The Yellow Cat Test

The popularity of dragons in "House of the Dragon" has rekindled my interest in "Game of Thrones." The Yellow Cat Test draws its name from Syrio Forel, a fencing instructor who teaches Arya Stark.

During a lesson, Syrio informs Arya he will strike left. She dodges that way, only to be hit. Confused, Arya accuses him of lying. Syrio explains that while his words were misleading, his body language conveyed the truth—she simply wasn't paying attention.

Syrio recounts how he became the first sword of Braavos, illustrating the importance of perception. He describes a fat yellow cat that the Sealord had received. While everyone else anticipated a magnificent creature, what they saw was merely an ordinary cat, fat from indulgence. Misinterpretations arise from expectations, not reality.

Development teams must learn to see the actual situation rather than rely solely on verbal instructions.

During a project to create an appointment booking system, our initial understanding was limited. We thought we were developing a straightforward appointment scheduler. However, as we delved deeper, we discovered the true goal was to connect the right individuals to appointments while filtering out unnecessary participants.

For the first three months, our grasp of the requirements was only partially accurate.

Open Your Eyes

"Open your eyes; that's all it takes. The heart can deceive, and the mind can mislead, but the eyes perceive the truth. Engage your senses—see, hear, taste, smell, and feel—then process the information for genuine understanding," advises Syrio Forel.

It's vital for developers to focus on reality rather than assumptions or hearsay regarding how the software should function. Initial requirements often cover only 50% to 70% of the project scope and are likely to evolve over time.

Assumptions lead to bugs—misconceptions developers form about how software should operate. Developers must challenge these assumptions and clarify them early in the process. If a team builds on incorrect assumptions, subsequent changes to the code, DevOps, documentation, and testing become necessary.

Fixing requirements before coding is always quicker and simpler. Requirements serve as a draft and can be influenced by prior software versions. Development teams should understand the business goals and gather diverse perspectives on the requirements.

Testers play a crucial role by assessing requirements from alternative angles, identifying potential flaws, and exploring how the software might fail.

Successful software projects should be driven by business needs rather than solely technical features, as a focus on technical capabilities can lead to software that users find unwieldy and require extensive revisions following user feedback.

Software Development Insights

Observing isn't synonymous with seeing, and high-level requirements differ from detailed specifications.

The interpretation of words can vary significantly. Presentations often present a biased, optimistic view, which can confuse or mislead stakeholders. Understanding requirements, contexts, individuals, plans, diagrams, designs, documents, and many other elements can often lead developers astray.

Developers encounter various forms of misinformation, misunderstanding, and flawed assumptions. It’s their responsibility to guard against being misled into developing software based on erroneous requirements.

Once the code is written, the team must address any issues that arise.

Conclusion

Keep the Yellow Cat Test in mind when discussing requirements, as they are frequently misunderstood. Clarifying requirements, assumptions, and any uncertainties before coding is crucial.

While there may be pressure to produce code quickly, this haste can lead to complications that ultimately slow progress. Changing code is more challenging than refining requirements.

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