Expert Test Manager: Operational Module Course Outline General Description A truly successful test organization not only has solid, relevant test objectives and a test strategy, but it also has the means to achieve those objectives and put that strategy into action. This intensive, immersive, and extraordinarily interactive course provides test managers with the expert skills needed to manage the test effort, to report on the test results, and to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the test process. In an intensive series of hands-on, interactive discussions, exercises, and exercise presentations, you ll develop plans and project dashboards, mitigate project risks, build relationships, and integrate distributed teams into your test effort. These case studies include projects that follow Agile lifecycles, traditional lifecycles, emerging lifecycles, and blended lifecycles. You ll apply the ideas to both collocated and distributed teams, and to products ranging from safety-critical to entertainment systems. Your metrics will allow you to report results and measure your process in meaningful, impactful ways. By the end of this course, through active immersion, hands-on exercises, and intensive engagement with the instructor and fellow attendees through presentation and discussion of exercise solutions, an attendee will have mastered the skills necessary to: Position, represent and promote the testing organization and its role in the production of quality software Integrate information from multiple sources to determine realistic estimating and scheduling options to achieve a product with a given quality level Communicate effectively at any level in the organization regarding all aspects of software testing Determine the most effective testing process considering product, lifecycle, regulatory requirements, standards, organizational factors, schedules and budgets Derive a metrics tracking and reporting scheme that will address the information needs of internal and external stakeholders ISTQB Expert Test Manager Operation (v1.0) 1
Created by Rex Black, President of, Inc. (), past President of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (www.istqb.org), past President of the American Software Testing Qualifications Board (www.astqb.org), and lead author of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board Expert Test Manager Syllabus, this course is also ideal for testers and test teams preparing for certification. It covers the International Software Testing Qualifications Board Expert Level Syllabus Test Manager 2011, and will be submitted for accreditation to an ISTQB-recognized National Board in May 2017. Learning Objectives Through presentation, discussion, hands-on exercises, and post-exercise solution defense, attendees will learn to: For a given project, estimate the test effort using at least two of the prescribed estimation methods Use historical data from similar projects to create a model for estimating the number of defects that will be discovered, resolved, and delivered on the current project During the project, evaluate current conditions as part of test control to manage, track, and adjust the test effort over time, including identifying any deviations from the plan and proposing effective measures to resolve those deviations Evaluate the impact of project-wide changes (e.g., in scope, budget, goals, or schedule); identify the effect of those changes on the test estimate Using historical information from past projects and priorities communicated by project stakeholders, determine the appropriate tradeoffs between quality, schedule, budget, and features available on a project Define the role of the test manager in the change management process Conduct a risk assessment workshop to identify project risks that could affect the testing effort and implement appropriate controls and reporting mechanisms for these test-related project risks For a given level of testing determine the most effective metrics to be used to control the project Create an effective test results report set for a given project for internal use Create an accurate, comprehensible and audience-appropriate test status dashboard ISTQB Expert Test Manager Operation (v1.0) 2
Given a specific project and project team, determine the proper level and media for providing weekly test reports Given a particular lifecycle, project, and product, design appropriate test results reporting processes and dashboards, including metrics, taking into account the information needs and level of sophistication of the various stakeholders Analyze a given test situation during any part of the test process, including appropriate qualitative interpretation, based on a given test dashboard and set of metrics Explain why a test manager would need to understand basic quality control techniques Analyze the business context with respect to deployment, installation, release management, and/or product roadmap and determine the influence on testing For a given situation, demonstrate how to create and build relationships with other managers and teams Explain and give examples of important relationships a test manager needs to create in a complex project environment For a given contract, define the third-party relationship regarding testing responsibilities For a given project with an external vendor, define suitable SLAs Discuss potential communication strategies for a given third party engagement Analyze a given project scenario to determine the appropriate level of testing required by the internal test team for a product that has employed a third party for some portion of the development/testing Create a set of entrance and exit criteria for a specified third party project scenario Explain the purpose of tracking effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction metrics and give examples that would apply to a test project For a given completed project, manage a project retrospective, analyze data gathered during the project retrospective, and formulate plans for improvement ISTQB Expert Test Manager Operation (v1.0) 3
Course Materials This course includes the following materials: Name Course Outline Noteset Expert Test Manager Operational Module Sample Exam Questions Expert Test Manager Mock Exam Bibliography and resources Advanced Test Manager Sample Exam Questions Advanced Test Manager Mock Exam Description A general description of the course along with learning objectives, course materials and an outline of the course topics A set of PowerPoint slides covering the topics to be addressed A complete set of questions for every learning objective in the Operational Module of the ISTQB Expert Test Manager Syllabus A practice exam containing questions and answers to assess your readiness for the ISTQB Expert Test Manager Operational Module exam A set of further readings, Web sites, tools and other resources to help implement the concepts A set of approximately 150 pages of review materials for the Advanced Test Manager level covering every learning objective in the ISTQB Advanced Test Manager Syllabus A practice exam containing 65 questions and answers to provide a review of the ISTQB Advanced Test Manager exam Note that material from the Advanced Test Manager syllabus is a prerequisite for the Expert Test Manager modules, and may be covered in the Expert Test Manager exams. Therefore, review material is provided to attendees. Session Plan The course runs for three days, with attendees encouraged to take the ISTQB Expert Test Manager Operational Module exam after completing the course and after further study. Each day is about 360 minutes of class time, from 9:00 to 5:30. Timing is approximate, depending on attendee interest, discussion, and interaction about the exercises. Each day consists of a mixture of lecture, ISTQB Expert Test Manager Operation (v1.0) 4
discussion, exercises, and presentation/discussion of exercise solutions to the group. The following shows this session plan in relationship to the chapters and sections of the ISTQB Expert Test Manager syllabus. Day One Introduction Project Management Tasks Project Risk Management Tracking Information Day Two Evaluating and Using Information - Internal Reporting Sharing Information - External Reporting Test Results Reporting and Interpretation Release Considerations Creating and Building Relationships Types of External Relationships Day Three Contractual Issues Communication Strategies Integrating from External Sources Verifying Quality Effectiveness, Efficiency and Satisfaction Metrics for the Test Process Project Retrospectives Recommended Readings The class materials include a bibliography of books related to software testing, software security, quality, and other topics of interest to the security test professional. ISTQB Expert Test Manager Operation (v1.0) 5