A test manager’s knowledge? When you hear the term “software testing,” do you think about one particular type of test — such as functional testing or regression testing — or do you immediately start visualizing the complex, interconnected web of test types and techniques that comprise the broad world of software testing? Still, it’s not a simple matter of running a few tests and getting the green light. There’s a process to thorough software testing, which entails writing appropriate test cases, ensuring that you’re covering the right features and functions, addressing user experience concerns, deciding what to automate and what to test manually, and so forth.

Following on from getting your A-Team together, you now need to get them involved in every which way you can. Get team members involved in documenting the process, in the decision making for your projects, and encourage actively speaking up when they see problems or issues. Keeping the communication lines open with honest and frank discussion, and group involvement, is always going to be better than a dictatorship! Waterfall, Agile, Exploratory, Context-Driven… the list goes on. You need to decide – hopefully as a team – which methodology and which practices of that methodology fit your organisation.

The ultimate ebook for more than software testing basics: How would you like to have all the software testing knowledge you need in one comprehensive book? Whether you want to level up in the software test management field, or gain useful knowledge of the sector as a whole, A Test Manager’s Guide is the resource for you. As a young graduate I started looking for potential career opportunities and this eBook has shown me the beauty and complexity of the Test Manager profession from a theoretical standpoint. Read even more details on Test Design.

Report findings in the context of business value. Focus on the data that is being communicated back to stakeholders, from your findings as part of testing – the data should be in context of ‘how’ the behavior observed is detrimental to the objective of the feature or application being developed. Engage the end user. Probably the most important person in the whole process, yet many times we may be tempted to keep them at arm’s length; you should involve the customer actively. Have them give frequent feedback on the product for future improvement and development; software developers who respond quickly to customer feedback are generally more successful. Always keep learning. [The] IT field changes; way [faster] than some of us would like. If you are not constantly updating your skills, you could get irrelevant, obsolete and outdated. In a world of lay-off paranoia, it is a good idea to rise above it all, gain immunity and feel secure. The best way to do so is to make learning a habit.

Quarantine software testing tip of the day : For those who are not used to remote working, it sounds idyllic until your dog/kid/partner starts driving you up the wall. And remember we are not at home because we want to be. We should do what we can to make this easier for each other, and look out for each other. Sending care packages can be a good idea, as long as they don’t get in the way of essential supplies being delivered (at the time of writing this article, Amazon is rumoured to have started delaying non essential shipments). Leaders in the company need to let people know that the company is OK with productivity taking a dip overall. Also there will be a tendency for people to use the company’s channels (instant messengers, virtual meetings) to discuss things in the news and compensate for their relative isolation. Leaders should tolerate and encourage this. Expect that most company meetings will start with 10 minutes of banter unrelated to work, that’s OK. Explore extra details at cania-consulting.com.