Birth of a Test Organization

Summary:

This paper aims to identify practical, easily implemented solutions to establishing a test organization. Often testers are put in a test group that is defined in name only. Regardless of what name your organization uses for the test function, you need to determine your group's identity and what you will and will not be responsible for. I liken this process to that of the growth stages of a child from crawling to first steps to walking.

About the author

Lisa Bresko

Lisa Bresko is currently manager of business application certification for Infoworks, a Viacom technology service. She leads a small test team that has made a large impact on the way testing is viewed by the business groups they support. The team is responsible for testing of critical business applications on a variety of platforms supporting the dynamic entertainment businesses of MTV Networks, Showtime Networks, and Viacom. With 15 years in the information services industry, Lisa has been in a variety of roles including applications development, database administration, project management, and finally, quality management. Working in a variety of roles and responsibilities within various IS&T organizations has provided her with the basis for the implementation of a series of basic strategies for creating a successful, respected quality management organization. She started her career in quality management as a tester and has progressed into a management role with a very team-oriented approach. Her goal is to foster the team relationship between groups in her organization to produce quality software they can all be proud of.