5.1.2 Working as a test leader
We have seen that the location of a test team within a project organization can vary widely. Similarly, there is wide variation in the roles that people within the test team play. Some of these roles occur frequently, some infrequently. Two roles that are found within many test teams are those of the test leader and the tester, though the same people may play both roles at various points during the project. Let’s take a look at the work done in these roles, starting with the test leader.
Test leaders tend to be involved in the planning, monitoring, and control of the testing activities and tasks discussed in Section 1.5 on the fundamental test process. At the outset of the project, test leaders, in collaboration with the other stakeholders, devise the test objectives, organizational test policies (if not already in place), test strategies and test plans. They estimate the testing to be done and negotiate with management to acquire the necessary resources.
They recognize when test automation is appropriate and, if it is, they plan the effort, select the tools, and ensure training of the team. They may consult with other groups – e.g., programmers – to help them with their testing. They lead, guide and monitor the analysis, design, implementation and execution of the test cases, test procedures and test suites. They ensure proper configuration management of the testware produced and traceability of the tests to the test basis.
As test execution comes near, they make sure the test environment is put into place before test execution and managed during test execution. They schedule the tests for execution and then they monitor, measure, control and report on the test progress, the product quality status and the test results, adapting the test plan and compensating as needed to adjust to evolving conditions. During test execution and as the project winds down, they write summary reports on test status.
Sometimes test leaders wear different titles, such as test manager or test coordinator. Alternatively, the test leader role may wind up assigned to a project manager, a development manager or a quality assurance manager. (Regarding the first two people on this list, warning bells about independence should be ringing in your head now, in addition to thoughts about how we can ensure that such non-testers gain the knowledge and outlook needed to manage testing.) Whoever is playing the role, expect them to plan, monitor and control the testing work.
5.1.3 Working as a tester
As with test leaders, projects should include testers at the outset, though it is often the case that project doesn’t need a full complement of testers until the test execution period. In the planning and preparation phases of the testing, testers should review and contribute to test plans, as well as analyzing, reviewing and assessing requirements and design specifications. They may be involved in or even be the primary people identifying test conditions and creating test designs, test cases, test procedure specifications and test data, and may automate or help to automate the tests. They often set up the test environments or assist system administration and network management staff in doing so.
As test execution begins, the number of testers often increases, starting with the work required to implement tests in the test environment. (They may play such a role on all test levels, even those not under the direct control of the test group, e.g., they might implement unit tests which were designed by programmers.) Testers execute and log the tests, evaluate the results and document problems found. They monitor the testing and the test environment, often using tools for this task, and often gather performance metrics. Throughout the testing life cycle, they review each other’s work, including test specifications, defect reports and test results.
5.1.4 Defining the skills test staff need
Doing testing properly requires more than defining the right positions and number of people for those positions. Good test teams have the right mix of skills based on the tasks and activities they need to carry out, and people outside the test team who are in charge of test tasks need the right skills, too.
People involved in testing need basic professional and social qualifications such as literacy, the ability to prepare and deliver written and verbal reports, the ability to communicate effectively, and so on. Going beyond that, when we think of the skills that testers need, three main areas come to mind:
- Application or business domain: A tester must understand the intended behavior, the problem the system will solve, the process it will automate and so forth, in order to spot improper behavior while testing and recognize the ‘must work’ functions and features.
- Technology: A tester must be aware of issues, limitations and capabilities of the chosen implementation technology, in order to effectively and efficiently locate problems and recognize the ‘likely to fail’ functions and features.
- Testing: A tester must know the testing topics discussed in this book – and often more advanced testing topics – in order to effectively and efficiently carry out the test tasks assigned.
The specific skills in each area and the level of skill required vary by project, organization, application, and the risks involved.
The set of testing tasks and activities are many and varied, and so too are the skills required, so we often see specialization of skills and separation of roles. For example, due to the special knowledge required in the areas of testing, technology and business domain, respectively, test tool experts may handle automating the regression tests, programmers may perform component and integration tests and users and operators may be involved in acceptance tests.
We have long advocated pervasive testing, the involvement of people throughout the project team in carrying out testing tasks. Let us close this section, though, on a cautionary note. Software and system companies (e.g., producers of shrink-wrapped software and consumer products) typically overestimate the technology knowledge required to be an effective tester. Businesses that use information technology (e.g., banks and insurance companies) typically overestimate the business domain knowledge needed.
All types of projects tend to underestimate the testing knowledge required. We have seen a project fail in part because people without proper testing skills tested critical components, leading to the disastrous discovery of fundamental architectural problems later. Most projects can benefit from the participation of professional testers, as amateur testing alone will usually not suffice.
