Wrapping up a session
When I'm doing a 45 minute test session, I typically find that the last five minutes are reserved for wrap-up. Since I'm normally working with a timer of some sort, I'm normally aware of when I have five minutes to go. Typical activities for wrap-up include:
It looks like a lot, but most of the time it's about five minutes. If it runs over, that's fine of course. Technically my hands-on testing is done when I'm finished with the first bullet point. But I like to include all the other stuff in my time estimates (aka my session time) because I feel it's all important for the work I'm doing.
- finish what test or activity I'm in the middle of
- write down what I didn't get to that I think I want to come back to
- double check to make sure I have enough information for the bugs I need to log
- double check to make sure I captured all the relevant notes on test data for my session notes (which might mean saving a spreadsheet or something)
- clean up my test environment (if needed)
- stop my screen recording and save it off (if running)
- write down a couple notes about how I feel (did I need something I didn't have, energy level, frustrations, etc...)
It looks like a lot, but most of the time it's about five minutes. If it runs over, that's fine of course. Technically my hands-on testing is done when I'm finished with the first bullet point. But I like to include all the other stuff in my time estimates (aka my session time) because I feel it's all important for the work I'm doing.