IR4.0 - V&V/Testing (Part 3 of 3)

"Testing is driven by risk and the associated application of other V&V methods applied. Even then V&V as a whole does not prove a subject to be error free." - J.Durant

What does testing mean to you and how well do you do it? These very simple questions often result in some very real awareness as to how good testing is as a discipline. Without delving into a full expose on testing practices and processes let's consider a few realities.

1. Testing isn't an event taking place after technical implementation but rather starts at the onset and continues through to subsequent evolutionary stages,
2. Progressive testing sets value in preventing defects from occurring, detecting when they happen and confirms that they have been appropriately rectified,
3. Testing does not prevent all defects not does it insure a solution to be defect free,
4. Testing is a part of the software engineering discipline and therefore responsibility for appropriate delivery remains within the management of the discipline,
5. Testing is more than finding bugs but also using this knowledge, and
6. Testing commands a intellectual competency alert to causes, effects and prediction as to impact.

In short testing plays a pivotal role in everything we do on both a professional and a personal basis. It permits us a degree of comfort that what we have is suitable for advancement or use. But remember it is not a certainty of perfection even when the amount of test effort exceeds to the level exercised in the creation of the solution.

Bad testing

Testing can produce false results and these can be trusted beyond what is reasonable. In some ways bad testing is worse that no testing. At least with no testing you know that there are risks but with bad testing we are lulled into a false sense of security. For many years advances have been made in testing. We have gone from adhoc testing to using pragmatic structured approaches. We have taken steps to apply automation to support efforts and to provide efficient coverage to meet rapid deployment situations. What remains is still allot of misconceptions about how to manage and carryout the testing tasks. So on one hand we have advanced intellectually but their remains those that continue to operate in an old school fashion. That is... throw tests at the solution, hoping to find problems, unable to explicitly show the depth/breath of testing, report success based on defects found and what coverage has been accomplished, restraining tests to a phase after construction and not taking advantage of early prevention capabilities, and testing beyond a sound return on investment (either because of low assurance gains or excessive problems existing... testing is not debugging).

IR4.0 Play

As seen in previous discussions (Parts 1 & 2 of 3 relating to V&V) there is a role to play in every solution deployment we have. Whether this be a new solution situation or one that would be considered as a DevOps (maintenance) scenario. The power of V&V is not in the belief that we must do it, but in the realization that it is an essential part in proving that the solution fulfills desires. These desires illustrate a fulfillment of purpose for all parties, internal and external.

In the IR4.0 condition we face some unique challenges.

• Involvement of non-traditional technologies that result in non-traditional practices needing to be applied,
• Present practices are challenged by these IR4.0 elements because they are unique and also practices are often of marginal value,
• Numerous questions remain and in many cases our intellectual paradigms are being challenged. Thus we must deliberate and reconcile with the present what is needed and how this will affect the technology. As an example, analytics in its simplest form is reports but developing the model further we must consider two added levels of application... prediction and preemptive. This brings to mind new questions concerning approach, data sanitation, access and proactive derived result protection,
• Business in a state of transition. A green field condition exists in which existing situations command a re-visitation. The use of new technologies apply old paradigms introduces the potential for missed opportunities operationally and competitively, and
• IR4.0 challenges us to look beyond internal-ism to a much broader global participation. It is through this rethinking that a determination is made as to scope. From this scope our testing (actually all of V&V) will be formed in similar fashion.

Testing serves as a capstone in clarity by bringing together all of the elements of V&V. It takes it from concept, to ambitions, from ambitions to formation, and from formations to delivery while being vigilantly adopting a forward level of ongoing involvement. This mindset is necessary for all elements in IR4.0 in both an individual and connected forms.

Conclusion

Testing is based on onset involvement, parallel participation, scoped based on risk and the application of other V&V tools, and is particularly important to unique emerging technologies. But we must also consider one added element and that is the matter of transitioning. In a rush to deploy technologies the dance is clumsy when it comes to advancing from where we are to where we want to be. There are steps that need to be taken to avoid problem gaps,

• Address open issues in existing technologies,
• Audit of existing technologies with a clear design thinking (not a replication approach),
• Consideration given to early test participation and the asking "allot of probing questions",
• Preparing participating technologies for future deployments (including the continued service level support for existing solutions). But in addition consideration must be given to preparing the people including customers. BE ALERT that we are not talking about advance awareness but rather changing habits and practices, and
• Allocating education and research time necessary to better understand and to sanity check our decisions moving forward.

IR4.0 (and its various elements) require V&V to remove uncertainty and to provide a level of operating comfort that solutions will not inject unnecessary risk.

This concludes (somewhat) discussions relating to IR4.0 Verification & Validation (V&V). The focus is on solution qualification in a disruptive and dramatic dynamic. In some ways it is an opportunity for an intelligent adaptive changeover. Its with this opportunity that necessitates the role that V&V plays. There will be one more presentation, called a CAPSTONE, that will delve into a few of those begging questions relative to IR4.0. A slightly deeper slice will be cut into some of the elements and what considerations must be given.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss this (or any) of the other previous presentations contact us at [email protected]