A Dev's Guide to Demoing

No matter where you are, at some point your work is going to have to be demonstrated to other people. Instead of having your BA or QA or even PO demo it, wouldn't it be easier to just demo it yourself? But, having to present in front of people is a little scary. Indeed it is but there are some tips and tricks that you could learn to very easily put into practice to help you be able to eliminate that fear and be a demoing machine. In this session, we are going to go over the basics on how to run a good demo. Tips and tricks on what to show and how to show off what you've done, and even some hints as to how to run a demo in different ways depending on your audience. It's never going to be easy to give a demo but with a few tips and tricks, we can work on making any demo more successful.

(Code PaLOUsa 2020)

Transcript

1. A Dev's Guide to Demoing @theqadiva | Code PaLOUsa
3. @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0 Before we begin WHY IS DEMOING SUCH A BIG DEAL? How else will everyone know that you just created something really cool? How will you show off? Demoing is our opportunity to show off our work but also to get feedback so that we know if we got it right or what we need to adjust to make it better.
4. @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0 Who I Am AMANDA PERKINS QA Engineer
5. DEMOS ARE IMPORTANT Demos are important for all levels of your company. @ T H E Q A D I V A | @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
6. @ T H E Q A D I V A | Knowing your audience will direct how you should demo.. YOU DON'T WANT TO BE OVERLY TECHNICAL IF THE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM WON'T UNDERSTAND IT @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
7. BUSINESS TEAM They have definite ideas on what they want but aren't overly technical. QUALITY TEAM They know how the system works now and will think outside the box - somewhat technical. DEVELOPERS They do what you do. They know what the code looks like and how it should work - highly technical. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE @ T H E Q A D I V A | @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
8. WHAT CAN GO WRONG, WILL GO WRONG... ESPECIALLY AT DEMO TIME. PONDER ON THIS - MURPHY'S LAW OF DEMOS @ T H E Q A D I V A | @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
9. What could go wrong? THE ENVIRONMENT IS DOWN Inevitably, your local env isn't working... CAN'T ACCESS THE INTERNET OH NO!! The wifi is down and there's no ethernet cord! THE BA/QA WON'T BE ABLE TO DEMO IT AFTER ALL You mean I have to do this myself?! @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
10. @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 You've spent all day working on code for that bug on your local environment. Now it's time for demo and there's no way you can use your local. What do you do? @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
11. @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 Demo in an env DID YOUR CODE MAKE IT TO DEV/QA/STAGE? WHERE IS YOUR CODE RIGHT NOW? What env did your code for this feature get deployed to? Is it in dev? Is the QA env cleaner and better to show off? WHY IS THIS A BIG DEAL? There's nothing worse than fumbling around trying to find something. If your code is in a lower env, go there and show it off. @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
12. @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 Great....the wifi is just terrible in this room and there's no ethernet cord (or your laptop doesn't have an ethernet port). Everything for this demo is on the internet...what do you do? @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
13. @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 Have your demo pre- recorded on your desktop HAVING IT ALREADY RECORDED AND ON YOUR DESKTOP WILL ENSURE THAT YOU CAN DEMO FROM ALMOST ANYWHERE @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
14. PRE-RECORD YOUR DEMO There's nothing worse than getting to where you are going to demo and either you don't have the wifi creds or the wifi just won't work. Why not have it already recorded and on your desktop for easy viewing? @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
15. SOME TOOLS @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 WINDOWS 10 GAME BAR Windows + G will open the game bar. From here you can make video recordings with or without audio recordings. ACTIVEPRESENTER Available for Windows and Mac. Free to use. Will have to download additional software for audio recording capabilities QUICKTIME PLAYER Go into the application and launch the player. Open a new recording and record on your computer OBS STUDIO Can be used on Windows, Mac and Linux. Free to use. Can record audio. No edit function and beginning users may find it difficult to use. @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
16. @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 The BA/QA isn't available to present this for you. You're going to have to get in front of the team, the business team, and/or the QA team and present what you've created. You've never done this before...what do you do?! @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
17. @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 You're going to have to demo on your own IT'S NOT SO BAD...YOU CODED IT, YOU CAN SHOW IT OFF @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
18. Take a couple minutes and explain the issue from the ticket EXPLAIN THE ISSUE Open up the application and show the issue that caused someone to create the ticket SHOW THE ISSUE Tell all about how you came up with the solution and why it's optimal EXPLAIN SOLUTION This is where you show off what you've done. You spent the time creating, now show it SHOW SOLUTION @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 WHAT TO REMEMBER @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
19. THERE'S MORE TO A DEMO THAN JUST SHOWING OFF Presentation Tips THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT DEMOING @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
20. What to remember ABOUT PRESENTING IN FRONT OF PEOPLE REMOTE TEAM If someone has called in for the demo, speak clearly and loudly so that everyone can hear you SCREENSHARE If you are screensharing, move through the screen slower than normal; allow for lag BE CONFIDENT Seems silly but walking confidently into a demo willl go far in showing that you know that you've done well PRACTICE Really....practice what you want to show and what you want to say. Have your QA/BA be your audience BREATHE Yup...don't forget to take a breath once in a while. Speak slowly and take deep breaths. @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
21. YOU'VE GOT THIS You've done the work; you understand what it was before so you can confidently show what you've done now @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
22. IT'S TIME FOR A LITTLE FEEDBACK FROM THE AUDIENCE. I'VE FINISHED THE DEMO, NOW WHAT? @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
23. Feedback TAKE IT FROM YOUR AUDIENCE. ALLOW FOR SOME QUESTIONS The people in the room are going to ask something, be ready for almost anything REMEMBER YOUR AUDIENCE You tweaked your demo to your audience, make sure you remember your audience when it comes to how you answer your questions @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
24. NON-TECHNICAL If your demo is for the non- technical side of your team, keep your answers as non- technical as you can. Keep your answers concise and understandable. Most of these questions revolve around the user experience. TESTERS This group is going to grill you the hardest. They will come up with some of the most insane edge cases possible. Do your best to address their concerns (and go back and code for it later!!) TECHNICAL This group is full of your peers. They will either tell you where you went wrong up front, or stop you on the way back to your desk to talk it over. You can be as technical with this group as you'd like @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 KEEP YOUR AUDIENCE IN MIND @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
25. Things to remember @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE Before, during and after - remember the audience. If you don't know the audience, keep it as understandable as possible PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE Whether you know far enough in advance or even just moments before, taking 5 minutes to practice will help it go smoother FEEDBACK Every demo will have feedback. Remember your audience and answer their concerns accordingly PRE-RECORD YOUR DEMO Just in case you don't have an env or internet, go ahead and record your demo and save it to your desktop @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0
26. Questions? CONNECT, LET'S CHAT TWITTER @theqadiva EMAIL the.qa.diva.1@gmail.com
27. Thank you @ T H E Q A D I V A | L R T F 2 0 1 9 @ T H E Q A D I V A | C O D E P A L O U S A 2 0 2 0