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April
2002 Feature Article
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The Application of Part 2 - Organising "The
management of any significant project requires that the work be divided
into tasks for which completion criteria can be defined. The transition
from one task to another occurs in steps; to permit the orderly progress
of the activities, the scheduling of these steps must be determined in
advance." Introduction The role of planning in the modern approach to managing a testing organisation was discussed in a previous article, along with reasons why sound business management principles are as valid to a testing organisation or department as to any other goal-driven organisation. This article delves a little further into this topic, focusing on the implementation of the planned objectives, and the importance of organising the testing department. The importance of organising the testing department It is important to realise
that a framework or structure is required within which management is able
to put its plan or strategy in place. The development of this structure
or framework includes organising. Organising divides the total workload into activities that can be performed by an individual or group. For instance, in the typical testing organisation, project management, test plan creation, test execution and testing support could be identified as high-level activities that align with the testing goals. Splitting the activities in this manner would in turn enable work to be allocated according to the abilities or passions of employees, allowing for the productive usage of all testing resources. In a testing organisation, similar activities could be grouped into functional areas. These functional areas could, for instance, consist of testing project management, test analysis, testing, and support, thereby enabling experts in their given field of study to execute specific tasks. The creation of an organisational structure within the testing department allows for a means to co-ordinate the activities of the entire department, enabling it to function as a goal-driven, productive unit. In co-ordinating the activities of the test team in this manner, the duplication of tasks is effectively eliminated. An additional benefit of the resulting structure is the avoidance of possible conflicting objectives within the test team. The basic principles of organising Implementing two basic principles - specialisation and departmentalisation - is the first step towards organising a testing department. These are explained in further detail below. I. Specialisation Specialisation is described as the way in which a task is broken up into smaller units in order to take advantage of the specialised knowledge or skills that reside within the testing team. |
This principle is easily illustrated by examining the different skill sets required of, for instance, a testing project manager and a test analyst respectively - the focus in these two fields is extremely varied, and so is the training required. However, the cost of training these two individuals can be greatly reduced, as they are only trained in a particular part of the total task. In addition, the identification of relevant training material will be made easier, as the focus area is well known. Allowing the individual to concentrate on a specific task considerably improves his or her skill in that area, enabling him or her to perform the task better and faster than anybody else does. Therefore, allowing a test analyst to focus on the task of creating test packs, while leaving it up to the testing project manager to manage deliverables and expectations, should improve the quality of outputs and productivity for both tasks or areas. The acquisition of new or the replacement of existing human resources is considerably simplified by having specialisation within the testing organisation. Replacing a tester is difficult enough, replacing a software tester with analysis and project management experience is three times as difficult. Specialising in identified
tasks leads to the creation of tools, processes and techniques that improve
productivity and quality. Departmentalisation implies the forming of departments within the testing organisation as a result of specialisation. The reason for departmentalisation is therefore inherent in the advantages of specialisation. Various organisation structures are described in contemporary business management approaches, all mostly depending on the size and type of business. In a testing organisation the most value would be derived from a functional organisational structure. In a functional organisational structure the activities of each specialised area are grouped together to form a department. Activities like testing analysis, test pack creation and test data definition, for instance, could be departmentalised within a possible area called "Testing Analysts", while activities like managing the test team deliverables, client interaction and change management could be handled by testing project managers in the "Project Management Department". Included in the functional organisational structure might also be the generally accepted areas such as marketing and human resources. Conclusion To implement a planned strategy for a testing department or organisation, it is important to organise. Not only because it is viewed as an indispensable component of the management process, but also because of the productivity benefit that will result. Leadership and control are not possible within the testing organisation if the activities of management and functional specialists are not structured. It is, however, important to remember that the division of work within the test environment will require a large amount of co-ordination from management. It would be easy for these functional or departmental areas to lose sight of ultimate goals and objectives. Mike Snyman |
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