Mini series of thoughts
I have many draft blog posts sitting there. In reflection I’ve been hesitant to post as I haven’t felt there was enough to post in a single blog post. I should have posted anyway. Why do I have to blog in a certain way or length to get my thoughts out? The answer is I don’t, so going forward I will post even if it is short. Below will be a mini series to get all of those thoughts out there.
- I don’t want to be a quality gate but sometimes I have to be.
I’m working on moving away from quality assurance (testing at the end of the project and providing a stamp of approval) to a more proactive approach where we are involved from the start and throughout, preventing and identifying issues earlier. This is a big fundamental shift in mindset, processes, ways of working and so on. Something I have realized is that it’s going to take time. Along with that I have realized it’s OK to be a type of gate where I say if things are good to move along or not. It’s quite important in a way as you start to address problems.
2. Unlearn what you have been taught. You are more than a functional tester or a robot that writes out test cases.
It’s very common for me to come into teams and have testers think they are only a functional tester or one that is there to simply write test cases without using their creative brain. As managers we can support and show individuals/teams they provide so much more value than this.
3. Version control system:. It’s important to understand what version the software is on, so you can triage issues and pin down when the issue was introduced. If you don’t know what version control your team is using, it’s time to find out.
4. Vision and allies: Building a quality engineering function from the ground up is tough work. Requires patience and thinking about all those mini steps to get to the desired vision. You can’t do it alone — set the vision and get backing from people around you.
5. Testing as you go is better for team cohesion. If you all have the same shared understanding from the start, then it’s easier down the line.
6. Draw out the Testing Process and think about how AI can help you. I did some of the Ministry of Testing 30 days in AI challenge and my main conclusion was that at some point I need to draw out the testing process and then come up with ideas on how AI could help me.
7. Three things that I live and breathe
- Courage and Bravery: Challenge the norm even when it feels uncomfortable to do so. Along with sharing your thoughts and ideas.
- Logical reasoning: Ability to arrive at a conclusion in a rigorous way.
- Research skills and curious mind: Not only looking at things on a surface level point of view, but having a curious and relentless attitude to find out more.
8. If you’re thinking about what value you provide — think of it like you’re providing information for someone to take action. How many times has someone actioned a change in a process, project or the product down to your feedback? Start to keep track of all these things to demonstrate your value. Potentially you could have numbers against how many actions were taken under those three areas (project, product and process). I have found myself as of late failing in a way and focusing on the product, yet forgetting about the project and process actions.
