Consulting Services
Test capability/test project assessment
An assessment is a good place to start when you want to improve your organization’s test capabilities, rescue or reorient a project test effort that appears to be in trouble, or simply understand how well your testing is aligned to your business risks.
I also assess vendors’ testing capabilities for clients who contract for testing services, or who have concerns about the vendor testing performed on critical products.
I begin each engagement by meeting with the sponsors to clarify and confirm the assessment objectives, and to draw up the list of people to interview.
Rather than evaluating to a particular standard or set of testing “best practices”, I orient each assessment to the testing requirements of the client’s projects. The assessment focuses on practical capabilities and actual practices, rather than processes per se.
Through interviews with key players and stakeholders, supplemented by review of representative documents, I evaluate the testing needs of your organization’s typical projects, and the test team’s current practices, philosophies, methods, and decision-making process about what and how much to test. I assess what is working well, identify areas for improvement, and draft a report recommending actions to take to bring the testing into line with the project testing needs.
Assessment Report
At the conclusion of the engagement I meet with the sponsors and other key players to present the assessment report. Each report contains practical recommendations, including potential “quick hits” for improving the effectiveness of testing and cost-effectiveness, as well as longer-term recommendations and a roadmap for growing the test/QA team’s capabilities and increasing its effectiveness.
Timeframes
The minimum I recommend for an assessment of general testing capability that will produce useful findings and productive recommendations is ten working days, including time to complete and deliver the report. Additional days would be needed if travel to more than one assessment site is required.
I can also do a more in-depth assessment over fifteen working days. In this case, I suggest combining a general assessment of testing capability with more detailed exploration of, and recommendations for, a specific high-priority topic area. Examples you might wish to consider include an important project-in-progress, or a subject like systems integration testing.
The timeframe required for assessment of testing on a project in trouble will vary with the project size, location, and circumstances.