How do you handle testing in a remote or distributed team?

1 Define your testing strategy

The first step to handle testing in a remote or distributed team is to define your testing strategy. This means clarifying your testing goals, scope, approach, methods, tools, roles, and responsibilities. Your testing strategy should align with your project objectives, requirements, and quality criteria, as well as your team's capabilities, availability, and communication preferences. Your testing strategy should also be documented and shared with your team and stakeholders, so that everyone is on the same page and knows what to expect.

2 Choose your testing tools

The next step is to choose your testing tools that support your testing strategy and enable your remote or distributed team to work effectively. You will need tools that facilitate test planning, design, execution, reporting, and collaboration. Depending on your testing needs, you may use tools such as test management software, bug tracking software, automation tools, performance tools, security tools, code review tools, and collaboration tools. You should evaluate your testing tools based on their functionality, usability, compatibility, scalability, security, and cost. You should also ensure that your testing tools are accessible, reliable, and secure for your remote or distributed team.

5 Collaborate with your testing team

The fifth step is to collaborate with your testing team to ensure that your testing process is smooth, efficient, and effective. Collaboration is crucial for remote or distributed teams, as it helps to build trust, rapport, and understanding among team members, as well as to solve problems, share knowledge, and improve skills. You should use various methods and tools to collaborate with your testing team, such as video calls, chats, emails, forums, wikis, blogs, and surveys. You should also establish regular communication and feedback loops, as well as celebrate successes and achievements.

6 Learn from your testing experience

The sixth and final step is to learn from your testing experience and use it to improve your testing process and outcomes. Learning is an ongoing process that involves collecting, analyzing, and applying feedback and data from your testing activities, as well as from your team and stakeholders. You should use various techniques and tools to learn from your testing experience, such as retrospectives, reviews, audits, surveys, metrics, and benchmarks. You should also document and share your lessons learned and best practices with your team and stakeholders, as well as with the wider testing community.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?