SURVIVING AS A TESTER, EVEN IN DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES

RANDALL W. RICE, CTAL

WWW.RICECONSULTING.COM

© 2014, Rice Consulting Services, Inc.

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WHY THIS TOPIC?

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TEN PROVEN WAYS TO DE-MOTIVATE YOUR TEAM10. Set unreasonable “stretch” goals

just to see how hard people will work.

11. Never explain your rationale for decisions.

12. Assign meaningless tasks.

7. No matter how good something is, criticize it.

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TEN PROVEN WAYS TO DE-MOTIVATE YOUR TEAM6. Take all the credit for yourself.

5. Solve problems by building a new bureaucracy.

4. Listen…like a brick wall.

3. Refuse to consider ways to do the job more effectively.

5. Treat your team like they are machines that should never break down.

And finally…

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TEN PROVEN WAYS TO DE-MOTIVATE YOUR TEAM

1. Never, ever, in any circumstance, give anyone praise or recognition.

GreatJob!

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WHAT’S IN THIS FOR YOU?• Strategies for knowing how to deal with

difficult managers and/or co-workers

• Lower personal stress

• A positive direction for your career

• Wisdom about organizational dysfunction

• Proactive ways you can thrive, regardless of the circumstances

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I’M HERE TO GIVE YOU HOPE!

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MY STORY• Burned out 3 times over the last 25 years

• Dealt with depression twice

• Worked in several organizations that were very dysfunctional

• Found a way above it all

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DISCLAIMER• Everyone’s situation is different.

• Some of you are deeply invested in your organization

• Retirement plans, etc.• Take my advice for what it is…free.

• Before making any drastic changes, get other counsel.

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FIRST, THE BAD NEWS• Most organizations have a certain level

of dysfunction.

• That’s why Dilbert was a popular cartoon!• You have little control over what the

management above you does.

• You have little control over what your co-workers do (or don’t do).

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NOW, THE GOOD NEWS• You are in a great profession – testing.

• You can make positive changes in your own life and career that can be an investment no matter where you work.

• Circumstances do change.

• Slowly, perhaps, but they do change.

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WHAT YOU CAN DO• This session is aimed toward you, the individual tester.

• However, you are impacted by those around you.

• Likewise, you can impact those around you.

• Some solutions I suggest will apply to things you can do, while others apply to things your team can do.

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THE “BIG 5” I HEAR MOST OFTEN• “I have a clueless manager.”

• Or, “Our upper management is clueless about testing, projects, etc.”

• “Testers aren’t valued where I work.”

• “We don’t get the resources (tools, time, etc.) to do the kind of testing we need to do.”

• “Our findings are ignored or overridden.”

• “Testers are blamed for any failure seen in production.”

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THE CLUELESS MANAGER• There are those that “think they

know” how to lead and manage.

• But, they really don’t know how to lead.

• Then, there are those that know they need help, they just don’t have the support and mentoring needed.

• There are also those that are just mean.

• Unfortunately, they control your raises, promotions and other career factors.

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IDEAS TO SURVIVE THE CLUELESS MANAGER • You can try to be a positive influence on them.

• Share ideas (They may steal them).• Be supportive and gain their confidence.• “I want to help you be successful.” is a powerful thing to tell your

manager.• Find out if they have a mentor.

• If so, discretely mention specific issues to the mentor.• Suggest a team training session, with their participation (not

their leadership).

• Wait for the next re-organization.

• However, this is risky.• There is no assurance the next manager will be different.• It may be a long wait.

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TESTERS AREN’T VALUED• Value is seen in different ways by

different people.

• In some organizations, testers are highly valued team members, while not in others.

• You don’t get invited to important meetings.

• You have no opportunity for feedback.

• You hear things like “We have testers, but I have no idea what they do.”

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IDEAS TO BOOST YOUR VALUE• Identify your stakeholders.

• Find out what your stakeholders need and value.

• Get some key stakeholders on your side.

• You want influential ones.• Go beyond being seen as “problem finders” to

“information providers.”

• Build a great testing dashboard so that everyone can see the progress and value of testing.

• Measure your defects and the impact value – then report it to the stakeholders.

• Be able to tell people what you do and how it adds value to your organization!

