“The struggle you are in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.”
In order to manage a test process, it should be noted that the test team has to be equally managed. But many a times, managing the test team is neglected focusing only on the test processes. The test team is a core part of the test; hence it should be motivated every now and then.
No matter how good the management is, but managing and motivating the test team does present some rather particular problems. A test process is not an easy task to handle of which the management is well aware of, the management needs to have a clear and deep understanding of the personalities of the testers and challenges they face in testing. A standard approach towards the testers will not be enough.
THE UNIQUENESS OF A TESTING TEAM
The People: A superior tester thinks about software differently to a developer. We expect testers to look at the software and find blunders for sure. In the words of Edward Kit, Founder and President of Software Development Technologies (SDT), “We focus on failure because that improves our chance of finding it”. High-quality testers like to find defects! Effective testing requires skill and creativity, and brings real intellectual satisfaction.
The Environment: Testing team is too dependent on others to achieve test goals. Developers to deliver code and fixes, system and database administrators to implement the changes, business people to triage defects found and a host of others depending on the complexity of the project. This is a source of much frustration to the team, particularly when things are not going well or deadlines are strict. There is little truth in the belief that the information coming out of testing is undervalued. Testing exit criteria are used as a ‘pass mark’ for a project, instead of a means of evaluating risks; the information provided by testing team can be played down, or dismissed as just negative. This can lead to impact the team’s perception of the value they contribute to the project and the organisation.
STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING A TEST TEAM
1) Set reasonable objectives: Accept the universal truth of testers that no test team will find all the defects. People are motivated by achievable targets; Realign your testers and your own expectations about what they can really achieve.
2) The role of testing should be influential to the business and/or project management’s expectation. The notion that testing is there to ‘make sure it works’ is regrettably still the common view.
3) Create an optimistic atmosphere – celebrate the skills of your testers that enhance their confidence in work.
4) Nurture a collaborative approach with the development team – It’s tempting to use the inherent tension between the development and test teams as a motivator, after all, uniting in the face of a common foe is a stratagem that has been used many times in the past! Although this approach might lift the morale of the team in the short term, over the time it will de-motivate them.
5) Reward ingenuity in your testers – The testers mainly focus on finding volumes of defects, no matter how minute they rather than finding the actual valuable defects. This is the result of wrong motivational factors – offering incentives for the number of defects they find.
6) In testing, we can sometimes end up dealing with abstracts; e.g. total defects found, percentage of severity defects. It’s easy to lose the relevance of what we do in this context. Ask testers to document the potential consequences of a selected defect they have found, had it been not detected during testing. This approach reminds testers of the value they bring to the project and the business.
7) From a project perspective, a negative approach of the testers can lead to valuable data generated becoming blanketed under a wave of negativity and dismiss accordingly. From a test team perspective, the difficulty becomes one of motivation. The management should be able to keep the testers committed and energetic about the task in hand when they already believe it will fail.
8) ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ – holds true even in these times. Have fun; don’t save it all up for special occasions or after working hours. Testers, being particularly inclined towards negativity, need a fun environment to create balance in their working lives.
9) Flexibility works – A good and dedicated tester has no objection in spending his weekends in lieu to complete the testing within the deadline but this becomes easily possible if you offer flexibility in return.
10) Give credibility to the testers – If a tester finds a defect, let them champion it. Allow them to liaise with the developer and agree on the resolution. This is an integral part of the test analyst role. If you can’t do this for practical reasons, ensure you discuss any resolution with the tester.
CONCLUSION
The stratagem mentioned has been developed through trial, error and observation over the past years. There are no star signs for managing a test team, but the ideas above will surely help when dealing with some of the issues that so frequently arise. The most important factor for is how much these things are under the direct influence of the Test Manager. Let’s not aim here to influence the I.T world, but let’s have the capability to significantly influence the culture and success of our own testing teams.
Image Credit http://winthecustomer.com/
