Inthis blog series, we speak with testing professionals from various industries. At Testersuite , we like to hear the diverse views on testing and what makes a test consultant or test coordinator tick. In this edition of Let's Talk About Test, meet Lester Moorman, Salves test consultant at Bernhoven.
"If it can't be done the way it should be done, then it has to be done the way it can be done."
A heads-up: Who is Lester?
I am Lester Moorman, 30 years old and I work at Salves as a test consultant. At the moment I am working at the Bernhoven Hospital.
My study background is Industrial Design. I live in Soest, together with my wife. I recently started playing football again since the C team. Because of Corona we haven't been able to play yet, but the past two weeks we have been training outside at 1,5 meter distance. Furthermore, I used to be a guitarist in a soul/funk cover band. Because of my move to Soest, I am looking to join a music group here.
Did you want to become a test consultant as a child?
No, I did not even know it existed. As a child, I wanted to be a pilot or an astronaut like everyone else. Actually, I didn't like anything. Although my love of music made me want to go to the conservatoire. What also caught my attention was Industrial Design. Being busy with design and innovations, inventing things, so to speak. That's what it turned out to be.
"For me, the human and social aspect within the testing profession is important."
How did you get into IT?
Industrial Design is a completely different direction than testing. However, it happens more often that they approach TU/e students from this direction. This is because Industrial Design at the TU/e focuses on intelligent products. This means that you also have to deal with software and of course that has to be tested. Because of these skills, I was approached by the Alten company to do some testing.
I also studied Participatory Design in Finland. This course involves the end user in design and innovation. That may sound logical but doesn't happen very often. It teaches you to think from the user's point of view and to work together with them.
During my time at TU/e, I did a lot of designing for the healthcare sector. I am now working for the care sector again through Salves. With the directions I took in my Industrial Design study, I am quite at home in this sector. Recently I graduated in Patient Journey Mapping. This is a method in which you look at the interaction of patients with the systems within the healthcare sector throughout the 'customer journey'. You look at where friction arises and how you can resolve it. For me, the human and social aspect within the testing profession is important. That is why I am a test consultant in the healthcare sector. It is great that I have found that at Salves.
What is your challenge as a test consultant?
On the one hand, it is to get clear from the customer why you have been hired. If you know about computers, you will be asked for everything. Think about: "Can you fix my mailbox?" So the question is why am I here and what should I do?
On the other hand, you must have a helicopter view and know how to manage change. You are in charge of functional management that is used to a certain way of working. Bringing about change is difficult. It means you need skills to deal with people. But you also need to think about the decisions you make. If you make changes badly, there is a lot of resistance and you have to start all over again. Pragmatism is important here. If a step is too big for someone, you look at what is possible. This is also a result of my study, in which you look at the usability of design. You can say all kinds of things and want to do all kinds of things, but practice will show whether it works or not.
How do you deal with this in practice?
Through empathy, understanding the user. This in combination with techniques from Patient Journey Mapping, i.e. the technique of using empathy to arrive at a workable solution. It is not unimportant that you have the capacity for empathy yourself.
What milestones have you achieved at Bernhoven?
Bernhoven's management has a certain picture in mind about what the testing process should look like. This requires tooling. Testersuite is the ideal tool for this. My job is to set up Testersuite. Think about setting up the master list, determining the work- and mailflow and the flow of the defects. But also the generation in Testersuite of the desired reports.
Meanwhile, instructions are with functional management for entering, executing and reporting test cases. This is the workflow we focused on Bernhoven. I also helped import test scripts to Testersuite from Excel. These had to meet a different quality: so simple and clear that a layman could run them. We are now going to start testing. That will be the next milestone.
"Changing behaviour is done by starting small.
What role does Testersuite play in this?
Testersuite is the platform in which we manage the testing process. It helps with acceptance of the changed way of working. You have new testers and testers who have been working with Excel for 30 years. Everyone needs to understand the new process. Testersuite is clear and easy to use. There are few unnecessary features and the dashboard provides a nice overview of where you stand with your work.
For key users who measure testing, testing is not a main task. However, the threshold for starting Testersuite is low. Changing behavior is done by starting small. The simpler it is, the less you have to motivate people to work with it. I really find that in Testersuite.
How do you see the future for the test consultant?
I don't really have an idea about that yet. My focus is on healthcare. Testing is a necessity but also an afterthought in healthcare. That's why unburdening is important in this sector. You have to take things out of their hands. For example, we offer a test bot to test HiX automatically. If we could extend that to other EPDs, that would be great. I have the feeling that testing is still not common practice in the healthcare sector. If we can get everyone in this sector involved in testing by making things easier for them, that would be great.
"You can't automate all that."
You talk about test automation. Is that the solution?
When test automation is set up properly and it ensures the quality of test work, it can be interesting. Provided the results are properly communicated. But it has to fit. In Salves' Hix bot, standard blocks are tested automatically, but there is always a delta because of hospital-specific issues for which we write customer-specific tests. Human work remains necessary. Manual testing remains. There are so many applications, links, specific configurations and little pieces of customization. You can't automate all that. That's when a tool like Testersuite is ideal.
Isn't test automation just checking what already exists?
When you test the same thing every fortnight, it is up to the regression tester to determine whether this should be automated. But the assessment of the quality of the test work is up to the person who writes the script. That remains manual work. In any case, you first have to test manually before you can start regression testing. Otherwise, you have no regression test set.
A critical question from the Testersuite Team, what could be better?
I recently asked if the use of statuses by test case could be made mandatory. That way I can enforce that people review before the status changes to ready to use. Of course, I understand Testersuite 's insistence on simplicity. We'll see if it gets picked up by the development team. Overall, I am satisfied with Testersuite.
What would you like to give to starting young testers?
Try to get an overview, ensure clarity and be pragmatic. It is still human work; if it cannot be done the way it should be done, then it must be done the way it can be done.
Anything else you want to say?
No, I've had a lot to say in this interview.
