Tag: Process Improvement

Earth Day passed a few weeks ago without much notice as did Earth Hour in the previous month. Most of the world was concentrating on the more critical problem of Covid-19.

One might ask if Quality Assurance has anything to say about Earth Day or any other environmental initiative. It seems like a stretch from the standard work of checking for issues and improving processes. However, there are a couple of counter arguments:

1. Data centres absorb a huge amount of electricity. One of the items that Quality Assurance looks at is Efficiency of operations. An incremental improvement in efficiency can save millions in power.
2. More closely related to standard Quality Assurance is the way in which jet engines are now being monitored continuously and adjusted for efficiency on the fly (so to speak). Again, the data gathered can lead to improvements in efficiency saving in emissions and fuel costs.
3. IoT could have the same impact as long as the energy spent implementing it and building all the sensors does not outweigh the savings.
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These are just a few of the changes that Quality Assurance impacts when they are involved.

Take a look at our page for Environmental Organisations for further ideas.

Give us a call to continue the discussion. We have supplied Assessment, Coaching, Consulting Management and Training to Financial, Telecommunications, Utlities, NFP, and Government to name just a few.

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We have been discussing what is occurring during the present lockdown. We started at the macro level. Last week we went a little further down the chain. This week we wanted to talk about a couple of projects that are in the process of being launched (despite the current remote working situation):

1. Test Tool Selection and Implementation – The current test tool was selected and implemented on the basis of project need. However, it does not necessarily fulfill the corporate need (testing is scattered throughout several departments based on expertise). With the interest of current management and a need to make automation more accessible to all testers (both those who are called testers and those who do it as part of their job) this was an excellent time to consider evaluation of the existing or a new test tool. It is reasonably easy to evaluate the corporate need without needing to meet. The organisation has a history of working remotely already which helps.
2. Process Change Implementation – While it will not be possible to see how this will work when people are back together in the office, the planning and process documentation can take place easily.
3. Testing/Quality Assurance COE – COEs may be considered to be passe for some organisations but some are still interested and they range from those who want a COE focused on product delivery to those who want it focused on process improvement.

This is just a few of the projects that are being launched during this time of lockdown.

Give us a call to continue the discussion. We have supplied Assessment, Coaching, Consulting Management and Training to Financial, Telecommunications, Utlities, NFP, and Government to name just a few.

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Last week we talked about how some industries were looking through to the end of the current restrictions and making some plans although that seemed to be more at the macroeconomic level. This week we wanted to look a little further down the chain. There is no doubt that a lot of QA and testing is backing up since no one is able to to do it due to a lack of access to corporate networks. However, there is a difference between the QA that is being done and the Software Testing. Active Software Testing is continuing remotely but at a reduced level with some things backing up due to lack of access to either hardware or software. Quality Assurance (Process Improvement) is continuing without much issue and in some cases, at an increased rate since the slow down in corporate work and testing has allowed us to take a renewed look at process improvement. People have the time to look at how their processes work and what can be done to improve them at this point.

Processes have changed due to remote work and on the surface many things look different. However, the fundamental processes have not changed at all in terms of what work needs to be completed and, at the macro level, how it has to be done. It is an excellent time to review the processes that are used to make the company and software run and see what can be improved. Looking at this when everything is disrupted provides a fresh perspective.

Give us a call to continue the discussion. We have supplied Assessment, Coaching, Consulting Management and Training to Financial, Telecommunications, Utlities, NFP, and Government to name just a few.

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Now that we are into a new week, we are seeing a few articles talking about what to do after the the restrictions are lifted. The discussions are more at the macroeconomic level at this stage. Individual industries are not being discussed although the ones we are speaking to definitely have plans as to what to do once they can.

From an IT point of view, most projects have continued at a reduced level as far as can be done with remote working. We are mainly hearing from utilities and healthcare clients about things that must be done no matter what the situation. However, assuming that the restrictions are lifted reasonably soon, we expect a lot of activity from people who have been brought to a standstill for a few weeks but still have fixed end dates that must be met. Education comes to mind although that will depend on the fall term starting on time and not delayed in a ripple effect.

Finally we thought we would opt for a nice peaceful picture this week. We wish you the best in the current situation.

