Tactics, Strategy and the Glorious First of June

I am writing this the evening of 1 June – The First of June – On an aircraft flying over the Atlantic.  When you spend time reading and thinking and considering different topics, you find them overlapping – sometimes in surprising ways.

The movie being played on the screens (ahem, really? One screen for everyone to watch the same film?) is Mr Peabody and Sherman.  So, we’re conflating history and science and popular understanding.  Whilst setting aside the whole “George Washington cut down a cherry tree then said he could not tell a lie and admitted it” thing – yet supported the Marie Antoinette thing where she said “let them eat cake” – another myth, except it was to degrade the person instead of showing them as an icon. 

I find the same thing happens with people talking about Test Strategy.  I find many times they refer to items which I consider Tactical, not Strategic.  There is a significant difference.  One describes the purpose of why you are doing something - One describes how you intend to do it.  People tend to  focus on the thing in front of them and not on the most important goal they have.

Simple, right?

Except things are never so simple, I find. 

The Glorious First of June

In May, 1794, Europe was in the throes of reacting to the French Revolution, the Revolutionary Wars and the general mess that was consuming the continent.  The British Admiral, Lord (Richard) Howe, the 1st Earl Howe, was chasing the French Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse, across the sea in an attempt to intercept the French, who were bringing supplies of grain and other necessities to support the French military who desperately needed the supplies.  

On 1 June, 1794, some 400 miles off Ushant, Howe caught up with the French Republican fleet.  

The British fleet of 25 ships of the line, engaged the French fleet of 26 ships of the line - the capitol ships, the battleships of the day - the pride of their navies.  When the smoke cleared, quite literally, some 1,200 British seamen were dead - but some 4,000 French seamen were dead, 7 of the French ships were captured or destroyed, and thousands more were prisoners. 

This was hailed as a triumph for Lord Howe - and it was.  A major achievement.  The fist, and largest, fleet action fought by the British and French navies during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars - a clear British victory.

One for the record books. The smaller British fleet engages and does serious damage to the larger French fleet. Except for one thing...

While the fleets were blasting each other with shot, shell snd grape, the transport ships with their critical cargo, were not taken - they delivered their supplies.  Howe had inflicted tactical damage on the French - and failed in the strategic mission.

In our testing - how often do we do the same thing?  We find loads of bugs - except we can't tell our stakeholders anything about the software that is of real value?  Some people make a big deal about the number of bugs found and ignore the critical question of what are we after?  

Is our bug-finding of tactical importance or strategic importance to the organization?

Lord Howe's Action, or, the Glorious First of June