Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
With the introduction of new technology at increasing speed, existing technology
becomes obsolete very fast. You, as a test professional, need to test applications built
using new technology; this is a challenge, as you will have to learn and understand
this technology to test it. You, as a test professional, always have to keep an eye on
the new technologies being developed and will have to keep upgrading your skills to
be productive in your profession. On projects where you need to test such software
applications, your penchant for learning new technologies will come in handy.
The testing tools need to be upgraded to be used successfully to test this new
technology. Often it takes time before tool vendors release new versions that are
capable of testing this new technology. In such instances, you need to look for alter-
native tools in the market which can offer this functionality. The test team will also
need to upgrade their skills fast and should be adaptable to adjust to new demands.
If you are a test manager, then you will need to devise an appropriate strategy
on your project so that demands for new technology and new tools can be met.
Before the start of the project, make sure that you have taken the right initiatives to
fulfill these demands on the project.
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People Management
All software development activities are labor intensive and so are software testing
activities. Never underestimate resource requirements for your project. At the same
time, you must also evaluate to fit the right people for the right jobs. Not all people
with the same skill sets are the same. So after seeing and evaluating all the testing
tasks, decide which resources will be the right people for each of these tasks.
In life most people are not satisfied with their jobs because the assignments they
get are not challenging. People get bored and unmotivated when they keep doing
the same tasks again and again. To stimulate them, consult them often and provide
opportunities for them to work on assignments that they think are challenging
for them. Before assigning, also make sure that the person is capable of doing that
assignment. Motivated people are always more productive than those who are not
motivated. You can make your team more productive by providing them with
opportunities to work on challenging assignments.
... Skills Required
You will always find that skills required for the project and skills available to you
are never the same. But you need to manage the project anyway. The best strategy is
to first find available skills and then try to find how they will fit closely with which
required skills. Once you have fitted closely fitting skills, you should think about
how to cope with skills for which there are no properly matching skills available.
Write these down. Once again, see your list of available skills. Try to match which
skills are widely matching. To fill the gap in skill levels, you may need to arrange
