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Further Reading


Oh yes, this test manager knows how to make his team have fun and my annual Christmas event has become legendary for the enjoyment level of its participants. Not least because I haven't yet repeated the cake testing task of that very first year. And if you'd like to join in the good times, here's the most recent instalment.
After reading the latest management BS (that's Brilliant Science, y'know) book the QA manager mailed round the following to the product development team, convinced that in doing so he'd be making informed staff happy staff. He was also secretly beginning to use the third person to refer to himself in order to increase their level of respect for the QA manager. (That's psychology, that is.)
The Dev Manager and QA Manager watched the team progress with Bugzilla statistics by using the XML API biweekly. They should be against bug fix data which does not provide quality insight. 
Unfortunately, the QA manager hasn't spotted that his message's multiple meanings obscure any benefit there might once have been to its circulation. Help him to see the error of his ways by identifying as many sources of ambiguity and/or alternative interpretations of the statement as you can.
  • All interpretations must be agreed as reasonable readings for a native English speaker
  • There is a time limit of 10 minutes. 
I've put the readings we came up with in the comments.
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Comments

James Thomas said…
Dev Manager and QA Manager is one person or two?

"Watched" literally or metaphorically?

"progress" means advance or just movement?

"progress" is a noun or a verb?

"statistics" is attached to the team or Manager(s)?

Ditto "XML API"?

Ditto "biweekly"?

"biweekly" is every two weeks or twice per week?

"They" are Dev/QA Managers; developers; both; statistics?

"against" means "based on" or "antagonistic towards" or "leaning on"?

"They" are "against" all bug fix data, or just that which doesn't provide insight?

Are "they" after "insight into quality" or "high quality insight"?

Should "should be" be read as "expect that they already are" or "know that they aren't and want them to be"?

"bug fix data" could be "[bug fix] data" or "bug [fix data]"

"Dev", "QA" abbreviations could stand for all sorts of things

"weekly", "Bugzilla" could be interpreted as proper names (at a bit of a stretch)
January 9, 2013 at 8:46 PM

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