Software testing is required to assess the quality of some or all of the work products delivered by the software development lifecycle activities. The testing process itself subsists in the larger perspective of the development lifecycle.

Therefore, the Test Manager needs to design and pilot the test tasks in the context of how development lifecycle activities and work products affect testing and vice-versa.

Take the example of organizations employing Agile development methodology.

• Here developers often resort to testing driven development by creating automatic unit tests and keep adding the tests and the code into a configuration management system.
• So the Test Manager, in coordination with development manager, must ensure that the testing team is a part of these activities and aligned to them.

Review of the unit tests enable the testers to understand the software and its implementation as well as suggest improvements to increase their scope and impact.

The testers can also assess how they can incorporate their legacy automated tests, particularly functional regression tests, into the configuration management systems.

As discussed earlier, the exact relationship between test tasks, software development lifecycle tasks, stakeholders in testing and work products depends upon a variety of factors like organization, project, software development lifecycle, etc. Testing is closely related to these:

• Requirement gathering and management – While determining test scope and estimating test efforts, the Test Manager should also be aware changes in requirements later into the project, undertaking control activities to incorporate the changes in testing as well. It is advisable to make Technical Test Analysts and Test Analysts a part of the requirement reviews.
• Project Management – Test Manager is responsible for finalizing the test schedule and resource requirement in coordination with Technical Test analyst and Test Analyst and making it available to the Project Manager. If there are any changes in project plan, Project Manager and Test Manager must work together to take up test control activities to incorporate changes in project plan.
• Managing product configuration, release and change – test team led by the Test Manager is responsible for outlining and describing testing processes and methods and define them in test plan. Test Manager may also request the analysts to come up with build verification tests and ascertain version control throughout test implementation.
• Software development and maintenance – Test Manager is responsible for coordinating with Development Managers to deliver test objects – complete with test content and test release dates – and getting involved in defect management.
• Technical support – Test Manager must coordinate with Technical Support Manager to deliver test results accurately during test closure and to review production failures so that improvements in test process may be implemented. The technical support team must be aware of observed failures and their solutions.
• Technical documentation development – Test Manager is responsible for working in coordination with the Technical Documentation Manager to ascertain documents for testing are provided on time and to manage defects pointed out in the documents.

Besides finding the stakeholders, a Test Manager must make a list of other software development lifecycle activities and work products that have an effect over or are affected by testing process. If this is not done, the test process may not be able to realize its optimal efficiency.

Other Work Products In Testing

Senior management and test managers also create documents like Test Policy, Test Strategy, Master Test Plan and Level Test Plan which are discussed in detail in later topics.

Many work products get created in the complete testing process, especially through Test Analysts. Examples include specifications for test cases, defects reports, test logs, etc.

Test Manager supports the Test Analyst by ensuring quality and consistency by following these steps:

• Determining metrics like rejected defects percentage for evaluating work product quality and monitoring their correct usage during testing
• Selecting and customizing templates for documenting the work products
• Establishing standards for work products, like degree of detailing required
• Getting test work products reviewed by appropriate stakeholders using correct methods

Type of test documentation, degree of detailing and test document specificity is influenced by these factors:

• Development lifecycle used
• Standards to be followed
• Organizational and other regulations to be followed
• Product quality
• Project risks

Getting industry standard templates for documenting testing work products is an important consideration for any Test Manager. IEEE 829 is one of the most important sources because it can be used in any industry.

However, it has many levels of detailing included, so it must be customized as per an organization’s standards.

Regular use of templates enables seamless joining of processes across the organization and decreases need for training staff on test work products documentation.

Test reports are created by the Test Manager. They are discussed under Testing Metrics.

In the next topic we will learn how to align software testing activities with product / development life cycle activities.

Other popular articles:

• ISTQB Advanced Level Test Manager Study Material
• Who are the stakeholders in software testing? How to identify them?
• What is Test Planning? What are Work Products in Testing?
• What is Test Monitoring and Test Control?
• What are the roles and responsibilities of a Test Leader?