Applying software testing to the Cynefin framework, including bugs found during testing. Draws on the work of Dave Snowden & Liz Keogh

1. Cynefin & Software Testing
Making sense of your situation

2. Image courtesy of Johanna Rothman

3. Image courtesy of Johanna Rothman

4. Obvious
Sense – Categorise – Respond
Best Practice
Tightly constrained
E.g. bicycle chain
Cause & effect relationship is obvious,
repeatable & predictable

5. Complicated
Sense – Analyse– Respond
Good Practice
Cause & effect relationship separated
over space & time
Lightly constrained
E.g. 747

6. Complex
Probe – sense – Respond
Emergent Practice
Cause & effect relationship only
coherent in retrospect
Enabling constraints
e.g. Frog

7. Chaotic
Act – sense – Respond
Novel Practice
No cause & effect relationships
perceivable
Lacking constraint
e.g. House on fire

8. Image courtesy of Johanna Rothman

9. Image courtesy of Johanna Rothman

10. Image courtesy of Johanna Rothman

11. Image courtesy of Johanna Rothman

12. Dynamics
Image courtesy of Cognitive Edge

13. Complexity vs Systems
Unordered systems Ordered systems
Accurately define the
present & use safe-to-fail
experiments
Define ideal future state &
close the gap
whole cannot be broken
down & built back up again
whole can be broken down
& built back up again

14. Testing
Cause & effect relationship is
obvious
Categorise
Automated
Cause & effect relationship
separated over space & time
Analyse
Scripted
No cause & effect relationships
perceivable
Act
WTF?!
Cause & effect relationship only
coherent in retrospect
Probe
Exploratory

15. Bugs
Cause & effect relationship is
obvious
Categorise
Clicking the button has no effect
Cause & effect relationship
separated over space & time
Analyse
Clicking the button opens the
wrong page
No cause & effect relationships
perceivable
Act
Clicking the button empties the
customers account
Cause & effect relationship only
coherent in retrospect
Probe
Clicking the button crashes the
site after 30 minutes

16. Development Activities

17. 1. Just about everyone in the world has done this
2. Lots of people have done this, including someone on our
team
3. Someone in our company has done this, or we have access
to expertise
4. Someone in the world did this, but not in our organisation
(and probably at a competitor)
5. Nobody in the world has ever done this before
Estimating Complexity
Courtesy of Liz Keogh

18. Estimating Complexity
5 4
3
2
1
Trying
things out
Breaking
things
down
Image Courtesy of Liz Keogh

19. Resources
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin
• http://www.duncannisbet.co.uk/cynefin-in-software-
testing
• http://www.duncannisbet.co.uk/cynefin-software-bugs
• http://lizkeogh.com/2013/07/21/estimating-complexity/
• http://cognitive-edge.com/blog/perspectives-on-cynefin/
• http://cognitive-edge.com/blog/some-thinking-about-
decisions/
• http://paul4innovating.com/2014/06/19/the-use-of-the-
cynefin-model-for-innovation/