Organisations put a lot of time and money into releasing new versions of software but often don't apply the same level of focus to assessing whether the release was a success or not. The attached document reviews what is currently the norm in this area and goes on to outline the process we generally use at Amadori Limited when asked to assess a release of software We describe a process which Explicitly links the value of a release to the value that its contents will provide to the organization Values the prevention of regression and a smooth delivery process as highly as the delivery of change Places the needs of end users at the centre of the measurement process. It will also allow releases across an organisation to be compared and measured in an objective and consistent fashion The document includes a worked example showing in detail how the reporting process works in practice and a survey template which can be used to elicit information about a release from end users in a structured fashion. Both can easily be adapted to fit the details of your specific projects and releases Hopefully we’ve designed this document to be as clear as possible, but if you have any questions about it, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Agile Demystified course: Click to access and download

I've been asked several times in recent months various questions along the lines of "What exactly does a Test Manager do?" or "What do you need to be an effective Test Manager". The attached slides may help answer the question setting out the various areas a Test Manager needs to focus on and how they inter-relate. They may also assist individuals who are looking to discuss the role of Test Manager with their management team and require a framework around which to build such discussions The slidepack can be found on the Core Curriculum page

I've been asked several times in recent months various questions along the lines of "What exactly does a Test Manager do?" or "What do you need to be an effective Test Manager". The attached slides may help answer the question setting out the various different roles a Test Manager must fulfil at the same time if they are to be effective in the role. They may also assist individuals who are looking to discuss the role of Test Manager with their management team and require a framework around which to build such discussions The slidepack can be found on the Core Curriculum page

A Training Course covering the topic of Effective Test Management has been published on the site for a couple of years now The course aims to assist those new to Test Management in building an environment in which effective test processes can flourish and is scheduled to last a couple of days From feedback I’ve received however it has become apparent that 2 days is simply not sufficient to do justice to all of the topics within the current syllabus particularly if space and time for interactive elements is to be found. So as a result I’ve been working on a redesign of the existing material with a view to making it more modular and allowing individuals and organisations to access the elements which are of most relevance to them I see the revised course in its revised format as having 4 separate modules as follows 1. Managing an effective test process – which will include the existing material on how best to manage each phase of the testing process along with additional exercises and interactivity and become a self contained 1 day course 2. Effective Test Strategies and Test Plans - this element has already been carved out into a separate 1 day course and is available for download from the website 3. Building an effective test team - this subject is touched upon in the existing material but I plan to expand into a half day session including sessions on • Working out what sort of testers your team needs • Recruiting the right people • How your needs will vary according to the sort of organisation and project you are working on • Maintaining an effective team over the long term which will include a section on to how to mentor and bring on the careers of more junior members of your team 4. Building an effective test environment within which testing can flourish This is another topic covered at a high level in the existing material but which I plan to expand and make more interactive, looking at ways in which an effective test manager can create good working relationships with other parts of the organisation and build general acceptance of the role that testing needs to play within the overall delivery process if it is to be effective. This material is still in the very early stages of preparation but I would expect it to be a half day session when complete also Once all 4 courses are complete I will then look to recombine them into a single coherent set of training for those with the time and inclination to spend 3 solid days learning about how to become an effective test manager. I will be looking to merge elements from all 4 modules into this unified course into a revised running order at this point in order to better show how each element is interrelated and each supports the other I will retain the original course material on the site however even when all of the above is complete for anyone who wishes to use it

I’ve just made the following material available online relating to my long-promised “Agile Demystified” Training Course 1. A Course Outline 2. Draft Slidepacks covering the first half of what is designed as a 1 day training course Having been exposed many times over the years to organisations and projects who claim to be Agile when they are quite clearly not, the course sets out to return to basics and by referring back to the 4 Goals and 12 Principles of the Agile Manifesto my aims are to est ablish 1. What Agile really is and what it sets out to achieve 2. How all of the goals and principles within the Manifesto are designed to work together to deliver Agile The course will make clear the clear advantages which can accrue if an organisation decides it wishes to adopt agile processes but will also make clear the issues and difficulties they are likely to encounter along the way I plan to add the remaining sessions to the site over the next few weeks and the current course outline may still be subject to some change as a result As with previous material I have posted online I always welcome feedback and questions as these help me improve the quality of the material moving forward a link to the material is provided here

The more observant visitor to this site may already have noticed a change over the last couple of days. I've invested in SSL certificates which should mean that any personal information you share via comments etc. should be secure from unauthorised access I don't believe there have been problems in this area to date anyway, but moving forward this update should provide just a little bit more in the way of reassurance in this area

I've spent the last few weeks putting together a course entitled "Effective Test Management". A lot of the material has been delivered before under various contexts for a variety of clients and a large part of the work has been converting all of this disparate material into a standard format and making sure that all client specific references have been removed both from the slidepacks and the exercise material This exercise is now more or less complete and I have come to realise a couple of things That to do the subject matter justice the course, as currently written should probably be 3 days long rather than the original 2, particularly if I want to preserve an appropriate level of interactivity within the sessions That as currently constituted the course starts to drag a little in the middle and if it feels a bit of a slog for me as the author/presenter I can only imagine it would be worse for the attendee I do however think that the base material within the course is worth presenting so have decided to move forward as following A. I have extracted the sessions and exercises relating to Test Strategies and Test Plans and turned them into a 1 day entitled "Effective Test Strategies and Plans" This is uploaded to the website and is ready for you to download and present B. It may be possible to do the same for the other elements in the course and for example run 2 further 1 day courses entitled "Building and Sustaining an Effective Test Team" and "Managing an Effective Test Process" but I am also thinking that it might actually be better to present the material in a completely different way interweaving all the different threads to show how Effective Test Management is more a matter of successfully combining lots and lots of small changes and processes across multiple areas than a sudden radical step change. This would require some major rework on my part. Expect some updates on this in the weeks to come

To a large extent the core content of the course will remain exactly as before. It is still a course aimed at demonstrating ways to maange the testing process and a team of testers more effectively. In response to feedback however I am currently redesigning the course so that rather than building towards a picture what an Effective Test Manager looks like, section by section, it will bow begin by describing what an Effective Test manager should do and then followup with sessions providing detailed hints and advice in each area. I also need to improve the material associated with a couple of the training exercises to make them more stand alone and capable of being run by someone other than myself