Team Work Within The Test Team - (E2)Q + p + P = TW' by Malini Mohankumar

TEAM WORK WITHIN TEST TEAM

Malini Mohan KumarHitachi Consulting, India

TEAM WORK = MORE TESTING & MORE QUALITY

The “Top Ten” Skills shortages among graduates

% of employers surveyed

1 Commercial Awareness 67%2 Communication Skills 64%3 Leadership 33%4 Ability to work in a team 33%5 Problem solving 32%6 Conceptual ability 21%

7 Subject Knowledge & competence 19%

8 Foreign languages 19%9 Numeracy 19%

10 Good general education 15%

Source: Association of Graduate Recruiters “Skills for Graduates in the 21st Century” www.agr.org.uk

Copyright 2011 EuroSTAR Conferences. All rights reserved 2

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/commercialawareness.htm

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/communicating.htm

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/leadership.htm

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/teamwork.htm

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/decisionmaking.htm

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/degreein.htm

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/degreein.htm

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/LanguageSkills.htm

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/tests/mathstest.htm

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/LanguageSkills.htm

http://www.agr.org.uk/

Why do some software test teams succeed

while others fail?


Is it

The nature of specific tasks the team is assigned

The difference between success and failure

that the preordained, or otherwise out of the team's control?

the key to success simply a matter of assembling a collection of "superstars" and then getting out of their way?

Conversely, maybe success depends completely on effective team leadership. What's the answer here?


The short answer is that there is no simple solution. Any team has to balance its autonomy with the need to respond to external governing forces and inter-team responsibilities. Hiring stellar performers can obviously help in building a team, but it's not a guarantee of success.


IT companies need to bring testing upfront in delivery life-cycle to provide rapid feedback, build automated tests to allow rapid changes and involve all the stakeholders early to build the right value tests.


To do these they need to invest in multi-skilled testing professionals trained in cutting edge test methodologies. Testers alone can’t bring efficiency in testing. For that there needs to be an increase in collaboration between testers and Business experts, testers and developers and testers and end users.


Today World Key Word is Collaboration and that's a Key for delivering values – Short Clippings


Organizations which encourage use of agile methods, new tools and techniques, cloud virtualization which allow collaboration to happen are more likely to deal with changes efficiently.

UAT Testing

Test Environment

Test Execution and Reporting

Test Planning

Collaboration Testing Principles and approach for developers and Testers


10

This is Joe. She works on project. She is a QA

Copyright 2011 EuroSTAR Conferences. All rights reserved

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Joe sits in the corner….

….. Testing


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While others doesn’t bother what Joe is doing….

Huddle……

This is not sounding like team work


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I Found a bug!

Joe found a bug and tries to tell developers


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But the project manager tells joe to not to discuss with her team or developers and not to waste their time



15

Joe’s team members finishes their test case preparation and show it to Developers and BA but not to Joe

Joe feels bad..



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Joes writes automation test scripts, she wants to pair with her team and developers

Instead the other team members, BA and developers….



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They don’t think its very important…

Poor Joe use to feel bad..



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A week ago I found that the application doesn’t match the client acceptance

criteria but no one listen to me

Broken the acceptance criteria!

Found a bug..

My target of finding 20

bugs for this week got over

I couldn’t meet the target..oh my status..am

worried



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I am the one who find the bug so am

the one going to inform the

developer first

No its me who found it first so am the one

is going to inform the developer

I already inform to our TL about

this bug

Joe thinks that its TL responsibility to bring the team together to discuss about the bug findings


TL Doesn’t seems to be bothered about the team activities


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Well done team! I have delivered the

product and I am going on vacation


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I asked for a race horse you delivered me a cow

Duhhhhh! But still its an

animal with four legs


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Quality of the software suffers from lack of so many things like, Trust, responsibility, accountability, communication

If only things could be better….


I am very happy with what you

have delivered to me

Team lets celebrate our success! Party time

guys..lets party!

How this could have happen to them?Copyright 2011 EuroSTAR Conferences. All rights reserved 23

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Blue print of Best Test Team

Pair testingProject Manager appreciates the tester

Test team work closely with each otherTeam members are synch

Communicates freely


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(E2)Q + p + P = TWE = Efficiency

E= EffectivenessQ= Qualityp=Process

P=ProductivityTW= Team Work

This is my equation to build Team Work – What is yours?


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Why Team

Technology is complex

Interdisciplinary knowledge required

Advantage in diversity

One vision many hands

Shared responsibility

Timing is essential


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Collaborative Team Work

Have Trust and confidence in team members

Let go the Ego

Not compete with each other

Be committed to the common goal

Communicate openly and directly

Resolve conflict mutually and openly

Empathize and understand

Respect and support individual differences

Responsibility and accountability

(E2)Q + p + P = TWEffective & Efficiency * Quality

Develop better World for Developers and Testers

What Makes an effective team?

What Makes an ineffective team?


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Define, Designate and Development(E2)Q + p + P = TWProcess = Define, Designate & Develop team

Define - WHO, WHAT & HOW

Designate : Who will do what - Responsibilities

Development : Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning

Tucks Man Model

Getting the best out of key project resources


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TuckMan’s Team Model

Forming : “Nice to Meet you, not sure why we’re here, it looks like a lot of work!”

Storming: “Do I HAVE to work with this team???”

Norming: “Maybe we will be able to pull this all together, if we stop fighting and listen toeach other….”

Performing: “We’ve got a great plan, and everyone is pulling together….”

Adjourning: Goal accomplished, Project Over

Team Building Model


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Team Work Results

Trust (Emotional intelligence)

Accountability Communication

(E2)Q + p + P = TWProductivity = Trust + Accountability + Communication+ People (Relationship)

Relationship


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Advantage of (E2)Q + p + P = TWHighly focused on delivering necessary results. Clear up confusion on rapidly changing challenges and complex issues. Minimize conflicts in the team. Helps to think alternative ways to find more anomaliesHelp tester to focus on what is important rather what is irrelevant. Improve the overall team productivity and meet the budgetMake better decisions and Overall accountability increases.Prepared to adopt changeCommunicate clear and concise. See all sides of a situation to avoid being blindsided. More visibilityUtilization of workforce Increased productivity and better quality of deliverables


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Recipe for Successful TeamBeneficial Team Behaviors Clarity in Team GoalsAn Overall Project FrameworkClearly Defined RolesClear CommunicationWell-Defined Decision ProceduresEstablished Ground RulesAwareness of the Group Process


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Collaboration / Team Work (E2)Q + p + P = TW

Define clear Goal and logical objective for each team member

Develop thought leadership and encourage innovative ideas to make things happen

Develop soft skills Creativity, flexibility, communication, lateral and critical thinking

Diversity

Lesson Learnt from set backs

Constructive feedback at right time

Final Word

Build relationship


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Final WordEnergyExpertise (IQ)Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Daniel Goleman – Emotional Intelligence

Successful Organization in EQ not in IQ


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SummaryCollaboration is the keySeek diversity in team constituency, both technical and otherwiseFoster involvement and participation of all team membersUnderstand to a degree, variations in contribution by team membersTransfer team resources to solve the problems that appear most difficult


36TEAM WORK = MORE TESTING & MORE QUALITY

THANK YOU