[ELVIS MAO]: My name is Elvis Mao. I am the head of engineering. I really appreciate you coming here on such short notice. We are excited to interview you. Based upon your qualifications, you look like a perfect fit for this test development position.
[JOHNNY]: That’s wonderful to hear.
[ELVIS MAO]: I can’t tell you what the company does until you sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Unfortunately, we ran out of forms. Pam, our office administrator, is at Kinko’s right now making more copies. She should be back in an hour or so. We can do one of two things. We can postpone this interview or we can just start now and when Pam returns we can fill you in with the details about our company.
[JOHNNY]: Since I am already here, why don’t we just start with the interview?
[ELVIS MAO]: Great. Let’s begin. I am going to take notes if you don’t mind.
[JOHNNY]: Please do.
The manager picks up a pencil and holds it in front of Johnny’s face.
[ELVIS MAO]: What am I holding?
[JOHNNY]: A pencil.
[ELVIS MAO]: Yes. How would you test this pencil?
Johnny knew this question all too well. It’s the proverbial “How would you test this thingy” question. Sometimes the thingy would be a soda can. Sometimes it would be a pair of sunglasses. Once an interviewer took off his shoes and asked Johnny how he would validate them with and without the laces. The purpose of these kinds of questions is to see if the interviewee can think like a real tester on his feet even for simple, uninteresting subjects such as pencils and shoes. Johnny was a pro at this kind of questioning. He would never start with test cases, like most rookies. Instead, he would begin with a test plan.
[JOHNNY]: First, I would gather requirements for a test plan.
[ELVIS MAO]: Good thinking. What would you put in that test plan?
[JOHNNY]: If your company has a template, then I would organize the test plan according to that template.
[ELVIS MAO]: What if we don’t have test plan template. How would you make your own test plan?
[JOHNNY]: I wouldn’t make my own test plan.
[ELVIS MAO]: You wouldn’t? Why not?
[JOHNNY]: I would rather leverage the IEEE test plan template. Why reinvent the wheel? By doing this, I would save your company time and money.
[ELVIS MAO]: That’s efficient. Then describe to me in as much detail possible the IEEE test plan template.
[JOHNNY]: It would contain an introduction, test items, software risk issues, features to be tested, pass and fail criteria…
For the next hour, Johnny thoroughly described the IEEE plan. He knew it by heart. Elvis Mao kept careful notes of Johnny’s comments.
[ELVIS MAO]: Well, I think we exhausted the test plan question. Now, let’s go back to my original question. How would you test this pencil?
At this point, Johnny knew that he had to come up with an endless supply of test cases. A rookie would run out of ideas rather quickly, but Johnny could go on forever.
[JOHNNY]: I would test the pencil to see if it writes. If the pencil has an eraser, then I would test that eraser. I would stress test the pencil. I would sharpen it with an electric sharpener, a hand sharpener, and with a dull knife. I would write on all kinds of surfaces, hard, soft, wet, dry, rough, smooth, etc. I would look for safety defects. I would search for misspellings on the label. I would …
For the next hour or so, Johnny lists hundreds of test cases. Elvis Mao fills two notebook tablets with all the things Johnny talked about. Just then, Pam, the administrative assistant, walks in with a NDA form for Johnny to sign.
[ELVIS MAO]: Thanks, Pam. Johnny please initial here, here, and here and sign your name over there.
Johnny signs the NDA.
[ELVIS MAO]: Johnny, I first want to say how impressed I am with your expertise in testing. As the head of engineering, I have worked with many testers over the years. I can honestly say though that I have never meant anyone as knowledgeable as you are in the fields of quality assurance and testing.
[JOHNNY]: I am pleased to hear that.
[ELVIS MAO]: Now that you have signed the NDA, I can tell you what we do, but I think you already know.
[JOHNNY]: Know what?
[ELVIS MAO]: What we do.
[JOHNNY]: No. I don’t.
[ELVIS MAO]: Well, you have been talking about it for the past few hours.
[JOHNNY]: Pencils?
[ELVIS MAO]: That’s right. We are a pencil design and manufacturing company.
[JOHNNY]: Pencils?
[ELVIS MAO]: Yes, we like to think of ourselves as the Nike of Pencils. “Just Doodle It”. Clever?
[JOHNNY]: Yes, clever. So do I get the job?
[ELVIS MAO]: Normally, I would say yes, but you did such a wonderful job during the interview that I no longer need a tester. I have a complete test plan already. It’s the notes that I took during our interview.
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