Software test manager tricks

Test analysis eBook? Encourage clarity in bug reporting. “Reporting bugs and requesting more information can create unnecessary overhead. A good bug report can save time by avoiding miscommunication or the need for additional communication. Similarly, a bad bug report can lead to a quick dismissal by a developer. Both of these can create problems. “Anyone reporting bugs should always strive to create informative bug reports, but it’s just as important that developers go out of their way to communicate effectively as well. For instance, if a developer needs more information, it’s best if they take the time to write a detailed request. Teach people to write good reports, but hold your developers to high standards as well. If everyone is going above and beyond to communicate effectively, everyone’s productivity benefits.

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.

Lucian Cania is an experienced international IT delivery and software test manager with a vast experience in test management. He founder Cania Consulting by leveraging a vast background in Transformation Programs executed across Europe in the areas of ERP, BI, Retail, Billing and Integration. After passing the ISTQB Foundation Certification, this eBook was great source to better understand what to expect from the Test Managers working on my Software Projects. Read even more details on Software Testing Knowledge.

Find out what the software under test is not expected to be doing. Try those things out. The ‘what if’ should become the leading question of the software research. So you are finding yourself in the middle of Apple Watch testing. How will it act if an iPhone it is paired to runs out of battery, etc.? If you can do anything in the system (meaning it allows you to), do so without question and despite everything telling you shan’t do just that. If possible, get the system (or device) under test out of your working premises and try it in a real environment. Don’t rely solely on written communication, particularly for virtual teams. Especially in virtual teams often the only point of interaction between developers and testers are bug tracking system, yet it is especially the written word that causes misunderstandings and leads to pointless extra work. Regular calls and actually talking to each other can work miracles here.

Quarantine software testing trick of the day : Regardless of how you do the meetings, make sure you are tracking any dependencies and people feel free to use the chat threads to reply to someone’s standup message with suggestions or offers to resolve a roadblock or dependency… We have a weekly product meeting which is longer than our standup meetings. We discuss how the current sprints are going, are we on track to deliver the next release on schedule, and are there any impediments or issues that we need to discuss. During this meeting we review the planning board for the current release and current sprints. Traditionally we’d do this in our conference room using our projector and take notes live in Google docs and/or use the whiteboards for any discussion topics. Read a few more info on https://cania-consulting.com/.