How can you qualify for a software testing manager role?

A dois anos migrei para área de testes e apesar de n?o ocupar cargo de lideran?a, uma transi??o de nível requer conhecimentos técnicos e as softs skills para lidar com a equipe do setor e demais equipes das empresas, agregando e adquirindo conhecimento com as resolu??es de problemas.

As Test Manager you need to have a well grounded knowledge on Testing Processes, plus communication, problem solving, leadership skills. The technical knowledge goes as a secondary skill.

My top ten would be: Technical Proficiency Leadership Communication Project Management Problem-Solving Risk Management Quality Assurance Principles Test Planning Resource Management Adaptability

My view on this is Testing manager role is now very different as compared to old days .Testing managers role is now more in motivating Team,Guidance in the Learning curve and Provides opportunities to individuals to up Skilling from their journey from Functional testing to Testing Specialist or Testing Architect. With Agility every one in the Team is Developer and not only who is writing code.Break the traditional STLC system and Support QA team to give their best.

Software Testing Manager shall have: - Technical Knowledge - Practical Experience in the field, - Test Planning, - Problem Solving, - Quality Mindset. - Leadership, - Support new ideas, - Support his team, - Grow his team, - Not shy to ask questions of his team, - Lead, not manage... - RESPONSIBILITY - Takes responsibility of his team actions, - Takes responsibility for his work, actions

Try getting your ISTQB certification and more experience. This comes with time, different projects and facing different issues. Also, try learning and taking part in project management, team leadership and other management related activities.

It can be difficult getting into a managerial position within testing, or indeed any industry, if you don't have the requisite experience. So how do you get that experience from an analyst role? Personally, I would try to be as proactive as possible. This can be done by identifying any gaps in the current test management process and offering to plug those gaps, or purely by offering assistance to the test management process in general. This is usually welcomed and could lead to you covering for your test manager when they are either on holiday or on sick leave. These activities then often 'snowball' into demonstrable achievements and more exposure, which in the medium to long term can lead to securing a permanent test manager role.

Having a degree in computer science or software engineering is not a must, but is so valuable. Being able to understand the product from a technical point of view will be the key to lead the product to success.

Consider obtaining relevant certifications like ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) to demonstrate expertise in testing. Others include Test qualifications would be in a test maturity model for example the TMMI. Project management qualifications such as APM. Agile qualifications such as Scrum Master or Product Owner. Dev Ops qualifications such as Continuous Testing. Business processes qualifications as well.

Certifications are not proof of knowledge and experience. Practice, passion, and learning are proof of knowledge and experience.

My top ten or what I've experienced: Test Planning Test Strategy Resource Allocation Risk Assessment Test Case Design Test Execution Defect Management Test Automation Environment Management Progress Monitoring

Communication with All team members Technical Proficiency Leadership Problem-Solving Risk Management Quality Assurance Principles Test Planning Resource Management Adaptability

When it comes to responsibilities, people usually tend to narrow down the scope and perspective! Knowing that testing is a team activity and not only related to testing, we can see that the testing manager's role and responsibility will expand to include communication and alignment with both the business and development teams. I believe that working continuously with both the testing side and the development side will ensure that the testing manager role is really contributing to achieving the company's business goals.

Testing Strategy: Develop and implement the testing strategy and process for software projects to ensure quality and compliance. Team Management: Lead and manage the testing team, including resource allocation, task assignment, and performance evaluation. Project Oversight: Monitor testing progress, set deadlines, and ensure testing activities align with project milestones. Collaboration: Coordinate and collaborate with cross-functional teams, including developers, project managers, and clients, to align testing objectives with project goals. Communication: Provide regular updates and reports on testing status, outcomes, and any issues or risks to stakeholders.

According to my experience so far below are must responsibilities for test managers; Test Planning and Test Strategy development Resource Management Test Coverage Matrix Test Environment Management Test Process developement and monitoring Risk assessment Test estimation Test Case Design/ Peer review Test Execution and Status reporting Defect Management Collaboration/Communication among team for any escalation Effective leadership, communication, and organizational skills are essential for a Software Test Manager to fulfill these responsibilities successfully and contribute to the overall success of the software development project.

