Meta pattern, consulting pattern Series

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it -- Albert Stein

Mode name

Meta pattern, Meta mode (meta mode is not a mode, but a mode called "meta)

Intention

By breaking through/beyond the current level of the problem, you can examine the problem from a broader perspective, so that you can still give your own judgment even if you are not familiar with the problem.

Motivation

At the customer's site, usually for the purpose of maximizing the use of value, consultants are often arranged to attend a meeting on a temporary basis to meet a team to solve a sudden problem and are expected to provide suggestions or solutions on the spot. in many cases, the main problems that the team and problem and consultant are hired and expected to solve are not very relevant,Therefore, in many cases, consultants are not fully prepared. How can we give appropriate and reasonable suggestions?

There are usually several methods.

First, make it clear that there is no preparation. You need to think about it before you can answer it. this is feasible, but it will undoubtedly reduce customer satisfaction and miss the opportunity to improve the customer, so unless there is no such method, it is not recommended.

Second, give your own judgment based on your own experience. this is also feasible. but the risk is applicability. any experience has applicable scenarios. in the past, a suitable solution may be inappropriate in the customer's scenario, especially when the customer's problem context is unfamiliar. therefore, you must clearly describe your own scenarios. Otherwise, the customer will feel unreliable, reduce Trust, and miss the opportunity to improve the customer.

Third, we usually accumulate more resources, observe the daily work of our customers, and make preparations at any time. This is what we do in any case, but it is impossible to cover all the situations.

We need a better method.

Solution

Einstein said that it is impossible for us to solve the problem at the same level of consciousness that produces the problem. This means we can find a higher level to help us better understand the problem and give a judgment.

For example, how can we determine whether a test case is written well? If you are not familiar with the field, the customer shows you the current test cases of the team and asks you to evaluate them.

There are at least two levels higher than the test case itself. One is the design of the test case, and the other is the test strategy. in terms of test case design, you can ask the customer how to ensure the comprehensiveness of the test case, for example, whether the Equivalent Class boundary value and other analysis methods are used, how to ensure the stability of test cases, such as whether data-driven testing is used. from the perspective of test policy, is the test case organized at a certain level? Is there a priority? What types of test coverage are used for different types of functions? How long does one even run different types of tests?

When you ask questions from these perspectives, customers are often inspired. They are no longer limited to the quality of a single test case, so that they can fully consider the testing strategy and other issues.

What should I do when the user asks you to evaluate the test policy? What is higher than the test policy level is the release policy, and what is higher than the release policy level is the business strategy...

Effect

• It usually helps customers find deeper problems.
• Improper grasp is easy to fall into empty talk. It is still necessary to accumulate and think more.

Known applications

• The example of the test case above is a real application.
• Another example is to be temporarily invited to a review meeting of a completely unfamiliar team and asked to give a comment at the end of the meeting. it can be evaluated from the perspective of the efficiency of the meeting and the team maturity of the Meeting atmosphere.

Pattern series:

• COC: context over code, coaching pattern Series
• SOS: story over solution, coaching pattern Series