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Leading Testing Activities

[ A Guidebook for New Leaders of Testing ]

This book is your guide to leading testing activities, especially for those without experience in the testing world. It’s also an up-to-date guide for testing professionals moving into leading testing activities. It’s here to answer the question: If you moved into test leadership roles, what do you wish you could go back and tell yourself before you started?

In large organizations, leadership roles often involve the line management responsibilities of hiring, firing, and running a team. Yet another leadership form exists, where a person leads an activity without hierarchical obligations. The leader of a testing activity can be an individual contributor—a team member who focuses on leading the testing activities.

  1. All references are located here: https://www.o2sn.dk/ltabook/
  2. Andrew Neel, 2016, https://unsplash.com/photos/1-29wyvvLJA
  3. “Goal-Aligned Test Strategies”, 2022, https://www.o2sn.dk/goatsbook/
  4. Thank you for the inspiration Meg, sorry it took a while. Teaser – A Guidebook to Leading Testing, 2023, https://www.o2sn.dk/2023/05/10/teaser-a-guidebook-to-leading-testing/
  5. Gerald M. Weinberg, Becoming a Technical Leader: An Organic Problem-Solving Approach, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6732375-you-don-t-have-to-be-a-boss-to-be-a
  6. What do Staff Engineers actually do? Will Larson 2020, https://staffeng.com/guides/what-do-staff-engineers-actually-do/
  7. Being the Boss in Brussels, Boston, and Beijing, Erin Meyer, 2017, 
    https://hbr.org/2017/07/being-the-boss-in-brussels-boston-and-beijing
  8. Why Do We Fall, Master Bruce? 2022, https://o2sn.dk/2022/04/29/why-do-we-fall-master-bruce/
  9. “Leadership and Management”, Psychological Safety 2023, https://psychsafety.co.uk/leadership-vs-management/
  10. In Charge of Testing, 2019, https://o2sn.dk/2019/07/21/in-charge-of-testing/
  11. Keith Klain, 2024, Leadership in Testing – WhatReally matters,  https://www.linkedin.com/posts/keithklain_leadership-testing-management-activity-7173966033119006721-0BTr/?
  12. “The 6 Goleman Leadership Styles: Which Is Yours?”, Personio 2023, https://www.personio.com/hr-lexicon/six-goleman-leadership-styles/
  13. “What’s a testing manager”, Chris Kenst 2023, https://www.kenst.com/whats-a-testing-manager-2/
  14. “QA reporting to development managers”, Ministry of Testing Club 2024, https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/qa-reporting-to-development-managers/73926
  15. Leading Test Teams When You’re Not A Manager, Nicola Lindgren, 2021,
    https://www.ministryoftesting.com/articles/3fcf879d?s_id=15770297
  16. “LEADING QUALITY: How Great Leaders Deliver High-Quality Software & Accelerate Growth” by Ronald Cummings-John & Owais Peer, 2019, https://www.leadingqualitybook.com/
  17. “Engineering Management for the Rest of Us”, Sarah Drasner 2022, https://www.engmanagement.dev/
  18. “A Pathway From Software Tester to Manager” Daniel Knott 2023, https://www.practitest.com/resource-center/blog/a-pathway-from-software-tester-to-manager
  19. Learning resources for new test leads, Ministry of Testing Club 2022,
  20. “Test Management & Leadership Wiki”, Ministry of Testing Club 2023, https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/test-management-leadership-wiki/
  21. “How to Develop a Culture of Quality in Software Organizations”, interview with Erika Chestnut, https://www.infoq.com/news/2024/02/culture-quality-software-orgs
  22. The Testing, not the Testers, 2021, https://o2sn.dk/2021/01/25/the-testing-not-the-testers/
  23. Robertson Hunter Stewart, 2024, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7135867072198160385/
  24. Charity Majors, 2024,
    https://charity.wtf/2024/01/05/questionable-advice-my-boss-says-we-dont-need-any-engineering-managers-is-he-right/
  25. How to grow from senior to a lead role, Gregor Ojstersek, 2023, https://newsletter.eng-leadership.com/p/how-to-grow-from-senior-to-a-lead
  26. Leah Stockley, 2024, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7153892607826247681/
  27. Something about Leadership, 2021, https://www.o2sn.dk/2021/02/15/something-about-leadership/
  28. Selected items from Simon Koerner, 2023, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7104101648603492352/
  29. Ours. Sometimes we have to give up a little bit to move forward, Alan Page 2023, https://angryweasel.substack.com/p/ours
  30. Relations – are about half of IT, 2021, https://www.o2sn.dk/2021/01/18/relations-are-about-half-of-it/
  31. Why Most RTO Mandates Are Likely To Be Overturned By 2028, Alexander Puutio 2024, 
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexanderpuutio/2024/04/25/why-most-ceos-are-likely-to-overturn-their-rto-mandates-by-2028/
  32. Accelerate, Forsgren et.al. 2018, The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations,
  33. 24 Key Capabilities to Drive Improvement in Software Delivery, IT Revolution, 2020, https://itrevolution.com/articles/24-key-capabilities-to-drive-improvement-in-software-delivery/
