The need for a QA on Demand model hits right at the core issue that most businesses face today: effective cost management. Having the optimal number of resources as projects ramp up and down is paramount to achieving this.
Most Quality Assurance (QA) projects have varying workloads. When the development team releases a new build to the QA team, a large amount of testing must usually be completed in a limited amount of time. To address these demands, timeframes may be elongated, scope of testing may be reduced, or additional QA staff members are added. When the testing is completed, the QA team is left with a greatly diminished workload until it is time to ramp up for the next project.
The Management Challenge:
• People: How do you cost-effectively staff for the peaks?
• Process: How do you control the quality of your implementations?
• Technology: How do you train effectively and efficiently on your systems, applications, and testing technologies?
The ideal model provides QA experts when needed. As identified above, there are steps to be taken across people, process, and technology to enable the most cost-effective model for Quality Assurance.
People
LEADERSHIP: The key first step is to name a QA leader who is the hub for all QA-related work with the client. Based on experience, the QA leader knows how to determine the skills and toolsets needed for a particular project. Upon assembling a SWAT team that works under the leader’s direction, the QA leader manages the daily work of the team and any personnel issues that may arise. As projects move towards completion, the QA leader manages the cost and risk to decrease the size of the QA team.
RESOURCES: Experienced QA practitioners partnered with resources who are accustomed to utilizing newer technologies enables the best of all worlds. The GenX and GenY resources bring new ways of approaching problems, seeking out information, and collaborating that expedite the learning curve.
Process
Once engaged with the client, the QA leader hits the ground running to perform a needs analysis and to assess the environment. The right staffing levels and resource mix are identified and obtained.
Recommendations for tools can be a part of the assessment. A knowledge repository and portal is created so that this assessment process can be repeated for any of the subsequent projects requiring testing.
QA leaders should be well versed in implementing test case management and traceability processes. Test engineers need to be involved at the early requirements gathering stage of the project. In partnership with clients, the QA leader and team can co-develop disciplines in proper project communication protocols, issues resolution, and defect management. In time, the QA engineers become application subject matter experts and can assist in making a User Acceptance cycle a success.
Technology
Collaboration tools and an interactive library of information will capture knowledge about the business and systems involved in the project. Today’s GenX’ers and GenY’ers are very familiar with social media, collaborating in real-time, and seeking out information in new ways. Tools such as SharePoint and/or a wiki, used to capture business rules and knowledge of the application, make it easier for new resources to hit the ground running. This discipline facilitates knowledge transfer and enables collaboration. Project artifacts are stored in this knowledge repository for reuse and future training.
QA engineers should have knowledge of and access to QA best-in-breed tools where test cases can be documented and maintained, requirements traceability to test cases is enabled, and where regression test beds can be run via automation.
In Summary:
Cost management/reduction is a top requirement at nearly every company these days. At the same time, they can ill afford to have systems that do not operate properly, provide incorrect results, and ultimately require re-work. Thus, a cost-effective QA model is more important than ever. Utilizing a strong leadership team, utilizing QA best practices, having a robust knowledge base, and rewarding collaborative behavior are the formula for success.
We want to know: how does your organization handle the peaks and valleys of QA staffing?
About FYI Solutions
FYI Solutions is an innovative, US-based IT consultancy that delivers better results through closer relationships with our clients and consultants. We specialize in business analytics solutions, software, and staff for the financial services, insurance, life sciences, media & publishing, and automotive industries.
