Automation Strategy (Email): Assertion Messages Should Be UNMISTAKABLY Clear

Hey Team,

I put A’s 2.35 execution report in the wiki and it looks great, but I want to say something about being unmistakably clear when talking about correct vs incorrect system behavior.

Unmistakable clarity is being so clear that there is no way anyone could misunderstand the message.  It is being so clear that if someone was intentionally trying to misrepresent or twist your words into another meaning, they would be unable to do so.

For issue #8, A says:

Heart(add to saved items) icon for the eGiftCard. [7th screen]

But to someone who is not familiar with this particular feature, it is not clear what this means.  I have seen this for many years in test automation, specifically in the test pass/fail message at the end of the test.  Some examples at Under Armour are:

• “Points earned amount is present!”
• “Some items are checked from WHO DO YOU FOLLOW items”
• “Product is found!”
• “Search results are empty” 

The messages in our automation are actually pretty good, but it’s better to be like a real bug report and give expected results and actual results.  I am NOT saying we should refactor our code, but going forward, I would prefer to see error messages like:

• “Points earned amount should not be present but is!”
• “No items from WHO DO YOU FOLLOW should be checked but some are”
• “Product should not be found but it is!”
• “Search results should not be empty but they are”

This may seem excessive, but if 5 extra seconds of work can save some else (possibly you?) 2 minutes in the future, it is worth it.

Email: Unmistakable Clarity

Hey Team,

I have talked about "unmistakable clarity" before.  It is very important to me that we all understand each other perfectly.  There is a language barrier because your English is not perfect.  I am not complaining because I ONLY speak English (and a little Spanish).

So, I just want to say that if I ask for more explanation, don't take it personally.  And on the other hand, you can always ask me to be more clear or to talk more slowly.  I want to give a couple examples that cause a lot of confusion.  A LOT of people who speak English perfectly do this:

• "I was talking to John and Ted about the issue, he told me that it was resolved."
• He = John? 
• He = Ted?
• "I was working on issue A last week and then started work on issue B.  It took extra time, so issue C will be late."
• It = issue A
• It = issue B?
• "I talked to John on Monday and Ted on Tuesday about the issue last week.  We decided the issue was closed."
• We = you and John?
• We = you and Ted?
• We = you and John and Ted?

It, he, she, we, they... these words are called pronouns.  Sometimes they are fine to use and there is no chance for confusion.  But sometimes they can cause confusion, and in this case it’s better to just repeat yourself by saying "I talked to John on Monday and Ted on Tuesday about the issue last week.  Ted and I decided the issue was closed."  It sounds kind of dumb but I still do it because I know it’s the smart thing to do.

And again, any time I’m not being clear, please let me know and I will explain more.