Communication - the better ways of doing it ...

So I've chewed out the "bad" ways we sometimes communicate - what are the good ways to do it?

The project I work on has got communication down to a T, and their rules are pretty good.  They call them Agile-ish or "pragmatic development".  Having got used to them, I find them pretty smart.

If you have a technical issue,

• try and find the person you need to chat with, and talk
• failing that, book a meeting
• or else phone them
• only if all the above fail, write an email
• if you write an email - no more than three paragraphs.  Keep it short and to the point.  No massive lists, no more than a few points.
• keep documentation brief and readable

We're trying to come up with new ways of displaying information.  For instance I have been talking with my Testing Learning partner from my old company.  We both have the same worries - you write your test plan, but does anyone read it?

A solution suggested from Agile Testing by Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory is to produce a 2-page test plan of the salient points.  What I've since been working on was an idea suggested by a couple of people from the Software Testing Club - a mind map!

Basically at the moment (it's a crutch I know) I'm still writing out my traditional 12 page test plan, but supporting it with an A3 mind map based on an structure provided by Ivor McCormack ...

It's truly a thing of beauty isn't it?

I've used this for two projects so far and been amazed - I put this in front of a manager or developer, and within a couple of minutes we're cutting to the chase, and discussing testing effort.  It's that intuitive and easy for another party to pick up - success!!!


My study partner has also seen this, and taken it to use on her project.  I'd like to take credit, but it's a collaborative effort, and proof how testers through the internet can share stories and education to help each other.


At the moment the traditional test plan exists in the background, but I'd like to eventually move to just a mind map.  I don't know if it's possible, but it would really ease things if we could.  Everyone seems to love them, and it takes 5 minutes to pick up vs hours of review!