As a test manager, test progress management is an important part of test management, which runs through the entire testing activities from product requirements to product release. The test activities are divided into stages: analysis of test requirements, writing of test strategies and test plans, design of test plans and test cases, execution of test cases, and test release. Writing test strategies, test plans, and test release evaluations are usually the responsibility of test managers. Test plans, test design, and use case execution are the main activities of testers. Therefore, this article mainly expounds personal views on test plan and test design, test progress management of use case execution.
The purpose of test progress management is to complete the delivery of the established version requirements within the version release time according to the product quality objectives under the current team testing manpower, environment, tools and other resource conditions. That is to say, under the premise of test scope, release time, guaranteed version quality, human input, environmental resource input, etc., manage the test progress well. Ensure that the version is completed with high quality and efficiency, and there is no delay in version release due to testing reasons. According to personal experience, good test progress management can have the following aspects:
1. Accurately evaluate the version workload and prioritize requirements.
2. Coordinate testing-related resources in advance
3. Multi-layer distribution, controllable layer by layer.
4. Execute use cases according to use case priority.
5. Daily version test progress report.
6. Test scope change management
Accurately assess version workload
According to the delivery scope of the version after the baseline, use the WBS decomposition method to decompose the requirements as much as possible, and the granularity is as small as possible within the capability scope. Smaller granularity means more accurate workload estimates. Here are some key points: 1. With the deepening of testing activities, the understanding of the requirements will become more and more comprehensive, the workload assessment will be more accurate, and the workload needs to be refreshed in real time. If the workload significantly exceeds the previous estimate, it is necessary to communicate with the project manager in a timely manner, leaving sufficient time for the PM to communicate with the customer. Then adjust the test division and plan. 2. In addition to the explicit delivery requirements, it is necessary to pay attention to the input of implicit conditions, that is, it is necessary to fully consider the networking, service characteristics, special service testing of the existing network, etc., which need to be considered together in the evaluation and cannot be omitted.
Coordinate testing resources
After the version plan is scheduled, you need to start coordinating test resources, including human resources, environmental resources, tool licenses, etc., and you need to coordinate in place before the version is transferred to testing at the latest. It is not possible to start coordination after the version is transferred to the test, especially for some common resources between project groups. If the resources are not in place, it will seriously affect the execution of the test progress and even the release of the version.
Execute use cases according to use case priority
Adhere to the implementation in accordance with the priority order of use cases, and give priority to test use cases with higher risk. The factors affecting the priority of use cases include resource dependencies, feature developer level, and requirement complexity. Executing high-risk use cases first can expose risks in advance. If bugs with high defect levels are found, they can also leave enough time for development to analyze and solve them. In fact, there will be deviations in the implementation of this, because most people have the habit of seeking profits. It is accustomed to picking up soft persimmons and leaving difficulties to the end, which means that problems and risks are left to the end. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the progress management.
Multi-layer layout, controllable layer by layer
The strategy of multi-layer distribution is to further split the single task and manage each control point in a refined manner. Each control point is controllable and usually the goal is controllable when the goal is achieved. As a simple example, assuming that it takes 3 days to complete the version upgrade task, the disassembly and upgrade task is: build a basic environment (0.5 man-days) --> execute basic use cases (0.3 man-days) --> upgrade the target environment (0.2 man-days) man-day) --> run basic use case (0.3 man-day) --> fallback environment (0.2 man-day) --> run basic use case (0.3 man-day) --> test report (0.2 man-day). In this way, setting control points at each node to track the progress can effectively ensure the management of the test progress.
Daily version test progress
Version test journals are an effective way to transparently manage test progress. By sending daily test daily reports to relevant stakeholders of the version, including project managers, developers, and testers. It can let leaders and testers know the version progress, version risks and other content in real time, especially for particularly urgent testing tasks, the daily report is even more necessary. The format of the daily report and the content to be presented will be different for each project team. The test daily report is designed according to product characteristics, test cycle, and project team conditions, but at least it should include the overall progress of the version, test risks, and problem discovery.
Test Scope Change Management
The only constant in user needs is change. Not only requirements, but also testers asking for leave, abnormal environment resources, adjustment of test priorities between versions, etc. Therefore, what test managers should do is to actively respond to these changes, adjust test strategies and test plans, and inform relevant testers. If there is a risk, communicate and resolve it in a timely manner.
Summarize
测试进度管理是每个测试管理人员都在面对的问题，影响测试进度的因素很多。我们要做的就是主动面对变化、给出应对措施，能力范围内解决不了的问题就及时暴露出来，将问题上升处理，给出自己认为能解决问题的几种方法。因为有可能在你眼里很棘手的问题在上一层领导手里轻易就可以解决，视角不同、决策权不同。