Where do we start, three general types: People Process Technology People Difficult stakeholders Lack of engagement with QA Lack of understanding of testing value Process Budget challenge Testing outside of delivery process Less value seen in Test process that other process Technology Test data Environments Tech stack Code quality

planning, team resources, knowledge, stakeholders, quality awareness, technology, process understanding (functional process and also IT processes). And align all your stakeholders about quality and what is expected from them ARCI - set up, assign (and execute) Accountable, Responsible, Consulted and Informed per quality related activity

- People mindset, - Process, - Deadlines, - Technical Knowledge, - Stand behind is team, in case of need, - Support his team in new ideas

Two of the biggest challenges facing a Test Manager in my experience relate to requirements capture and changing scope. Requirements that are nebulous and woolly and not specific or detailed enough, can be very difficult to test against. If possible get involved with the Business Analysts (or whoever is capturing the project requirements) as early in the project lifecycle as possible, and work with them to ensure the requirements are captured adequately and are ‘testable’. Changing scope (often leading from poor requirements gathering) can be frustrating but often inevitable, particularly in agile projects. Ensure a sufficient buffer is built into your test plan to allow for the additional testing, and any associated regression testing.

Quality Ownership! Who ownes quality? And if you own quality, what exactly do you own. It should be top down supported and bottom-up build up. But without ownership at C-level, the battle will be hard. Stakeholder management is a challenge, especially in todays remote work world. Lot of insights, decisions, personal contact and progress is discussed at the coffee machine. With overfull agenda's and back to back meetings it is hard to find time for stakeholder management (even more in international/ global projects where time differences add an additional complex factor)

Humility, and think of a quote from Star trek (The original or the remake). "The Needs of the many outway the needs of the one".

Pragmatism number one. Managing an outcome takes a pragmatic approach and knowing when to fight or yield ground. Seeing the bigger picture and being the other voice in the room. Number two Networking. Meet the community engage and add value. So many amazing managers and testers our there go and connect. Number three know your value. If you think your a test manager then believe that and have the confidence to carry that through.

Ability to manage critical path - Usually testing is the last activity of a cycle and hence there is always a milestone pressure mounted on the test manager. And this is the time when you must act smartly. Some of the tips I found helpful - While planning prioritise the test cases in a way that 20% of those meets 80% functionalities in the product . This puts you in a position to adapt a risk based approach for the remaining 80% test cases. Play around with your entry criteria and accommodate flexibility. Idea is to overlap your test with integration activities. Negotiate with integration team and pick up those tests that can be executed with the part of integration that has been achieved. You may later augment 2-3 potential e2e tests.

There is no one and only one way to do the things nor a bulletproof checklist to achieve success. So, each opportunity/challenge is a new way to learn and teach. In any case, analyze, plan, execute, review, adapt and repeat

Il faut avoir une capacite a gérer le scenario. Normalement les tests sont a la fin d'un cycle donc il va falloir suivre chaque étape pour que une fois a votre niveau vous ayez le maximum d'info possible et plus de facilite a faire votre travail.

While testing experience is crucial for understanding of the technicalities of the team to be led, being a manager is a completely different job than being a tester. A test manager has to do all the administrative tasks, the reporting, being an interface between the stakeholders and the test team, and have awesome people-skills (which is a must for any sort of manager). Also, being a manager involves taking responsibility for the actions of those the manager is in charge with, and dealing with that. As team member, one is supposed to take responsibility for one's own actions. But the manager is responsible for the entire team. One should be very clear on what one wants to do: test or manage.

As a manager you have to think that we have 2 ears and only one mouth, this is because we have to listen twice as much as we talk. At a Manager level or even team leader, Active listening is a key skill. This can be linked to Responsive Questioning to ensure that you actually have the correct understanding from those that you manage as well as for the work you are going to delegate out.

I am believing that you do not need any rank for leading.(like Simon Sinek). Leading people should be the key point here. Management should be a tool used to ensure the peace and comfort of employees. It is a fact that much more useful results are achieved in an environment that is conducive to innovation and making mistakes. Even if your company fires you, as we are seeing nowadays, the employees can tell the board that they should take you back. When it comes to testing, as a manager, you need to reinforce the place of testing in the software lifecycle and ensure that testers share new, fast and knowledge-driven results with stakeholders. Yo should set strategies and policies not by yourself with your employees.