Mapping Biases to Testing - Maaike Brinkhof

26th September 2018
  • Locked
Maaike Brinkhof's profile
Maaike Brinkhof

Tester & iOS Developer

Mapping Biases to Testing - Maaike Brinkhof image
A free account is required to view this content
Talk Description

We used to believe in the statement: “testers should be objective”. This translated to separate test teams because letting testers work together with developers would mess with their objectiveness. Thankfully, we are now working together, but what about testers’ objectiveness? Does that even exist?

The book “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman has been mentioned at many conferences and with reason! In this book, the myth of objectiveness is debunked scientifically. We take many shortcuts in our brain without us even realising it (fast thinking). In this talk, certain biases like the ‘anchoring effect’, the ‘confirmation bias’, ‘priming’ and others will be mapped to testing. The goal is to accept that we are biased and that we should learn to work with our biases instead of against them.

This is important if you want to become more aware of your biases and start your journey of self-improvement as an agile team member. This talk is mostly geared towards testers, but some of the biases will also relate to Scrum and agile principles in general. It doesn’t matter how experienced you are, learning (more) about this can never hurt. My goal is that you will be inspired to work differently and know more about your own biases.

Attendees will takeaway:

  • They will learn what 'fast thinking' and 'slow thinking' means
  • They will learn what 'cognitive bias' means and they will learn how specific biases can influence their testing activities.
  • I will tell stories of how I personally was influenced by biases and how I try to learn from those moments. Hopefully, my examples will be recognised by others, so that the abstract concept of a bias will be mapped to a testing reality for the audience.

 

By the end of this session, you'll be able to:

  • TBA
Maaike Brinkhof
she/her
Tester & iOS Developer
Maaike is an independent Test Consultant and iOS developer. She loves testing because there are so many ways to add value to a team.
Suggested Content
Tool of The Week: WonderProxy image
Localization testing with confidence Combine a global network with flexible testing tools to see what your website looks like to customers around the world
Explore MoT
Castelo Branco Meetup image
Tue, 6 May
The Future of Testing in an Automated World: Embracing Continuous Learning and A
Cognitive Biases In Software Testing image
Learn how to recognise cognitive biases, explain what they are and use them to your advantage in your testing
Leading with Quality
A one-day educational experience to help business lead with expanding quality engineering and testing practices.
This Week in Testing image
Debrief the week in Testing via a community radio show hosted by Simon Tomes and members of the community
Subscribe to our newsletter
We'll keep you up to date on all the testing trends.