A Better Way – Case Study 2 – Thinking Like the Client
In our last several blogs we have discussed ‘A Better Way to Test”.
The issue is to apply this to actual situations. We have 5 Case Studies we plan to use over the next several weeks to address this. The second case study might be called “Thinking Like the Client”.
Even though many in IT have embraced Agile in some form or another and with some level of success, not all clients are so willing. We find this particularly the case with larger, older and more safety or image conscious clients. They are not willing to take the risk of everything not coming together at the correct time. They are not willing to live with constant change. In addition, they often have milestones that need to be fulfilled and quite frequently they have stated contract deliverables that need to be fulfilled so that payments can be made.
We received a call from the President of a development company with a large contract with probably the oldest, largest and most image conscious client you could get – the federal government. Even though the company had delivered projects successfully before and had a good record of coming through with what was required, the client still wanted a formal Test Plan completed.
In our experience, the client is normally okay with a High Level Master Test Plan provided it contains the following (this is not an exhaustive list by any means):
- High Level Objectives
- A listing of the types of testing needed and the risk around each type
- Processes for Test Creation and signoff
- Processes for Defect tracking and resolution
- Methodologies for executing the testcases
This reassures them that the developers have an understanding of what needs to be done.
If you want to discuss this further contact us.
Take a look at some of the seminars that we offer that address this situation and see if they apply to you. Testing can be better.
Contact us for further information.
Leave a Reply