A coworker and I decided to reward ourselves after a hard day’s work. You know – look for an oasis away from work where you can forget about everything for at least a little while.
We were in a steak house looking over a really great menu when we came across the 72 oz Steak Challenge. You have probably heard about these contests before, eat the whole thing and it's free. This was one of the most well defined contests I have ever seen. Seriously, just look at these rules:
You could not leave the table after the steak was delivered
It had to be cooked a certain way (no shrinkage allowed)
You had to eat two celery sticks, two olives, two carrots – I mean they defined exactly how many vegetables you had to eat in addition to the salad
You could have 10 french fries or a baked potato.
The minimum number and kinds of drink were defined
A choice of desert was offered but it had to be consumed
And of course there was a defined time limit
The environment was laid out; the rules of engagement, time frame, individual steps, and expected results were all there. The instructions were clearly outlined as to what had to be done. This was a true thing of beauty.
The only thing missing was how to record the failures. I mean they would take our picture if we completed the task successfully, but if we did not there was no recording of what went wrong and/or how to correct it for next time. In fact there is a limit to one attempt per patron – this was not to be a repeatable event.
This was a steak house, obviously their focus was going to different. Financially, I am sure they were kind sort of hoping that you did not pass their test, if you did they would make good on the challenge and it was all free, but if not, you paid for your meal.
With Workforce Central, tests should be designed to be repeatable. Our failures point to where our behaviors need to be changed
This is true both in the system configuration and the testing procedure.
The only thing the contest did not instruct you on, was how to physically walk to the car afterwards.
What are the requirements for a really good test script?