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Speak Like a Test Manager
- 1. W17 Personal Excellence 10/15/2014 3:00:00 PM Speak Like a Test Manager Presented by: Mike Sowers Software Quality Engineering Brought to you by: 340 Corporate Way, Suite 300, Orange Park, FL 32073 888-268-8770 ∙ 904-278-0524 ∙ sqeinfo@sqe.com ∙ www.sqe.com
- 2. Mike Sowers Software Quality Engineering Mike Sowers has more than twenty-five years of practical experience as a global quality and test leader of internationally distributed test teams across multiple industries. Mike is a senior consultant, skilled in working with both large and small organizations to improve their software development, testing, and delivery approaches. He has worked with companies including Fidelity Investments, PepsiCo, FedEx, Southwest Airlines, Wells Fargo, ADP, and Lockheed to improve software quality, reduce time to market, and decrease costs. With his passion for helping teams deliver software faster, better, and cheaper, Mike has mentored and coached senior software leaders, small teams, and direct contributors worldwide.
- 3. Speak Like a Test Manager Software Quality Engineering 340 Corporate Way, Suite 300 Orange Park, Florida 32073 904.278.0707 SQE ©2014 Michael D. Sowers msowers@sqe.com 1
- 4. Confront the challenging questions about the value of QA/Test Provide approaches for more effectively communicating the value of testing Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 2
- 5. The Challenging Questions Our Accountabilities Our Job Description (the spoken/unspoken) Common Mistakes Effective Communications (the obvious and not so obvious) Examples Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 3
- 6. Who ◦ is accountable for the post release defects? ◦ is preventing us from shipping? What ◦ does the testing group do? ◦ value does the QA/Test group add? Where ◦ does testing fit within our lifecycle? ◦ is the testing team when I need them? Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 4
- 7. When ◦ will testing be done? ◦ will we be able to reduce our testing investment? Why ◦ do we need testing anyway? ◦ why does testing take so long? ◦ can’t everything just be automated? ◦ why does the testing team need more (time, resources, tools, money….) How ◦ did that defect escape into the field? ◦ is the testing group contributing to our business? Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 5
- 8. Champion our Team’s value to the project/business Have succinct answers to the hard questions Educate, mentor, coach Engage key stakeholders Remove Roadblocks Reward & Recognize All of the above require the ability to communicate effectively Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 6
- 9. Undervalued Misunderstood Disrespected Isolated Reactive Frustrated Labeled Dismissed QA/Test is irrelevant Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 7
- 10. The Spoken The Un-Spoken Leadership Skills Be an Agent of Change Management Skills Improve Processes Commit schedule/resources Build Relationships Competence in Software Engineering Stand in front of the train (when needed) Competence in Testing Advocate for Quality & Team Project Management Skills Teach, Mentor, Coach Deliver on-time, within budget Answer to multiple bosses Assess Risks and Mitigate Manage Expectations Review/Report Learn, Learn, Learn ..…And so forth …… And others Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 8
- 11. In our perceptions: Assuming everyone understands QA/Test Accepting the sole responsibility for release approval Believing that it’s someone else’s fault Using process as an excuse Having unrealistic quality expectations Working in isolation Believing we must be “knighted” with authority Not viewing ourselves as a leader Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 9
- 12. Contribute to the way that we communicate: Using “Test” speak & talking about the “need” for testing Failing to engage others in the critical conversations Not framing your message from the receivers point of view Believing we can just "wing our communications" Whining/Bashing Speaking with emotion rather than facts Not speaking with confidence and a commanding presence Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 10
- 13. To inform To present a big idea To drive action (i.e. decisions and results) To shape expectations, change opinion or perspective To motivate & inspire Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 11
- 14. A (quality) Measurement Activity that: ◦ Identifies important defects ◦ Demonstrates that the (functional and non- functional) requirements are met ◦ Provides objective data on release readiness Resulting in: ◦ Decreased Risk(s) ◦ Failure cost avoidance (rework) ◦ Increased customer confidence Insurance against business loss Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 12
- 15. Two parts to effective communication: ◦ Content ◦ Style Know your audience Plan and practice your communication Be Objective, Open, Flexible, Sensitive, Self Aware, Knowledgeable, Patient Practice Good Listening Skills/Seek First to Understand Remember that 1/3rd of our communication is verbal Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 13
- 16. Learn what’s important to each of your key stakeholders Link your QA/Test Results to business goals Speak in terms of contributions to the business ◦ Costs, Cycle Time, Customer Satisfaction ◦ Increased Revenue, Brand Reputation ◦ Efficiency, Effectiveness When stating problems, offer solution alternatives Practice the 3-R's: Relationship, Responsiveness, Results Be alert to verbal/non-verbal responses Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 14
- 17. Answer the WIIFM question Support your communication with facts/not emotion ◦ Both internal information ◦ And external benchmarks, whitepapers, testimonials Answer the “why” (impact) question when presenting facts Avoid techno talk (“high priority bugs,” “GUI issues, “authentication problems” and sloppy code, number of test pass/fail, designed, run, automated) Dress for success IS important Understand and adapt to stakeholders communication and decision making styles Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 15
- 18. Honesty and Integrity Vision Listening Giving Feedback Emotional Intelligence Clarity Knowledge of your field - technical credibility Follow Through Humility Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 16
