QA Process Management - The Challenges Encountered (Summary)

Summarily, the challenges faced during these stages fell into three categories:

• Category I- Team Collaboration: Conducting effective Testing Cycle, generation of good quality Test Cases, sharing and creation of the numerous indispensable information assets of the QA process required a high degree of collaboration among Quality Managers, Developers, Test Case Reviewers and Testers.

• Category II- Information Assets Management: Host of documents formed an integral part of the QA Cycle

• Test Plan
• Detailed Feature Specifications
• Test Case
• Test Case Review Template

Documents generated as an output of the QA Cycle included

• Test Logs
• Defects Tracking Sheet
• Session Reports
• QA Reports

For process consistency and uniformity, well-defined standards in the form of published templates or documentation guidelines were needed for each of these assets. Also mandatory for each, was a create-approve-publish document lifecycle. Post QA Cycle, archiving of assets in a secure, well-organized repository was needed. Search, security and tracking of assets were basic requirements on such a repository.

• Category III- Scheduling, Execution and Tracking of Test Plans: The actual Test Cycle needed to be planned, approved, efficiently executed, and tracked.
In the existing work scenario collaboration and planning happened through formal or informal meetings, asset sharing and management through mails or shared file servers all of which were cumbersome to track, slow and time inefficient.

QA Process Management - The Challenges Encountered

Case Study Example:

An Offshore Service Center in Wipro was providing Testing Services to a desktop software development corporation named ABC* Corp. Three modules of their desktop suite: DeskPro, DeskNet and DeskSecure had to be tested at the Offshore Center. Most of the time the testing of the modules were performed independently but a release of the desktop suite mandated that they work in sync, thus multiplying the problems of the managers.

The problems being faced by this team were analyzed and a QA Process Management Solution was modeled. The tribulations faced are elucidated below.

The Problem Statement

Phase 1: Test Case Generation
ABC* Corp. used to send detailed feature and policy documentation for features to be tested at the Off Shore Center. It would also send guidelines for writing Test Cases (TC) for the feature. Two or three engineers had to collaborate on Test Case generation for each feature as per the guidelines sent by ABC* Corp. The first draft of the Test Cases had to undergo review and approval by peer-teams within or across modules. Review comments had to be incorporated by the authors and the modifications had to be reviewed again.

After the first draft and peer review, Test Cases had to be reviewed by the QA leads of each module and a consolidated TC Review Report for the module was generated. QM had to inspect the modular TC Review Reports, consolidate them and generate a single complete Test Case Review Report. After this the Project Manager (PM) had to approve the test report and dispatch the TCs as well as TC Review Report to ABC* Corp for approval. The client then approved or suggested modifications to Test Cases. Modifications, if needed, were made, reviewed and finally with ABC* Corp’s approval the Test Cases were published.

Phase 2: Test Cycle Planning
QA leads of all the three modules generated respective test plans and communicated it to the Quality Manager (QM). QM used to check for feasibility of plans and plausibility of estimates. Inputs, if any, on plan modification had to be communicated to the QA leads and modifications made had to be reviewed again. Issues, if any, relating to resource availability, reconsideration of deadlines etc, had to be escalated to the Project Manager by the QM. Inputs, if any, from the PM had to be incorporated into the execution plan by the QM and reviewed by the PM again. With the Project Managers’ approval the Test Plans were published.

Phase 3: Test Cycle Execution
The Test Plans, Test Case documents, Log Sheet Templates and guidelines to fill the Log Sheets had to be communicated to test engineers. Testing was carried out and defects were logged into a shared Defect Database. Any ad hoc problem faced by testers during QA process had to be addressed quickly. Progress and pace of testing were tracked. At the end of the test cycle, Test Logs were inspected. Any missing pertinent data in the logs were pointed out to the Testers and complete Log Sheets solicited. Test Logs had to be archived in a shared repository. Module leads were to generate report based on test results logged.

The Quality Manager reviewed each module’s report and consolidated it into a final QA Report. The final Report was submitted to the Project Manager. Tick off Discussions ensued between the QM, PM and the client. Based on severity of bugs reported, product modules - DeskNet, DeskPro and DeskSecure were declared ready for release. The release information and QA Reports were published.

(Continued...)