Ahhhh, it’s that familiar time of year when the smell of Performance Reviews and Goal Setting is in the air! I’ve managed loads of testers over the years and get asked to write a lot of feedback for folks. You’ll hear on LinkedIn the popular advice to take ownership for your career and depend on others as little as possible.

But unfortunately, most corporate performance management processes are fundamentally unfair and biased towards people who have great advocates in the system – people who are speaking about you when you are not in the room. Too often the power dynamics in performance management also tell people to advocate for themselves and then subject them to grading “curves” and corporate structures that aren’t very transparent for you to align you objectives.

My best relationships with people I am “managing” always start with openness and honesty about where we are and what I can do for you. It’s an important relationship and I take it very seriously as people are trusting you for that advocacy. Personally, for me to do my best work I need to know the folks I’m working with share values and principles that we’ll hold ourselves and each other accountable.

For all my Test Managers our there (or anyone responsible for a test team’s performance), here’s a model I’ve used for getting the best out of testers and a lens to look at your objectives/performance…enjoy!

Managing a Team of Testers

STOP: Thinking that the value of the test team is in anyone else’s hands and pretending “maturity” driven test metrics or TPI programmes will make improvements…

START: Telling the team exactly what’s expected of them supported by systematic training of testing skills, test reporting and business alignment…

CONTINUE: Driving out fear of failure by creating an environment that enables innovation and rewards collaboration through strategic objectives and constant feedback…

Performing on a Test Team

1) Honesty

☑ With ourselves and with each other – do not tolerate dishonesty…
☑ Transparency about confronting our strengths and weaknesses…
☑ Self-reflection…

2) Integrity

☑ Learn from mistakes to earn the right to have an opinion…
☑ Provide clear and constant feedback…
☑ Do not lower the bar…

3) Accountability

☑ Take ownership for getting things done – at all levels of the team…
☑ Understand “value” in your business…
☑ Manage your own expectations…