Shift-left with early Model Based Testing (eMBT) ~short version~

The question is now whether this shift left movement is enough and whether we should not move even further to the left with our test activities. When you consider that almost 60% of all bugs in the production environment can be traced back to the requirements, this question is answered quickly. We should start testing the requirements! After all, the requirements are the basis for development and testing, so let’s make sure this basis is complete, unambiguous and clear to everyone before we start writing one line of code at all. If the basis is not clear or not everyone has the same understanding about this basis, then we know for sure that we will quickly introduce the first bugs in the code.

Early Model Based Testing (eMBT) can be the solution when it comes to start testing the requirements. If you break down the requirements by modeling them, you will quickly encounter ambiguities, contradictions, imperfections, etc. In addition, by modeling the requirements, you create a visual representation of the desired situation and we all know that a visual representation is much easier to read than a piece of text. A model therefore promotes communication between all team members and stakeholders with the aim of achieving a common understanding of the requirements as soon as possible.