S.M.A.R.T & F.O.C.U.S Testing - Increasing the value provided by your testing team
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1. The document discusses how testing teams can increase the perceived value of their work by better understanding how their work is perceived by others and communicating the right information to stakeholders. 2. It identifies that issues with perception of value come from not providing the value stakeholders need and not effectively communicating the value brought to projects. 3. The document provides recommendations for testing teams to focus on communicating information to stakeholders through things like information schedules, alternative reporting methods, and ensuring communication is smart, fast, objective, condensed, user-centered and serves the customer.
S.M.A.R.T & F.O.C.U.S Testing - Increasing the value provided by your testing team
- 1. SMART & FOCUS Testing and some ideas to increase the perceived value of your QA Team
- 2. I am JOEL MONTVELISKY I am Head of Testing and Chief Solution Architect at PractiTest You can find me at @joelmonte or mail me joel@practitest.com HELLO!
- 3. Show of hands… How many of you think that your organization correctly values the work of your testing team?
- 4. Value is a matter of personal perception
- 5. “Perception: A way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression.
- 6. Video
- 7. Perceived Value of the Testing Team How we perceive the value of our work How others perceive the value of our work Finding important product issues Reporting annoying bugs Verifying features Wasting time on unnecessary testing
- 8. Perceived Value of the Testing Team How we perceive the value of our work How others perceive the value of our work Providing feedback on the product Criticizing the product Representing the perspective of Users Coming up with exaggerated behavior
- 9. The perception of value is greatly influenced by communication
- 10. Two big issues affecting the perception of testing value: 1. We are not providing the value that our teams are looking for. 2. We are not “effectively selling” the value we are bringing to the project.
- 13. What is the value your testing can provide to the organization?
- 14. The testing team provides the service of gathering and presenting information about our product and project, to help our stakeholders make decisions.
- 15. The testing team provides the service of gathering and presenting information about our product and project, to help our stakeholders make decisions.
- 16. 16
- 17. We are not providing the right information! The Challenges: » Many people need your information, each for different things. » Information needs change constantly during the project. » Some people don’t know you can help them. » The people who need your information are very pressed on time and attention.
- 18. FORGET ABOUT TEST PLANS START WORKING AROUND INFORMATION SCHEDULES We are not providing the right information!
- 19. Working with information schedules 1. Map all the people in your project. 2. Understand what they need and when they need it. 3. Make a deliverable schedule for this information based on project milestones, “gates”, or strategic meetings. 4. Plan the tests and other operations to gather this information. 5. Understand the format they need the information. 6. Review this at least once every 2 weeks. We are not providing the right information!
- 20. We are not providing the right information! Weekly: - Updates from the field - Open risks - Deliverables status - Critical open issues - Coverage status
- 21. Some examples of alternative information services… » Project dashboards and information bulletins » Early feature validation - Personas, Dry Runs, Bug Hunts, Beta Session » Pair-programing - Be a technical sounding board » Statistical support - both current and historical » Information from external sources - support, sales, marketing, eytc We are not providing the right information!
- 22. Think Outside the Box >> Try New Stuff
- 23. 1. We are not providing the value that our teams are looking for. 2. We are not “effectively selling” the value we are bringing to the project. Two big issues affecting the perception of testing value:
- 24. Are you effectively selling your Information Service?
- 25. Today’s (fast-paced/agile/messy/chaotic) environments have made FORM as important as CONTENT...
- 26. Investing in your COMMUNICATION CHANNELS S.M.A.R.T. & F.O.C.U.S.
- 27. S - M - A - R - T » Simple - Graphs over Words / One-liners over Paragraphs » Measurable - Numbers and Statis over Feelings and Descriptions » Actionable – Suggest Solutions & not only Point at Flaws » Repeatable - Show information over versions and products » Timely - Provide information when it is still relevant Investing in your Communication Channels How you present your information
- 28. F - O - C - U - S » Fast - be quick to answer questions » Objective - provide good and bad news equally » Condensed - one liners and charts » User-Centered - think on the needs of the person reading the report » Service - the customer is always right Investing in your Communication Channels How you provide your service
- 29. Be ready to invest time and efforts to make your information easy to digest by your customers.
- 30. But if you are only going to take ONE IDEA out of this presentation...
- 31. Testing is a service, and you are a service provider. Understand who is the client of your service, and remember to serve his/her needs, not yours!
- 32. Any questions? You can find me at: » joel@practitest.com » http://qablog.practitest.com/ THANKS!