The impact of detecting a bug late in the delivery cycle

The impact of detecting a bug late in the delivery cycle can be best illustrated with this short joke:

Once upon a time, in a jungle there lived a strong and cruel lion. He would hunt and kill animals at random to satisfy his own sadistic pleasure rather than his hunger. All the forest animals lived in perpetual fear of the lion. This cruel and reckless killing went on and on until one day, when the Lion was sleeping all the other animals mustered courage and gathered for a meeting.

“This simply cannot go on!”, the wise old Elephant trumpeted. “We cannot continually live in fear of of the lion. We have to find a solution.”

All the animals in the gathering nodded in assent.

“The Elephant speaks the truth.”, the Giraffe said. “Let’s get our heads together!”

“Let’s set a trap for the Lion in the forest and kill him”, the monkey said.

“Let’s seal off the entrance to his cave. He’ll remain trapped inside and die of hunger and thirst.”, the deer suggested.

The Elephant shook his head. “All that you have suggested has been tried before. The Brute is too strong to be trapped inside. He will simply dig his way out and continue his evil deeds. He is also too cunning and shrewd and can smell any trap.”, he replied sadly.

“What do you suggest then?”, the Wild Buffalo asked.

The Elephant replied, “I have thought about it long and hard. There is only one way. It’s not an easy solution, but it will guarantee that all in the forest will live in peace at least.”

With bated breath the animals waited for the pachyderm to announce his solution.

“I propose that we request the lion to kill one chosen animal each day instead of him killing all of us randomly and indiscriminately. That way only one animal has to die and the rest of us can continue living in peace. We can draw lots and choose the animal from amongst us.”, the Elephant said.

With no better solution in sight, the other animals agreed to his plan. Trembling with fear, they went to the Lion’s cave to put forth their request.

The Lion, fresh after a good sleep was surprised to see the entire forest gather in front of him when he stepped outside.

“Aha!”, he roared. “Today my food has found me, saving me the trouble to search.”

The Elephant mustered courage and addressed the Lion thus, “O Mighty King of Beasts! In the past few years, none of us have been able to escape your cruelty. We live in constant fear of being hunted by you. Our lives and daily routines are in shambles. We cannot continue living like this. Therefore, for the good of the jungle and all those who live in it, we have a proposition for you. Please hear us out. We beg you agree to it.”

The Lion stifled a yawn and said, “Ok, go ahead!”

The Elephant outlined his proposition while all the other animals listened on eagerly.

Finally, when the Elephant was done explaining his solution, the Lion thought for a while.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity for the other animals he said, “I agree!”

The announcement brought loud cheer from the gathered crowd.

The Lion waited for the cheers to subside and then said, “But, I have one condition.”

Silence fell across the crowd, each animal wondering what condition the Lion wanted, worried whether they would be able to fulfill it or not.

“Name it!”, the Elephant said.

The Lion said, “I will tell you a joke. My condition is that all the animals HAVE to laugh. If I see anyone not laughing, the agreement becomes null and void and I will resume my old ways.”

Relieved, all the animals nodded in assent. The Lion started his joke. It was a PJ and probably one of the lousiest jokes they had ever heard. But when he was done, all the animals broke out into hilarious laughter. Even the crocodiles suppressed their tears and were rolling on the ground laughing their head off.

The Lion surveyed the crowd to check if any animal was not laughing, but could find none. But just as he was about to turn away, in the corner he noticed a tortoise peering outside it’s shell. The tortoise looked around grim and serious, probably wondering what the commotion was all about.    

“Aha! I see one animal not laughing to my joke.”, he said pointing to the tortoise. “The agreement is now null and void. I shall resume my old ways again”, the Lion roared.

The animals angrily glared at the tortoise which innocently went inside its’ shell, totally oblivious to the situation.

Once again, the Lion resumed it’s old cruel ways. But the next day, the animals gathered outside the Lion’s cave again and one more put forth their proposition. The Lion agreed but with the same condition as before. This second joke was even more stale and lousy than the first one, but all the animals put up a brave front and laughed their head off. All, except the tortoise which once again grimly stared outside his shell, a dead serious expression on his face. Once again, the Lion noticed the Tortoise and pointed it out with devilish glee. All the animals looked daggers at the amphibian which, oblivious to the hostility directed at it slunk back inside its’ shell.

And yet again, the lion resumed it’s cruel ways. But after a few days, the animals gathered again outside the Lions’ den to make the same request. This time they did not tell the tortoise as they feared it would spoil the show again. But the tortoise got wind of the plan and followed them at a distance.

But this time, the Lion had a different condition.

“I will tell you a story. All of you will have to CRY at this one. This is your last and final chance. If you screw up I will get back to my old ways and this time, no one will stop me!”, the Lion roared.

Terrified, the animals waited till the Lion completed his story. When he was done, they started bawling shamelessly. The Hyena came out of his comfort zone and really cried his heart out. Loud sounds of tears and crying could be heard from all sides. The Lion did a careful survey to check for any defaulters. And to his surprise, this time he saw the tortoise rolling over in his shell, LAUGHING away to glory.

Enraged, he roared, “THIS IS AN INSULT! THE DEAL’S OFF!” pointing towards the amphibian.

Dismayed, the animals looked at the direction the Lion was motioning and noticed the tortoise laughing.

Once again, oblivious to the situation around him, the tortoise innocently said between laughs, “That first PJ was hilarious!”  

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Here are some lessons from this joke:


Hope you enjoyed the joke and more so, the meaning I tried to convey through it. Detecting a major bug very late in the delivery cycle can cost a lot to fix in terms of effort, quality and not to mention frayed tempers and overall project health. So as a good tester, it's of paramount importance to prioritize your tests and make sure the critical scenarios are covered first to reduce risks.

Happy testing !!

Cheers,

Srinivas Addanki