Give us a call to continue the discussion. We have supplied Assessment, Coaching, Consulting Management and Training to Financial, Telecommunications, Utlities, NFP, and Government to name just a few.

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Like many people in the past few weeks, we have been spending more time at home and in isolation as best we can. Most non-essential businesses in our area have been closed or are closing tonight. However, several of our clients are in the exempt list so work will be continuing in the short term at least. Most items can be done online so there is little loss of productivity.

The biggest change that has been noticed is the slowing down of some projects. Projects that would have rushed the planning stage are now taking time to consider all the possibilities and the required Testing and Quality Assurance processes before signing off on the scope and timeline. It is nice to have the time to consider the best way of doing project tasks even if the original reason for this change is not one we, or anyone, wanted. A global pandemic is NOT something anyone wants.

It seems the Project and Product Managers are also considering this since they realise they may have limited time to implement the projects and little or no chance to redo items. Even if we wait until after the concern has passed, there will be a backlog of projects that will put pressure on timelines. The more we are ready with full planning and everything ready, the faster the projects will move at the end.

For projects and initiatives that were already underway when the restrictions came into place we are seeing some creative solutions to current testing needs although some technical considerations are leading to trade off decisions on what can and cannot be done. Mobile devices used for testing which can only be used internally on the office network being one example of something needing a decision.

Finally we thought we would opt for a nice peaceful picture this week. We wish you the best in the current situation.

Give us a call to continue the discussion. We have supplied Assessment, Coaching, Consulting Management and Training to Financial, Telecommunications, Utlities, NFP, and Government to name just a few.

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We have all heard them. We provide a small list here obtained from online media in the last few months.

• Technical issue forces early closure on Toronto Stock Exchange as markets fall
• Information about 69,000 Phoenix pay system victims sent in error
• A company sent an Ohio man 55,000 copies of a letter
• Federal IT systems at risk of ‘critical failure,’ (Canada)
• Air Canada system failure at check-in kiosks strands hundreds; delays flights
• Toronto is furious about Metrolinx’s claim that Presto cards rarely malfunction
• Luxury resort overcharges customers by thousands, then ignores them

This is only a small subset of what we have in the list and the oldest one in the list above is less than 2 months old. These are all within the first two months of 2020!

A couple of questions come to mind:

• How much did all the above errors cost (or might still cost in the future)?
• How much of that cost could have been (or could be) avoided by proper application of QA principles?

We all know defects and problems cost more the further into the process one has gone. Later defects (inside or outside software) are almost always more expensive. Some suggestions:

1. Invest in a QA Assessment to see what you need in terms of QA. A good assessment will tell you what you need and a roadmap will tell you how to get there.
2. Take the time to review the assessment and apply the appropriate improvements.
3. Set up checkpoints to ensure that the process is not diverging from what was planned.
4. Invest in coaching sessions to resolve any issues that arise (before they become a problem).

Give us a call to continue the discussion. We have supplied Assessment, Coaching, Consulting Management and Training to Financial, Telecommunications, Utlities, NFP, and Government to name just a few

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Resources are one of the awkward issues in QA.

• Do you go with a QA resource and hope to teach them the business?
• Do you go with someone who knows the business and hope to teach them QA?
• Does your resource require specialised technical knowledge (not directly related to a test tool)?
• Does your resource require extensive knowledge of a specific Test Tool?
• What about leading or managing the QA effort?
• Do you wish you had someone who considered the long term impacts? This usually comes up after the project is over.

What everyone wants is all of the above and that almost never occurs.

Some other questions

• Do you source internally or look outside?
• Do you go with Full Time or a contractor?

Given that many questions (without even considering location, compensation, security, diversity, legal requirements etc) what does one do?

1. Invest in a QA Assessment to see what you need in terms of QA (before you start converting people into QA). A good assessment will tell you what you need and a roadmap will tell you how to get there.
2. The internal personnel know the business: Turn them into QAs.
3. Designate someone as a Test Lead and get them some external training to see what they need to do.
4. Invest in coaching sessions to resolve any issues that arise (before they become a problem).

Give us a call to continue the discussion. We have supplied Assessment, Coaching, Consulting Management and Training to Financial, Telecommunications, Utlities, NFP, and Government to name just a few

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