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LACK OF RESOURCES• You don’t get the things you need

to be successful:

• Training• Tools• People• Time

• Yet, management and user expectations are high that you will “find all the problems.”

• It seems you are always being asked to “do more with less.”

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DEALING WITH SCARCE RESOURCES• This is an expectation issue.

• Management needs to know that the wider you spread resources, the thinner (less effective) the output becomes.

• Try changing the context and ask your management, “Would you deny developers the resources they need and still expect them to do their job well?”

• You can work to make your testing as efficient as possible by smart test design and creative use of tools.

• However, some companies will not allow free tools.• Project managers, especially, need to know when resources

are constrained.

• If they can’t or won’t correct the situation, all you can do is work with what you have.

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IGNORED FINDINGS• You do a lot of good work, find some critical defects, yet

management decides to release the software anyway.

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DEALING WITH IGNORED FINDINGS• Ask yourself:

• Did I do the best testing with the resources I had?• Did I perform as many tests as possible and report the

outcomes accurately?• Did I do my best to make my case to management about the

impact these defects would have on users?• Did I document what was found in testing (for future

blamestorming)?• If so:

• Accept the facts as they are.• Go home and sleep well.• Collect your paycheck.

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THE BAD NEWS ABOUT IGNORED FINDINGS• The problems may cost a lot to fix in

production.

• You may be blamed for them.

• This is often a pattern of dysfunction that can only last so long before a major problem causes a crisis.

• Also, technical debt is accumulated.

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TESTERS ARE BLAMED FOR PROBLEMS• This is a cultural issue.

• Blaming cultures don’t care who they blame, as long as they can find someone to blame.

• It’s easy to blame testers – “What are we paying you for, anyway?”

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WHAT NOT TO DO• Don’t shift the blame to someone else.

• Take responsibility if it truly was your fault.• Don’t accept the blame if it was not your fault.

• Keep good records of testing and don’t be afraid to show the facts.

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WHAT I’VE SEEN WORK• When the test manager/leader is good, they will buffer the

team from blame and fight the battles for the team.

• The test manager can also work to implement retrospectives and lessons learned.

• However, the culture of blame may not be able to handle them.

• From the personal perspective, learn from your mistakes but don’t take the fall for someone else.

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TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF• “Put your own oxygen mask on first.”

• Some companies demand too much from people in terms of workload.

• It’s really bad in the USA.• Set work boundaries for yourself, such as:

• I leave work at a certain time unless there is a true crisis

• I don’t work weekends• I take breaks every hour or so• I don’t sacrifice personal needs such as food

and rest for work.• Recharge your personal batteries.

• Stay encouraged.

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BE PROACTIVE IN YOUR CAREER• Keep an open mind and learn new things – even things

you don’t think you will enjoy.

• Become a person known for excellent work.

• Practice on new tools.

• In fact, have your own personal set of tools.• Stay current on testing and technology trends.

• Develop a specialty.

• Would you be willing to work for a company that believes differently about testing than you do?

• Network constantly with other testers in other companies.

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KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS• If you try to develop a weak area, you

may get better.

• If you sharpen a strength, you can be exceptional.

• What is it you are brilliant at?

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SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?• That’s a hard question to answer.

• It depends on a lot of factors, such as your investment in the company and future prospects.

• However, as long as your team and your company operates in a dysfunctional state, you will be miserable.

• You will be reduced to working at the same level as the rest of the team.

• If you do decide to leave, then leave.

• Counteroffers seem attractive, but the trust is broken.• Your management may not see you as loyal.

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BIO - RANDALL W. RICE

• Over 35 years experience in building and testing information systems in a variety of industries and technical environments

• ASTQB Certified Tester – Foundation level, Advanced level (Full)

• Director, American Software Testing Qualification Board (ASTQB)

• Chairperson, 1995 - 2000 QAI’s annual software testing conference

• Co-author with William E. Perry, Surviving the Top Ten Challenges of Software Testing and Testing Dirty Systems

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Randall W. Rice, CTAL

Rice Consulting Services, Inc.

P.O. Box 892003

Oklahoma City, OK 73170

Ph: 405-691-8075

Fax: 405-691-1441

Web site: www.riceconsulting.com

e-mail: rrice@riceconsulting.com