  34. How to Coach Subject Matter Experts to Do Testing, 2020, Subscription required, 
    https://www.ministryoftesting.com/testbash-sessions/how-to-coach-subject-matter-experts-to-do-testing-jesper-ottosen
  35. We Have Been Here All Along, 2023, https://www.o2sn.dk/2023/04/04/we-have-been-here-all-along/
  36. From Astrid Lindgren’s stories about Pippi Longstocking,  https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6773397-i-have-never-tried-that-before-so-i-think-i
  37. Leading Test Teams When You’re Not A Manager, Nicola Lindgren, 2021,
    https://www.ministryoftesting.com/articles/3fcf879d?s_id=15770297
  38. Leading Test Teams When You’re Not A Manager, Nicola Lindgren, 2021,
    https://www.ministryoftesting.com/articles/3fcf879d?s_id=15770297
  39. How I became a Tech Lead at Google is simpler than you think, Irina Stanescu, 2023, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7128388025193037825/
  40. Being Glue, Tanya Reilly 2019, https://noidea.dog/glue
  41. Quality Bits podcast, Team Glue & Why QA is a Tech Leadership Role with Vernon Richards, APR 16, 2024 SEASON 2 EPISODE 17, https://www.buzzsprout.com/2037134/14847666-team-glue-why-qa-is-a-tech-leadership-role-with-vernon-richards
  42. Rob Bowley, 2024, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7132997997520400385/?
  43. Testing Peers 87, TESTING AS A CAREER – IS IT WORTH IT?, 2023, https://testingpeers.com/?p=7265
  44. Hofstadter’s Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstadter%27s_law
  45. Exact Instructions Challenge – THIS is why my kids hate me. | Josh Darnit 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDA3_5982h8
  46. What If You Are Not Around?, 2024, https://www.o2sn.dk/2024/04/15/what-if-you-are-not-around/
  47. New Fields of Testing Activities, 2023, 
    https://www.o2sn.dk/2023/09/06/new-fields-of-testing-activities/
  48. Using Vocabulary to Make Things Special, Maaret Pyhäjärvi 2024,
    https://visible-quality.blogspot.com/2024/05/using-vocabulary-to-make-things-special.html
  49. Stop Hoarding, Start Growing Others, 2023, https://www.o2sn.dk/2023/09/11/stop-hoarding-start-growing-others/
  50. I Don’t Wanna, Alan Page, 2024, https://angryweasel.substack.com/p/i-dont-wanna
  51. Wiring the Winning Organization, by Gene Kim and Steven Spear 2023, https://itrevolution.com/product/wiring-the-winning-organization/
  52. Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow by Matthew Skelton, Manuel Pais, 2019, https://itrevolution.com/product/team-topologies/
  53. Where Does Testers Fit In? 2020, https://www.o2sn.dk/2020/06/10/where-does-testers-fit-in/
  54. Team Topologies, key concepts, https://teamtopologies.com/key-concepts
  55. Less Test Managers, More Test Coaches, 2017, https://o2sn.dk/2017/08/31/less-test-managers-more-test-coaches/
  56. Project Management versus Programme Management versus Task Management – know the difference, Tim Clements 2023,  https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7097834051230687232/
  57. Something about Leadership, 2021, https://www.o2sn.dk/2021/02/15/something-about-leadership/
  58. But what if we can’t release often? https://o2sn.dk/2021/12/08/but-what-if-we-cant-release-often/
  59. Using MTTR to Understand When to Test, 2021,
    https://www.o2sn.dk/2021/10/27/using-mttr-to-understand-when-to-test/
  60. How Automation Affects the Business, 2019, https://www.o2sn.dk/2019/09/21/how-automation-affects-the-business/
  61. Maybe you’re a Tester, Scott Logic, 2023, 
    https://blog.scottlogic.com/2023/11/21/maybe-you’re-a-tester.html
  62. Software testing is only dead, if it stands still, 2012, https://www.o2sn.dk/2012/01/23/software-testing-is-only-dead-if-it-stands-still/
  63. You’re a quality champion, not a bug snitch, Katja Obring, 2024,
    https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7165247465334493184/
  64. What Does ‘Quality’ Really Mean in Software Development? Katja Obring 2023,
    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-does-quality-really-mean-software-development-katja-obring/
  65. The domain expert is the tester, 2017, https://o2sn.dk/2017/05/30/the-domain-expert-is-the-tester/
  66. How to involve developers in exploratory testing, Callum Akehurst, 2024, https://cakehurstryan.com/2024/03/26/how-to-involve-developers-in-exploratory-testing/
  67. Quality Bits Podcast, 2024, Beyond Testers: Rethinking Quality in Software Development with Elisabeth Hendrickson
    https://www.buzzsprout.com/2037134/14269538-beyond-testers-rethinking-quality-in-software-development-with-elisabeth-hendrickson
  68. Modern Testing principles, item 5 “We believe that the customer is the only one capable to judge and evaluate the quality of our product.” 2017, https://www.moderntesting.org/
  69. Keynote, PeersConf2024, https://heatherreiduff.com/
  70. What software testing job titles have you held in your career? Ministry of Testing club, 2024,
    https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/what-software-testing-job-titles-have-you-held-in-your-career/73986/3?
