TR3: Test Results: Reporting & Responding


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Test results may be reported "hot" or "cold": immediate alert, or well organized test report. The mode depends on the tested system and on the identified problem. Likewise for response, it might be immediate or slow, deep and considerate.

One must be mindful that testers may be subject to pressure to hide discovered ill performance. The identified problem has a good chance not be discovered by the client, the user, so why bother? Identifying the problem will embarrass the system designers, planners, or coders. In some cases it may make sense to change the design even the requirement to accommodate a de facto system reality, but in other cases hiding a problem may cause great damage down the road. Testers must be trained and injected with moral fortitude to speak up.

The flip side of the 'flaw hiding' issue is the 'hyping trivia' phenomenon. Testers stand a temptation to claim recognition by spotting an issue which is minor, but they describe it as critical -- another temptation to avoid.

Response to testing results may also be subject to psychological pressures: from pooh-poohing a finding, to hype and panic. Responders should nominally secure several response options for each identified testing issue, and for each solution option, it is necessary to develop a credible estimate of cost and schedule. This plus the probability of each option to solve the identified problem should lead to a most rational action plan.