and twenty sides. The number of the dice can be displayed as dots, digits, or even as written text on the dice. The dice can be made from plastic, wood, or many different kinds of metal. And thinking critically about the fact that we need the dice to play the game, we can ask questions like, well, why do we need the dice? Would our random number generator, be suitable instead? 

So lateral and critical thinking skills help us to uncover test ideas. If we are testing the idea of the software early in the SDLC process, then our lateral and critical thinking skills will help us dispel assumptions and uncover more information to help us prevent problems and risks further down the line. 

So many people aren't familiar with lateral and critical thinking and don't realize the importance of these skills for testers. And many companies don't fully understand the investigative side of testing. And even with strong lateral and critical thinking skills, it's important to remember, you can't think of every permutation or each variable.

I like to think of critical and lateral thinking as two distinct yet equally vital approaches to problem-solving. 

Critical thinking is about being logical, analytical, and objective. It's about taking a problem, breaking it down into its core components, questioning every assumption you make, and weighing all the evidence before jumping to conclusions. You're trying to figure out if something makes sense, if the information is sound, and if there are any hidden biases. In testing, this means meticulously understanding requirements, dissecting a bug report to identify the root cause, or designing highly precise test cases that cover logical paths. It's about asking, Is this true? How do I know it is true? What are the facts? 

Different, but closely related, is lateral thinking. This is the creative, 'outside the box' approach. Instead of following a linear path, you're looking for unconventional ways to solve a problem or new angles to explore. It's about generating ideas that might seem a bit odd at first, making unexpected connections, and deliberately challenging the obvious. For a tester, this is excellent for exploratory testing. It helps you find those elusive bugs that no one suspected. You're imagining weird user behaviours, strange data combinations, or how the system might break if used completely contrary to its design. It's about asking, What if? Is there another way? What if we tried something completely different or unrelated here? 

In essence, critical thinking helps you dig deep and thoroughly understand the problem presented to you. Lateral thinking helps you find solutions and discover bugs that weren't immediately apparent by simply following the rulebook. You need both to excel in testing. Critical thinking brings rigour and analysis. Lateral thinking brings creativity and uncovers the unexpected. Together, they make a formidable pair for any tester's toolbox.