NVP Software Solutions

Author: Neil

  • Make Better Business Decisions With the Help of QA

    When it comes to your company’s inventory management system and financials, is your information readily available so you can make key business decisions (with confidence)? If you can’t easily and honestly answer yes – perhaps it’s time to look at the process(es) with which you and your company manage data. This data could include monthly sales figures, accounts payable/ receivables, sales management data, purchase order tracking, contact database, employee information and more. (more…)

  • So you want to be a Software Test Manager?

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    So you want to be a software test manager and are wondering about your decision?

    There are plenty of ways to become a software test manager. If you ask current test managers how they got there, these are some of the answers you may get:

    • Traditional: They started as a tester; became a test lead and ultimately a manager.
    • They were a lead in some other area and a managerial role opened up which they took.
    • They have no background at all in any sort of role but were seconded to a Test Manger Role.
    • It is part of the career path (particularly applicable to larger organisations).

    Regardless of which path you used to get to Software Test Manager there are several common aspects once you are there:

    • Metrics are crucial at both the department and project level.
    • Much of the management is similar to other management roles.
    • Be prepared to communicate a lot and to explain over and over again why things are being done in a particular way.

    There is a lot of conferences, user groups or LinkedIn groups that cater to Test Management. One of the better known ones is the QUEST Test Manager’s Workshop.

    Due to ongoing evolution, it is critical not to lose your technical edge even as a manager. If you find yourself looking for a job later, it is helpful to be current with at least some aspects of technology. While it may not be an immediate concern it will certainly help..

    Some companies will provide career paths for personal and technical development and improvement.

    Make sure to join LinkedIn Groups and your local Quality Assurance group. These are great options for networking and finding out other information. Take a look also at straight management groups whether related to testing or not. They have lots of information for you.

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  • So you want to be a software test automator?

    So you want to be a software test automator and don’t know how to start.

    There are plenty of ways to become a software test automator and we’ve talked to a number of people curious about how to break into the field. If you ask current test automators what their background is here are some answers you may get: (more…)

  • So you want to be a Test Lead?

    So you want to be a Test Lead and don’t know how to start?

    A Test Lead usually manages the testing for a project or a subset of a projects depending on how big it is and what’s required overall. A test lead role is not typically a managerial role but in some cases it may to lead to that. (more…)

  • So you want to be a software tester?

     

    So you want to be a software tester and don’t know how to start.

    There are plenty of ways to become a software tester and we’ve talked to a number of people curious about how to break into the field. If you ask current testers what their background is here are some answers you may get: (more…)

  • Anticipate the worst and plan for the best

    Anticipate the worst and plan for the best

    The press has been full of the Mars probe crash over the past week. A sensor malfunction caused the onboard computer to think the probe was much closer to the surface than it actually was and triggered a series of actions that caused it to crash. It’s not easy to anticipate everything especially when it has to be planned out so far in advance and last minute changes are not possible. Mars probes have failed for a number of reasons over the years and knowledge of the red planet is still limited. How could quality assurance helped? (more…)

  • Upcoming Software Testing & Quality Assurance Events – November 2016

    NVP Software Solutions will be participating in the following software testing and quality assurance events happening this November in Ontario, Canada. The events are located in Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and London in the coming two weeks. Check out the relevant websites for more information and to register. This is a great opportunity to connect with other software testing and quality assurance professionals. We hope to see you there! (more…)

  • Getting Value From Quality Management

    Getting Value From Quality Management

    Two weeks ago we provided A How to on Quality Management?  This week we want to look how you get Value from Quality Management.

    We often hear people questioning the value of Quality Management, and rarely hear the same question on the value of Software Testing. Testing has a tangible and more immediate outcome. Quality Management, on the other hand, doesn’t always show its value and activity immediately even though it provides longer term and larger rewards. The key to getting value from Quality Management and Quality Assurance activities is that all findings must be acted upon. If they aren’t, value isn’t achieved and efforts will be wasted. (more…)