  71. What do you love about software testing? Ministry of Testing club, 2024,
    https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/what-do-you-love-about-software-testing/74073/7?
  72. Evolution Characteristics, Ben Moiser https://learnwardleymapping.com/landscape/
  73. Darlings, Pets, Cattle and GUID’s, 2021 and 2026,
    https://www.o2sn.dk/2026/03/29/return-of-the-darlings-pets-cattle-and-guids/
  74. Exploring the map, Simon Wardley, 2016, https://medium.com/wardleymaps/exploring-the-map-ad0266fad59b
  75. Map evolution not maturity, Simon Wardley 2024, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-map-evolution-maturity-simon-wardley-cpzfe/
  76. What testers find, 2015, https://o2sn.dk/2015/09/13/what-testers-find/
  77. Roq – Quality Engineering, 2024,  https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7168913452344807424/
  78. The domain expert is the tester, 2017, https://o2sn.dk/2017/05/30/the-domain-expert-is-the-tester/
  79. Lessons Learned in Cloud Testing, 2023, https://www.o2sn.dk/2023/03/09/lessons-learned-in-cloud-testing/
  80. Tester Aided in Two-Digit Million Dollar Deal, 2022, https://www.o2sn.dk/2022/01/28/tester-aided-in-two-digit-million-dollar-deal/
  81. More Than a Functional/Non-Functional Split, 2023, https://www.o2sn.dk/2023/07/28/more-than-a-functional-non-functional-split/
  82. This book is an intro, definitions and standards can be found elsewhere.For a glossary see https://club.ministryoftesting.com/tag/glossary
  83. Enter Compliance Requirements, 2024, https://www.o2sn.dk/2024/05/09/enter-compliance-requirements/
  84. Applying Accelerate as a Strategy Legend, 2023, https://www.o2sn.dk/2023/04/12/applying-accelerate-as-a-strategy-legend/
  85. In Charge of Testing, 2019, https://www.o2sn.dk/2019/07/21/in-charge-of-testing/
  86. Petros Plakogiannis, 2023, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7132849470072901632/
  87. State of Testing Survey, https://www.practitest.com/state-of-testing/
  88. In Charge of Testing, 2019, https://www.o2sn.dk/2019/07/21/in-charge-of-testing/
  89. For an intro see Continuous Testing with Azure DevOps, Bushra Alam, https://testautomationu.applitools.com/azure-devops-tutorial/
  90. Don’t Overthink Test Cases 2023, https://www.o2sn.dk/2023/06/22/dont-overthink-test-cases/
  91. Using MTTR to Understand When to Test, 2021
    https://www.o2sn.dk/2021/10/27/using-mttr-to-understand-when-to-test/
  92. Goal-Aligned Test Strategies, 2023, https://www.o2sn.dk/goatsbook/
  93. Making a Map of Risks, 2022, https://www.o2sn.dk/2020/10/06/making-a-map-of-risks/
  94. Visualize the Test Strategy, 2020, https://www.o2sn.dk/2020/08/30/visualize-the-test-strategy/
  95. Don’t request the kitchen sink, 2017, https://www.o2sn.dk/2017/08/23/andthekitchensinktoo/
  96. OODA loop, https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/OODA-loop
  97. Create Situational Aware Test Plans, 2021, https://www.o2sn.dk/2021/09/16/create-situational-aware-test-plans/
  98. Crudely redrawn from the original by Shane Hatton, 2024, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7191531367871004674/
  99. A track down memory lane, 2019 and 2026,  https://www.o2sn.dk/2026/05/13/keeping-track/
  100. Closing the Gaps, 2019, https://www.o2sn.dk/2019/10/22/closing-the-gaps/
  101. OODA loop, https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/OODA-loop
  102. Deming PDCA, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA
  103. Examples for formal documents: Test Strategy, Test Plan, Test Report
  104. Create a Master Test Plan, Maaret Pyhäjärvi 2024,
    https://www.linkedin.com/posts/maaret_create-a-master-test-plan-i-have-been-activity-7194258400040435714-exEH/?
  105. The Information, the Opportunity, and the Mindset, 2024, https://www.o2sn.dk/2024/04/28/the-information-the-opportunity-and-the-mindset/
  106. Taking My Own Medicine, 2022, https://www.o2sn.dk/2022/09/15/taking-my-own-medicine/