Don’t be surprised, it’s in our blood. We tend to overthink simpler things and then lose ourselves within the self-created complexities. We forget where we started from, with that we also dismantle the track of time. This is how human beings are constructed and software testers are not an exception.
What are we talking about here? Well, for testers the things sometimes get real uglier when they are faced with assignments out of their leagues. For such situations to occur and keeping the track of time and deliverable in clear visibility, testers need to be very articulate in their work. But being articulate sometimes becomes too much detailed. How to keep the track of the testing deliverable, test case execution, construction of bug reports, communications, scripting, idle time, and mental alertness is a challenge for testers.
In this blog, we shall look at some aspects of software testing and self-management which testers can adapt and keep themselves organized while delivering results at the same time.
Big system small tests
We can never calculate the exact amount of effort a tester is uplifting while using a small system as their KPIs’. Even if we are compelled to calculate the efforts we need to wait for a certain amount of time so that the tester can actually compile a number of test projects to gain the right number. The test efforts in comparison to the development and the deliverables are much less here as compared to the larger systems.
To measure the efforts we need to take baby steps in our testing activities. For example, while testing applications such as ERPs the teams should be divided as per the testing activities and client wise deployment priorities, such as;
At the first instance do the Smoke Testing, this way we can determine the application consistency within the very early stage of release. Once the smoke testing gives green light then the business testers can run their regression cycles and automation team can move in with their integration and unit test cycles.
These small steps can make a big difference in setting up the Software Test Strategy and burdens off the load from mainstream testing activities.
Big tasks small sessions
On individual levels, the testers can set up their lengthy testing assignments into smaller manageable sessions. Testers can divide the timelines with deliverables of each session. For carrying out this activity with a success rate, the ideal approach is to divide your task board into To Do, Currently doing, done, and Pending tasks.
Divide the work into equal sessions of maximum 30 to 40 minutes in duration, and then execute each session with a recording of each activity. For each activity, there should be measurable deliverables.
The session helps in managing tasks which are larger in timelines and complex in terms of processes. This way the tester can manage the bigger tasks with much ease yet achieve a greater complex result.
Big Team independent delegates
The third most important factor to manage testing activity is the delegation of tasks to a team member, and thence forming an active software testing team.
Usually where there are three or more testers the ideal for the test lead is to divide the roles into different strategic categories, for example:
Smoke Testers, Regression Testers, Black Box Testers for UI, Cross Browser, and Cross-Platform and finally the test automation team, depending on the availability of SDETs (Software Development Engineer in Test).
This provides 360-degree coverage of the application and completeness of test cycle to an extent where the leads can feel comfortable.
Let’s some it up:
Well folks, this is not a final verdict on managing thing while performing software testing activities. There is a lot here that can be done. What testers can do is to look into what’s the most suitable strategy they can adapt as per their context and move forward.
