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A consultant, lecturer, author, and test manager, Rick Craig has led numerous teams of
testers on both large and small projects. In his thirty years of consulting worldwide, Rick
has advised and supported a diverse group of organizations on many testing and test
management issues. From large insurance providers and telecommunications
companies to smaller software services companies, he has mentored senior software
managers and helped test teams improve their effectiveness. Rick is coauthor of
Systematic Software Testing and is a frequent speaker at testing conferences, including
every STAR conference since its inception in 1992.
Rick Craig
Software Quality Engineering
3. 5/14/15
© 2015 SQE Training V3.3 1
LEADERSHIP FOR TEST
MANAGERS
Rick Craig
rcraig@sqe.com
@ColCraig
Agenda ― Course Outline
1. Introduction
2. Characteristics of Leadership
3. Motivation and Morale
4. Principles of Leadership
5. The Leader as a Teacher
6. Summary
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Introduction
What%is%leadership?%
How%is%leadership%different%
from%management?%
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Management vs. Leadership
Management%is%the%process%of%working%with%
and%through%others%to%achieve%organiza<onal%
objec<ves%in%an%efficient%and%ethical%manner%
Leadership%is%the%art%of%mo<va<ng%a%group%
toward%a%common%objec<ve%
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Management vs. Leadership
The%Manager% The%Leader%
Controls%processes% Makes%informed%inspired%decisions%
Assumes%responsibility% Sets%and%explains%expecta<ons%
Manages%within%guidelines% Creates%new%strategies%and%plans%for%
success%
Referees%disputes% Inspires%collabora<on%
Exerts%authority% Models,%promotes,%and%rewards%
ini<a<ves%
Solves%problems% Forms%and%shares%vision%and%values%
Polices%behavior% Builds%selfNesteem%and%focus%
Minimizes%impact%of%change% Sponsors%and%supports%posi<ve%
change%
Manages%things% Develops%people%
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Class Discussion
What%are%your%
leadership%
challenges?%
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Characteristics of Leadership
Cornerstones%of%leadership%
Leaders—born%or%made?%
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Cornerstones of Leadership
Authority
Legitimate power
Responsibility
Obligation to act
Accountability
Answering for one’s actions
Leaders
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Crosby’s Leadership/Personality Grid
Destructor%% Procras<nator% Caretaker% Preparer% Accomplisher%
Agenda% “We’ll%do%it%
this%way%
now”%
“I’ll%get%back%to%
you%later%on%
this”%
“Make%sure%
this%doesn’t%
violate%any%
laws”%
“Lay%out%the%
strategy%so%
everyone%
can%see%it”%
“We%will%
review%
milestones%
each%month”%
Philosophy% “I%know%
more%than%
you%do”%
“Let’s%not%rush%
things”%
“If%it%isn’t%
broken,%
don’t%fix%it”%
“I%want%us%
to%be%
consistent%
in%all%things”%
“I%want%
everyone%to%
know%our%
philosophy”%
Rela<onship% “I%don’t%
need%
anyone”%
“Let’s%see%how%
they%work%out%
first”%
“We’ll%do%
what%
worked%last%
<me”%
“We%need%
to%have%
more%
seminars”%
“Include%
customers,%
suppliers,%and%
employees”%
What%we%
see%
Insensi<ve%
lout%%
Nervously%
reluctant%%
Frozen%in%
<me%
Planned%
progress%
Vibrantly%
consistent%%
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Class Discussion
Are%leaders%
born%or%
made?%
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Are leaders born or made? (cont.)
• Great%Man%Thomas%Carlyle%
• Cogni<ve%Capacity%EllioY%Jaques%
• TwiceNborn%Abraham%Zaleznick%
• Crucible%Warren%Bennis%
• Leadership%is%not%issued…%USMC%
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Are leaders born or made?
– Alexander Graham Bell
A%man,%as%a%general%rule,%owes%very%
liYle%to%what%he%is%born%with%–%a%man%
is%what%he%makes%of%himself.%
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Class Discussion
Characteristics of great leaders
What names come to mind
when you think of great
leaders?
What are some of the
characteristics or traits of
these leaders?
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Motivation and Morale
What motivates testers?
What is morale?
What can you do if you have morale
problems?
