Workshop Topic: Mental Models for Testers to improve decision-making skills

Testers who don’t think we’ll are similar to the fish out of the water. Good thinking is one of the fundamental skills of a skilled tester. If you can think well, you can test well. Great thinkers have consistently taken advantage of mental models – a representation of how something works. They understand the importance of reducing the chances of unforced errors and are aware of cognitive biases.

As testers also deal with biases, thinking, and uncertainty, it is an enriching experience to dive deep into diverse mental models and apply them in the testing contexts. There are multiple mental models testers might be applying subconsciously and this session intends to transition to consciously adding the mental model’s knowledge to the tester’s thinking toolkit.

This session is for:

• Hands-on testers to get better at decision making
• Leads and managers to solve problems by gaining multiple perspectives
• Anyone interested in improving their thinking process

Key takeaways

• Understand mental models
• Know a few mental models
• Discover their relation with testing
• Exercises and feedback on applying mental models in testing contexts