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What is in it for me?

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Exercise

• Take a Post-IT• What do you expect from the workshop?• What are your goals?• What would you like to get from this session?• PUT IT ON THE WALL

Creative and Critical Thinking Workshop

John Stevenson - Technical Test LeaderTestbash Workshops

March 2015

Twitter: @Steveo1967Blog: www.steveo1967.blogspot.comEmail: jsteven2@cisco.com

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Agenda

• What is in it for me? (Done)

• Introduction

• Defining critical and creative thinking

• Phases of testing and testing type required.

• Critical Thinking Exercises/Techniques

• Creative Thinking Exercises/Techniques and GAMES

• Thinking exercises

• Takeaways

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Introduction – About Me

(C) Photo: Microsoft Image Galleryhttps://leanpub.com/thepsychologyofsoftwaretesting

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Workshop style

• Follows Experiential learning approach• Learn by doing• Not a sit back and listen• Group work

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Background

http://www.steveo1967.blogspot.com/2013/03/creative-and-critical-thinking-and.html

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Defining Thinking

Majority of thinking can be either• Critical Or• Creative

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Defining Critical Thinking

"the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action

Defining Critical Thinkinghttp://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

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Defining Creative Thinking

 “Creativity is any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain or that transforms an existing domain into a new one.”

Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creativity-Flow-

Psychology-Discovery-Invention/dp/0060171332/

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Critical Thinking: Exercise

How Many ‘F’s

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE

EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

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Defining Critical Thinking II

Critical thinking is:• manual thinking (not automatic);• purposeful;• being aware of the partiality of your thinking;• a process; and• thinking that uses a tool set.

Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills Hardcover by Michael Kallet http://www.amazon.com/Think-Smarter-Critical-Problem-Solving-Decision-Making/dp/1118729838

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Testing Phases/Stages

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Stages of Testing

• Test Documentation• Test Planning• Test Execution• Test Analysis• Test Reporting.

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Thinking Types and Stages of Testing

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Group Exercise

Split into groups

Discuss which type of thinking would be most useful for which stage of testing

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Critical Thinking Techniques

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Huh, Really, And, So

• Huh?• Do I really understand?

• Really?•  How do I know what you say is true?

• And?• Is there anything else?

• So?• Is that the only solution?

• https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/8TX6rr60xQ

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Huh , Really , And, So

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Group Exercise

Split into groups

Think of a statement (Can be a requirement you can remember)

Use Huh, Really So on the statement

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Critical Thinking: More techniques

Rule of Three – Jerry Weinberg

If you haven't thought of at least three plausible explanations, you’re not thinking critically enough

Ask Why

To get “Because”

Asking why helps you get to because!!—which is a constraint to your eventual solution.

To get “I do not know”Ask why to get to “I don’t know,” and then go learn what you don’t

know.

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Critical Thinking – Scientific Method

• Scientific Method – Questioning

“FiLCHeRS”

FalsifiabilityLogicComprehensivenessHonestyReplicabilitySufficiency

http://www.csicop.org/si/show/field_guide_to_critical_thinking/

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Creative Thinking Techniques

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Producing Ideas

GATHER MATERIALspecific & general

INDEX/ORGANIZE DATA SCRAPBOOK

THINKmake connections

WRITE DOWN EVERY POSSIBILITY

RELAXmental break

EXERCISE WATCH A MOVIE GO FOR A WALK

idea appearsWRITE IT DOWN

REWORKfine tune

EXPAND/CONTRACT TO STRENGTHEN

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Creative Thinking Exercises - DISRUPTUS

• IMPROVE

• Make it better: Add or change 1 or more elements depicted on the card to improve the object or idea• EXAMPLE From 1 card depicting a paperclip: Make it out of a material that has

memory so the paperclip doesn’t distort from use.• TRANSFORM

• Use the object or idea on the card for a different purpose.•

 EXAMPLE From 1 card depicting a high heel shoe: Hammer the toe of the shoe to a door at eye level and use the heel as the knocker.

• DISRUPT• Look at the picture, grasp what the purpose is, and come up with a completely

different way to achieve the same purpose.•

 EXAMPLE From 1 card depicting a camera: Wear special contact lenses that photograph images with a wink of the eye.

• CREATE 2•

 Using 2 cards take any number of elements from each card and use these to create a new object or idea.

How can you apply this to your creative ideas?

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Creative Thinking Exercises – SCAMPER/THINKPAK

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SCAMPER

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Group Exercise

Split into groups

Think of a test or set of test ideasUsing one of the letters from SCAMPER create some new test

ideas

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Creative Thinking – Re-evaluate

• Once you have ideas you should re-evaluate• Use critical thinking skills

Walt Disney Method

Playing the critic can help you evaluate your ideas

1. For each idea, write as many criticisms as you can.2. Next, look at each idea and try to develop possible

solutions for overcoming or repairing every weakness.3. Select the idea that is the one with the fewest

insurmountable or irreparable weaknesses.

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Further games

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Group Exercise

Split into groups

Story Telling

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Takeaways

• Testers need both styles of thinking• Creative and Critical thinking can be applied to ALL

areas of testing• You need to practice both types of thinking• Once you generate creative ideas use critical

thinking to evaluate

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Slide #28

ReferencesRelationships between Critical and Creative Thinking http://pubs.aged.tamu.edu/jsaer/pdf/Vol51/51-00-173.pdfDefining critical thinking http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766Critical and Creative thinking definitions - http://accreditation.ncsu.edu/critical-creative-thinking-definitionsCreative thinking and mind mapping - http://www.mindmappingsite.com/creative-thinking/creative-mind-mappingTest Heuristic Cheat Sheet http://testobsessed.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/testheuristicscheatsheetv1.pdfElemental Models - http://www.developsense.com/articles/2005-10-ElementalModels.pdfThe little black book on test design - http://www.thetesteye.com/papers/TheLittleBlackBookOnTestDesign.pdfA Field guide to critical thinking - http://www.csicop.org/si/show/field_guide_to_critical_thinking/Producing Ideas - http://www2.wlv.ac.uk/sad-subjects/cgd/DM2109/technique_for_getting_ideas%5B1%5D.pdfTechnique for Producing Ideas Poster - http://penandoink.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/james-webb-young-technique-for-producing-ideas.png

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Slide #29

ResourcesBooks • James Web Young Technique for Producing Ideas -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Technique-Producing-Ideas-ThINKing-Classics/dp/1907590137• Debra Jackson – Critical Thinking a User manual -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Critical-Thinking-Manual-Debra-Jackson/dp/0495814075/• Flow – The Psychology of Optimal Experience – Csiksezentmihalyi -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Csikszentmihalyi-Jul-01-2008/dp/B007NBKC02/

• Thinking fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0141033576/

• David Burkus The Myths of Creativity - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Myths-Creativity-Innovative-Companies-Generate-ebook/dp/B00FVYW2AG

• Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills by Michael Kallet

• http://www.amazon.com/Think-Smarter-Critical-Problem-Solving-Decision-Making/dp/1118729838/• Thinkpak: A Brainstorming Card Deck• http://www.amazon.com/Thinkpak-Brainstorming-Card-Michael-Michalko/dp/1580087728/

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Slide #30

Contact details

John Stevenson

Twitter: @steveo1967

Blog: www.steveo1967.blogspot.com

Email: jsteven2@cisco.com

E-Book: The Psychology of Software #Testing

https://leanpub.com/thepsychologyofsoftwaretesting

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Slide #31

Q & A

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Thank you.