T1  Test  Management  10/6/16  9:45            

What  Time  Is  It  Over  There?  Managing  Your  Global  QA  Team  

Presented  by:      

  Elizabeth  Wisdom      

Ulta  Beauty    

Brought  to  you  by:        

   

   

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Elizabeth  Wisdom      Elizabeth  Wisdom  has  more  than  thirty  years'  experience  in  IT  software  development  and  delivery,  the  most  recent  nineteen  years  leading  quality  assurance,  performance  testing,  and  user  acceptance  testing  teams.  Elizabeth's  extensive  project  portfolio  covers  the  telecom,  retail,  financial,  manufacturing,  and  insurance  industries.  As  a  QA  enthusiast,  she  has  built  and  managed  several  high  performing  QA,  UAT,  and  performance  test  teams,  both  onshore  and  offshoreÛÓwith  a  passion  for  continuous  improvement,  process  governance,  metrics,  and  best  practices.  Elizabeth  enjoys  speaking  at  conferences  and  welcomes  the  opportunity  to  network  with  others  who  are  equally  as  passionate  about  QA,  UAT,  and  performance  testing.  

What Time is It Over There? Managing Your Global QA Team

Elizabeth Wisdom

October 2016

Agenda

• What is a Global QA Organization?

• Challenges & Risks Associated with a Global QA Organization

• Mitigation Strategies

• Suggested Guidelines for Operational Effectiveness

• Q&A

Objectives for Today

Use leadership strategies to address the challenges of offshore teams and mitigate risk

Use the best structure for the teams in each location

Build a repeatable process for operational effectiveness, communication, trust, and collaboration without boundaries

What is a Global QA Organization? A Global QA Organization is 2 or more QA work groups which:

• Are not co-located geographically

• Have core members who interact primarily through electronic means

• Are engaged in interdependent tasks as part of a common goal, objective, or project

It differs from a virtual team, which could include individuals working remotely and perhaps independently of each other

Challenges and Risks

What challenges and risks have you experienced with a globally distributed team?

1.

2.

3.

4.

Key Challenges*

• Lack of face-to-face or immediate communication

• Lack of trust

• Cultural clashes

• Loss of team spirit

Strategies

The key to mitigating the risk associated with each challenge is not a technical solution (e.g. advanced videoconferencing), but rather a management one.

With effective leadership, each obstacle can be overcome with the use of several effective strategies.

Strategy #1: Establish Roles and Responsibilities

QA Manager:

• strategically leads the global QA organization

• defines Test Strategy (process, tools, governance, SDLC, etc.)

• develops resource plan (determines the right resources are in the right places)

• provides vendor management (may include managing SOWs, providing vendor feedback)

• defines and communicates QA roadmap/vision/objectives/priorities

• screens/interviews new QA resources

• has ultimate decision rights

• manages test infrastructure (software, tools, labs, etc.)

• responsible for determining/maintaining QA budget and resource forecasting

Onsite QA Lead:

• tactically leads the set of support activities across all locations, including the

a. planning,

b. facilitation,

c. training,

d. measurement, and

e. analysis

needed to provide adequate confidence that test coverage is adequate and on track and that QA processes are established and continuously improved

• serves as central point of contact

Onsite QA Lead, cont.

• specific support activities include:

Reviews (requirements, test case review)

Test Environment Change Control

Defect Tracking – Process, tool management, configuration

Strategic Planning of Test Events (e.g. QAT, UAT, Performance testing) and Test Plan (scope, risk, dependencies, data, environment, etc.)

Effort estimation/resource planning (with the QA Manager, who in turn may work with consultant staffing firms/vendors)

Facilitates training, knowledge transfer and cross training of employees/consultants/associates

Ensures process governance

Communicates plan/priority on behalf of the project to the Site Leads/Coordinators

Represents QA deliverables/status of test events for project

Quality Control (QC): primary focus is defect detection and removal.

Specifically, they are responsible for:

• development of the test scenarios, test cases, and test data

• verifying the test environment

• documenting/reporting test results

• logging and retesting defects and reporting defect results

This function is typically outsourced/offshore. The QC team typically reports to their QA Site Lead/Coordinator.

