Clausewitz and Testing
Using (okay, blatantly borrowing — quick, how smart is that from someone who is likely a lawyer?) Rob Robinson’s presentation entitled Clausewitz and eDiscovery….
Clausewitz and Testing
Who is Clausewitz?
Carl Phillip Gottfried von Clausewitz (1780 – 1831), Prussian soldier and intellectual
Clausewitz came from a middle-class social background, though his family claimed noble origins and these claims eventually received official recognition. He served as a practical field soldier (with extensive combat experience against the armies of the Revolutionary France), as a staff officer with political/military responsibilities at the very center of the Prussian state, and as a prominent military educator.
Clausewitz first entered combat as a cadet at the age of 13, rose to the rank of Major-General at 38 , married into the high nobility, moved in rarefied intellectual circles in Berlin, and wrote a book which has become the most influential work on military philosophy in the Western world.
That book, *On War* (in the original German, *Vom Kriege* has been translated into virtually every major language and remains a living influence on modern strategists in many files. *On War* serves as the basis for many of today’s modern principles of war.
What is war?
War is an act of violence (physical force) to compel our opponent to fulfil our will
Testing through the lens of “war”
Testing is the process of analysing, test execution, documentation of validation or verification defects and presentation of results of a software product to compel it to our required Quality levels.
Principles of War and their Application on Testing*
- Principle of Objective
War: Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective.
Testing: Direct every testing process at a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective. - Principle of Offensive
War: Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
Testing: Seize, retain and exploit the initiative in the analysis and test execution phases by pro actively taking advantage of advanced testing technologies. - Principle of Mass
War: Mass the effects of overwhelming combat power at a decisive place and time.
Testing: Mass the effects of all available testing capabilities to deliver results at the decisive place and time. - Principle of Economy of Force
War: Employ all combat power available in the most effective way possible; allocate minimum essential combat power for secondary action.
Testing: Employ all testing resources available in the most effective way possible; allocate minimum essential testing resources for secondary action. - Principle of Maneuver
War: Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power.
Testing: Place the product in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of testing resources. - Principle of Unity of Command
War: For every objective, seek unity of command and unity of effort
Testing: For every analysis or execution objective, seek unity of command and unity of effort. If at all possible, centralize testing processes under the leadership of one entity and have clear lines of delegation to subordinates. - Principle of Security
War: Never permit the enemy to acquire unexpected advantage
Testing: Never permit the product to acquire unexpected advantage through feature creep and unmonitored late additions to the codebase - Principle of Surprise
War: Strike the enemy at a time or place or in a manner for which he is unprepared.
Testing: Strike the product in a manner for which it is unprepared. - Principle of Simplicity
War: Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and concise orders to ensure thorough understanding.
Testing: Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and processes for all testing activities and provide concise guidance to all those involved in test execution for to ensure a thorough understanding.
Gives new meaning to “Attacking a product”.
*as defined by the U.S. Army Field Manual 100-5, 1994 (Unclassified)