Developing Product Review Practices (That Work) - Irja Straus

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Developing Product Review Practices (That Work) - Irja Straus
Have you ever wondered how you, as testers, could give a helping hand even before a single line of code is written?
In this talk, I will eat my own dog food and use my mistakes as examples to demonstrate why including (and accepting) a tester’s critical feedback helps to assess risks in a timely manner. I see the product with different eyes when I am in different roles. Whether I’m a product manager or tester, I have had different biases. This talk is also a story about the practices I use today when performing requirements and design reviews (or simply, product reviews). Those practices enable me to ask the right questions before development efforts have started and when it’s not (so) expensive to address them.
I will explain some of the heuristics I use to detect if there is a possibility of reinventing the wheel, having a “not great, not terrible” user experience in particular product areas, or is it too easy for a user to make an undoable mistake. The heuristics can also help in finding any vague or missing requirements, inconsistent rules and behaviors, and project and product risks. I like to use those heuristics as “conversation starters” to perform a risk-based product review, and this talk can also help you learn how to apply them to your contexts.
After listening to this story, I would like you to take home a few new tools in your toolbox that strengthen the testing skills which can be used when performing product reviews. Hopefully, my experience will inspire you to rethink the ways you can help and bring more value to your products and people.