Critical Thinking for Consultants

How to get answers to hard questions without being too annoying. You will need to be quite annoying. If

there is shouting and/or physical violence, you’ve gone too far. I know, I dance along the line of annoyance on

a daily basis.

Or

Breaking the ice....So far this week:• How many of you have challenged a commonly

held assumption in your industry/area of expertise?

• How many of you have proved an assumption made on your project to be true or false using quantitative or qualitative evidence?

• How many of you have asked someone to explain a term they have used?

What is it anyway? Surely I should learn Java or something instead?

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.

That’s a bit much. Its really about asking questions. I prefer.........

The right of a human to ask really stupid or really clever questions, as themselves or as someone else, about whatever the subject is, is not, could or should be, at precisely the right or precisely the wrong time, depending on who (or what) the question is aimed at.

Why is it so important to us testers? To put it another way. Are you a......

Thinking skills (inside or outside of boxes) are what set great testers apart from a good testers.

Zombie Tester?-Embarrassed to say when you don’t understand something.-Accept the decisions made around you without a peep, even when you think its flawed or plain misguided.-Paralysed by a lack of functional or technical documentation. Willing to ‘sit tight’ until documentation appears. Which is rare. -Write tests which don’t really prove anything, as long as they follow requirements.-Use the same tools and techniques for every problem and rarely reach outside of your comfort zone.

Thinking Tester?-Read/write/talk/argue about testing based on an opinion formed within the confines of your own brain, given voice in the wider world to be challenged.-Challenge assumptions and commonly held beliefs. -Try something new, without fear of failure, knowing that you will learn something regardless.-See testing as experimentation, to gather insight and information.-Actively improves the business value of the product and contributes to the overall success of the project.

So you want me to ask questions. How do I get started?

Techniques to Gather Data

Know your target audience....• Really sorry in advance, you’ll need to speak to people. I know, I know you

didn’t get into IT so you would have to deal with humans.• Who are the actors/stakeholders?• What do they want?• What do they need? • What do they fear?• What is the number one thing that motivates them? Make them choose!• How do they react when they don’t get what they want?• Are they invested or just interested?• Are they positive influences or negative influences?• Do they want change? Or do they resist?• Are they open to new ideas? Or have they made their minds up?• Put yourself in their shoes when asking/answering questions. Not literally.

Know your heuristics....Key part of your testers toolkit:• Building knowledge

collaboratively, not just locked in a document.

• Get stakeholders involved, more than just your brain in gear.

• Looking at risk as a group and applying thought to test coverage

• Teach you how to solve non linear problems. Such as no requirements being available, knowledge locked in peoples heads etc....

Turn it into a game....• Critical thinking does not have to be a super serious

scientific endeavour. Get a group together and have some fun with the issue at hand.

• Tour guide for an alien:Explain to someone with no appreciation of the basic tenets of the issue at hand. Challenges all the concepts associated with a system under test for example, as no knowledge is assumed at all.

• Fact or fiction:Lots of people make statements about a product or system. Prove them right or wrong, as your sources of information bring both conscious and subconscious agendas.

I’ve asked loads of questions, now what?

Techniques to Analyse Data

Change the angle of approach..• Number 1 piece of advice!• Consider the horizontal and vertical aspects of the issue at hand. • If the linear doesn’t tell you anything, try the non linear.• Remember your limitations – who you asked, how their needs and wants

skew your data, your own bias gets in the way too!• Scale up and down with your analysis – helicopter and in the weeds.• Ask what would happen if we didn’t test this. What would the impact be?• Ask what the ideal resolution to an issue or challenge is. Remove peoples

minds/your own mind from the day to day.• This is a key facilitation technique – if the conversation is blocked, change

the angle!

Get to the heart of the matter...Root Cause Analysis Full Spectrum Thinking

Cause and Effect Get to Know Your Risk

Now, the bit for us Consultancy types• Critical Thinking can be seen as:

– Annoying– Obstructive– Counter-productive

• Some clients will love it!• Some clients will hate it. And you for doing it.• Some clients will tell you they love it and secretly hate

you for doing it.• Some people will think you are picking on them, if you

constantly question their ideas and motivations.

Deliver evenly, without relish...• No maniacal smiles while you deliver yet

another hammer blow to someone’s confidence.

• Remember, people are inherently irrational, try and provoke thoughtful responses, not negative ones.

• Be a facilitator, you want the information and the right result, not to impose your will on others.

Get your timing right.....• It doesn’t mean

procrastinate over every decision! Balance thought with action.

• Big stupid questions at the start of the project please, when there is (real) scope to do something about it.

• If you don’t know something, speak up!

• Don’t wait until........

Questions? I should hope so, if not I'll

be very judgmental.