5 Lateral Thinking Strategies to Uncover Hidden Bugs

Thinking outside the box is a vital skill for testers. Often, we become trapped in conventional linear thinking, which causes us to rely on old patterns and view situations the same way we always have.

For instance, when faced with a failed login attempt during testing, a linear thinker might think only of incorrect credentials, overlooking other possibilities. They might focus on verifying input fields and error messages without considering other scenarios, such as server timeouts, expired session tokens, or backend misconfigurations.

Lateral thinking looks beyond conventional traditional problem-solving methods and encourages us to have fresh perspectives that enable us to question long-held assumptions and discover innovative solutions as testers.

Lateral thinking is a key skill that should be in a tester's toolkit.

What is lateral thinking?

Lateral thinking refers to the creative exploration of an idea, requirement, or information from various perspectives to uncover additional variables and insights related to initial information.

For instance, debugging the login issue could mean exploring logs, testing alternative accounts, or simulating network conditions to identify the root cause. This is the complete opposite of linear thinking, which relies on predefined rules and habitual patterns and is useful for routine situations

Limitations of Linear Thinking for Testers

Testers often face complex, ambiguous challenges that require creative, outside-the-box thinking and a fresh perspective.

Let's take Spotify as an example. Habitual users might play the same playlists or recommendations, which is fine. However, an exploratory user seeking new songs presents different scenarios. As testers, if we were to focus only on routine use, we risk overlooking the explorer persona, falling into the trap of linear thinking.

Conventional or linear thinking can lead to wrong prioritization of test scenarios, interpretation of results, or looking at an obvious bug in a non-contextual way and making quick judgments. To create more inclusive and effective products that our users love, we must be aware of the biases caused by conventional thinking.

So, how can we break free from conventional thinking patterns? Let's consider five strategies.

Strategies to break the conventional thinking patterns

Change the frame of reference

To generate new ideas and perspectives, we need to step outside our mental comfort zones. Changing our frame of reference enables us to consider different angles, uncover unexpected outcomes, and create innovative scenarios to test.

I often refer to the practice of "reverse thinking" or inversion for this. This approach involves envisioning solving the problem in reverse, starting from the outcome. Let's consider the Spotify example again.

Instead of testing from the user's perspective of finding new songs, consider scenarios where the system might prevent or limit discovery for a user. For example, what happens when the algorithm always suggests the same songs because of limited data points?

By doing this, you can identify scenarios where the Spotify recommendation fails to meet user expectations.

Challenging Questions

Asking questions is the best way to stimulate creativity.

As testers, we cannot fall into the trap of assumptions; we need to ask more to clarify things. I often encourage my team to adopt a child's curiosity while testing, continuously asking questions as kids do until they gain a deep understanding.

Instead of asking, "How can we test it faster?" We can ask, "Why do we assume this can be tested faster?" This type of questioning enables us to consider environment dependencies, test data, requirement gaps, and other factors. It encourages reevaluation of our assumptions about what is essential and enables us to consider other factors, such as quality, reliability, and long-term impact.

To ask challenging questions, you can use "why," "what if," and "how". I recommend using more "whys". These questions push us beyond obvious answers and invite us to explore new possibilities.

Break thought patterns

We rely on habitual thought patterns as they provide comfort.

These patterns help us make quick, automated decisions, but they limit our creativity. An effective strategy for breaking thought patterns is to explore analogies and metaphors. We can make unexpected connections, leading to new perspectives simply by relating a problem to something different. We could also find "random connections" to combine diverse elements to generate new testing ideas.

To break thought patterns, though, we must be curious and open-minded. We need to be open to exploring new areas of knowledge, conducting a competitor analysis, and examining a product coverage outline with diverse perspectives.

Encourage collaboration and diversity

Working with individuals from different backgrounds, skills, and experiences generates more ideas. This is why software development is often referred to as a "social activity."

We expand our mental toolkit by working with individuals with different specialised knowledge. For example, a UX designer can use user interviews to provide valuable insights and help testers design more effective usability tests. Working with diverse teams enables us to overcome ingrained biases and stereotypes. In my organization, we promote collaboration through brainstorming sessions, bug bashes, and testing parties.

By having individuals from different specialisations actively participate, we gain more insights into solving problems.

Practice creativity

Many people believe creativity is an innate gift. On the contrary, it can be developed through practice.

By dedicating time to stimulating our imagination through visual techniques such as diagrams and mind maps, we can recognize patterns and connections that might otherwise go unnoticed. I also recommend keeping an idea journal. I use my idea journal to write thoughts, observations, momentary ideas, and concepts that arise throughout the day. This becomes a source of inspiration when I seek creative solutions.

If we simply keep things in mind, they may be forgotten. However, using an idea journal enables us to revisit them later, raising curiosity and inspiring creative solutions to problems.

Applying Lateral Thinking in Daily Testing Practices

The ultimate goal of exploring lateral thinking is to use these frameworks to make better decisions as a tester. This approach helps you to:

• Pause and avoid jumping to conclusions
• Understand the mental biases that distort your thinking
• Generate better ideas by avoiding assumptions and focusing on facts

Remember that lateral thinking requires practice and perseverance. Slowly embrace this mindset and be open to new possibilities.

References

1. Critical Thinking for Testers by Michael Bolton
2. Lateral Thinking by Bono Edward De
3. Mental Models by Farnam Street
4. The Hidden Logic of Thinking for Testers