Site Lead/Coordinator(s): single-point-of-contact for the location and tactically manages the daily tasks and resources (QC resources) and reports daily status to the Onsite QA Lead

• facilitate the daily handoff of tasks/assignments between onshore/offshore and represents the site on daily calls with onshore

• communicates daily accomplishments, upcoming tasks, issues/roadblocks/needs, and any clarifications/help needed to progress

• onboards new resources at the site and mentors junior resources

• identifies cross training opportunities and ensures knowledge transfer occurs as required

Example:

Strategy #2: Consolidate Locations • If possible, minimize the number of remote locations and

co-locate the cross-functional project teams (e.g. DBAs, developers, server admins, etc.)

• Communicate and plan around regionally recognized holidays

• Recognize all teams consistently (builds team spirit)

• Take time to personally visit each site (budget and time permitting)

• Consolidate/limit the number of vendor partners used for staff augmentation

Strategy #3: Have Agreed Upon Start/End Times • Knowing when remote resources are available will help

in the daily handoffs and facilitate communications.

• If there is some overlap in the onshore and offshore start/end times, you can still hold conference calls when all resources are available.

• Be cognizant of constraints with remote teams (transportation, family obligations, etc.) and provide some flexibility to minimize attrition.

Strategy #4: Implement a Defined Process

• Have a well-defined, repeatable process in place so that expectations are set and everyone plays by the same rules

• This will be instrumental in building trust!

The following slides are some recommended guidelines that have been shown to be effective.

Process Guidelines

• The Onsite QA Lead will receive the list of open issues/questions from offshore Site Lead/Coordinator(s) daily and will provide follow up by days’ end. (Bonus if you utilize a template and a shared repository.)

• There will be a daily call with the onshore and offshore leads to discuss issues, status and upcoming activities/tasks.

• All test cases will be maintained in the test management tool and updated with current status daily (e.g. draft, under review, approved) and conform to established test case standards set by the QA Manager.

Process Guidelines, cont.

• Requirements traceability to test cases and defect traceability to test cases are required.

• All defects assigned to the QA team will be updated daily in the defect management tool.

• Status provided by remote locations will follow a particular format/template (bonus: place in shared repository).

• Knowledge Transfer documentation will be maintained in a repository that is accessible by all who need it (and kept current).

Process Guidelines, cont. • There will be cross training initiatives implemented so that

there will be always a minimum of 2 resources that are SMEs in a particular area.

• Succession plans will be in place.

• Be cognizant of potential cultural clashes - languages and colloquialisms can cause misunderstanding, so keep written and verbal communication free of slang, non common acronyms and (of course) professional. Learn about the local customs ahead of time and find out the best ways to communicate.

Process Guidelines, cont. • Have a defined process of onboarding/exiting resources. If working

with a resource vendor, have a good screening process for candidates (e.g. test case writing exercise, phone screen, etc.) and knowledge transfer sessions for exiting resources.

• Have a plan for downtimes. Unexpected downtimes are inevitable, so having a contingency plan is essential. Some suggested activities can include updating test cases, automating test cases, adhoc/exploratory testing, preparing test data, review of regression test sets, building executive dashboards, brainstorming continuous improvement initiatives, researching new tools, cross training/knowledge sharing.

Operational Guidelines*

• Proactively communicate with short, to-the-point updates.

• Be descriptive as much as possible to reduce ambiguity, share screens, take screenshots

• Don’t assume people are immediately available

• Be patient

• Keep records (including chat sessions)

• Agile? Try this:

• Co-locate the teams when possible.

• Get a proxy who will be responsible for representing the business owner.

• Utilize collaboration tools and possibly overlap working hours.

* Kramer, Hertzfeld, “Making Distributed Teams Work”, Oct 2015

In Summary Having a well-defined team structure, a documented set of operational procedures, and established standards for daily communication within a globally located QA team will build trust, maintain a collaborative environment, and manage expectations. As a leader, it is your responsibility to ensure the operational infrastructure is maintained in order to maximize its efficiency and provide the sense that the team is operating as if without boundaries. But don’t forget to foster the relationships and include everyone in team celebrations, praise for jobs well done, and 360 degree feedback.

Q&A