- 19. Communication To: Desired Outcome(s): Audience Perspective(s): Opening: Key Points to Communicate: Likely Objections & Response: Supporting Facts: Close (confirmation, action/next step): Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 17
- 20. Communication To: Neal (Peer Dev Mgr) Desired Outcome(s): Agreement on Unit Test Project Audience Perspective(s): No time for dev test Opening: Neal, I was talking with members of my team and they are concerned about the stress that your developers are under. Key Points to Communicate: I looked at my teams forecasted project hours over the next few weeks and see that I have two resources that are only planning 30 project hours per week for the next three weeks. I also noticed that you have one, non-critical path developer, that is also forecasting 30 project hours per week. Would it be helpful if we allocated my two team members and your one developer to get a unit test framework in place for us on the FinZar Project in the next 15 days? Likely Objections & Response: Unit Testing won’t help/Review defect data and root cause analysis of a couple of recent defects, state a few key points from the “Benefits of Unit Testing” white paper. Supporting Facts: Time Sheet Graph/Benefits of Unit Testing White Paper Close: (confirmation, action/next step): If Neal agrees, set up a date for me, Neal to meet with our team members. If he wants time to think about it, set time to have lunch tomorrow. Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 18
- 21. Communication To: Ellen (Business President) Desired Outcome(s): Answer her question “Why so many production defects?” Audience Perspective(s): “Technology takes to long, cost too much, and seldom works when deployed” Opening: Ellen, I know product defects impact revenue. I did some home work on your question, talked with a few of your business SVP’s and visited two business centers to observe the challenges our business associates are experiencing. Here are my findings. Key Points to Communicate: In the last 6 months over 6 technology releases, production defects have been on a downward trend. Production defects have increased by 20% this month driven by a change in the SEC requirements that was not clear. We have implemented corrective actions to mitigate this going forward (be prepared to tell her more detail if ask). Likely Objections & Response: What if the trend continues upward?/Clearly set expectations; it’s about balancing risks vs. time to market. Remind her that her business team is part of the release decision and the product owners for what goes into each release. Supporting Facts: Product Defect Graph. One page picture on process mitigation Close: (confirmation, action/next step): Offer to come to speak to her entire staff to answer any additional questions they may have. Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 19
- 22. Communication To: Jeff (CIO and my Manager) Desired Outcome(s): Agreement to reallocate 100K of technology budget to use for the implementation of a requirements traceability methodology and tool. Audience Perspective(s): Budget is tight, lots of projects competing for more $$’s Opening: Jeff, I briefed Ellen on our plan to limit post production issues. She is satisfied with our current direction but emphasized that the critical technology disruptions must be eliminated so that her team can focus on client service. Key Points to Communicate: I’ve been doing some root cause analysis on our post release defects. The top three causes are translation errors from one development document to another, changing external requirements, and insufficient testing in areas where things have changed because key stakeholders were not aware of the changes. I’d recommend we implement requirements traceability to address these causes. Likely Objections & Response: Supportive but don’t know where the $$’s will come from./Suggest we propose it to Jeff’s staff and see if each Technology SVP is willing to give up a few dollars for the cause. Suggest that my team will own the project implementation and work within our current budget allocation to get it done. Remind Jeff of the cost savings (post release defect reduction) i.e. less rework by dev and test and improved satisfaction by our business partners. Supporting Facts: Root Cause results, budget for traceability project. Close: (confirmation, action/next step): If agreed, set date to present at Jeff’s staff Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 20
- 23. 2008 2009 2010 Expansion Applications covered by QA&T Team 90 160 230 Number of Applications Automated 22 46 78 Effectiveness Pre-Release defects 162 200 274 Post-Release defects 28 22 18 Requirements coverage (%) 53 71 87 Efficiency QA & Test staff to developer ratio 1/5 1/5.5 1/6.5 Time for regression test runs (days) 8 5 4 Business Results QA & Test Total Cycle Time (days) 40 36 31 Cost per Total Test Cycle (K dollars) 320 288 248 Post release defect containment (%) 85.3 90.1 94
- 24. Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 22
- 25. The Challenging Questions Our Accountabilities Our Job Description (the spoken/unspoken) Common Mistakes Effective Communications (the obvious and not so obvious) Examples Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 23
- 26. Give the template a try or make your own. Practice Get some training Identify a couple of people that are good communicators and observe them Recruit a coach/mentor Solicit honest feedback Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 24
- 27. Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 25 How did we do? * Great * Wonderful * Fantastic * Terrific * Superior * Excellent Session Evaluation
- 28. On behalf of Software Quality Engineering, thank you for attending this session. If you have further needs for training or consulting, please think first of SQE. If I can be of further assistance, please let me know. My email is msowers@sqe.com Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 26
- 29. Bates, Suzzane (2005). Speak Like a CEO. McGraw-Hill. Software Quality Engineering. Stickyminds.com Covey, Stephen R. (2004)The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. FranklinCovey. Speak Like a Test Manager V 1.2 © SQE 2014 27