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Motivation and Morale
• Energizing%of%goalN
oriented%behavior%
Mo<va<on%
• Esprit%de%corps,%
team%spirit%
Morale%
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Class Discussion
What%mo<vates%
testers?%
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Motivators and Demotivators
%%
%%
Lack of training
Understaffed
Lack of respect
Micromanagement
Lower pay
Challenging and valuable job
Modern tools
Modern processes
Training
Job progression
Professional work environment
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Morale ― Esprit de Corps
— Alexander H. Leighton
The capability of a group of
people to pull together
persistently and consistently in
pursuit of a common purpose
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Class Discussion/Exercise
What affects
morale?%
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A CEO’s Perspective
— Max De Pree
Former CEO, Herman Miller
“One%of%the%most%important%things%
leaders%need%to%learn%is%to%recognize%
the%signals%of%impending%
deteriora<on…”%
%
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How Does the Leader Maintain Morale?
• Teach belief in the mission
• Instill confidence
• Consider job assignments carefully
• Demonstrate concern
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Leadership Principles (Part 1)
• Know yourself and seek self-
improvement
• Be technically and tactically proficient
• Develop sense of responsibility among
subordinates
• Make sound and timely decisions
• Set the example
• Know your staff and look out for their
welfare
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Leadership Principles (Part 2)
• Keep your staff informed
• Take responsibility for your actions and
the actions of your employees
• Ensure tasks are understood, supervised,
and accomplished
• Train as a team
• Employ your team in accordance with their
capabilities
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Additional Leadership Guidelines
• Be patient
• Give clear directions
• Banish the “zero defect” mentality
• Do not oversupervise
• Be helpful
• Demand accountability
• Instill loyalty
• Reward
• Encourage
• Maintain integrity
• Anticipate needs
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A Leader’s Span of Control
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The Importance of Influence Leaders
• The effective span of control for a typical
leader is 4–8
• In a very flat organization, “influence”
leaders emerge
• They may become de facto leads
• They are chosen by their peers due to
their longevity, experience, personality, or
communications skills
• Influence leaders are the agents of change
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The Leader as a Teacher
Commanders should see
the development of their
subordinates as a direct
reflection on themselves.
— FMFM1
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The Leader as a Teacher
• Be patient
• Keep employees informed
• Use free time to talk to employees
• Ensure training is interesting and
relevant
• Counsel employees on a regular basis
• Pass on lessons learned to all
employees
• Make every effort to cultivate a sense
of belonging to the organization
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A Leadership “Test”
List the top three responsibilities of each of your staff
members (your view):
1) _______________________________________
_______________________________________
2) _______________________________________
_______________________________________
3) _______________________________________
Ask these same staff members to list their top three
responsibilities (their view):
1) _______________________________________
_______________________________________
2) _______________________________________
_______________________________________
3) _______________________________________
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Summary
Prac<cal%Advice%
The%BoYom%Line%%
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Practical Advice for Day to Day Management
1. Work a normal workday
2. Make your workplace more
productive
3. Don’t hog the credit
4. Be quick to praise in public—but
don’t gush
5. Criticize in private
6. Build on failures
7. People are not modules
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Practical Advice for Day to Day Management
8. Trust your people
9. Stay technically competent
10. Invite criticism and comment
11. Act fast to right a wrong
12. Reward technicians the same as
managers
13. Give up (some) of your perks
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The Bottom Line
• Managers who are also leaders
– Motivate
– Train
– Challenge
– Learn from their employees
– Lead within the parameters of their
personality
– Allow team members to succeed by failing
– Accept responsibility
– Promote testing within the organization
– Embrace new ideas and technology
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Shameless Commercial Message
rcraig@sqe.com
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Bonus Section
Vision%Statement%
Quality%Goals%
Policy%Statement%
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Leaders Inspire and Set Direction
• Formal direction documents include:
Vision%
statement%
Quality%
goals%
Policy%
statement%
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Vision Statement
• The system testing
strategy of the ABC
Software Company will
employ state-of-the-
practice testing
techniques and tools in
order to effectively and
efficiently measure the
quality of all systems of
the company
Vision
Statement
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Quality Goals
• A regression test bed will be
established and maintained that
covers all requirements and
design attributes
• The testing organization will
achieve a DDP of 80% or greater,
and there cannot be any Severity
1 escapes
• An entire test cycle can be
performed in one week or less
• The TPI process maturity level for
the system test group will be
“efficient” or better
Quality
Goals
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Test Policy
• A%high%level%document%
describing%the%
principles,%approach,%
and%major%objec<ves%
of%the%organiza<on%
regarding%test %%
Test%
Policy%
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Example ― Test Policy
• The System Test Group will:
– Create and maintain System Test Plans
– Analyze all accounting functions and
perform a risk analysis to prioritize all tests
– Design and maintain a covering test set
– Execute tests according to the System Test
Plan and report results to CCB
– Advise/train development team on unit
testing issues
– Participate in design inspections; and if
requested, participate in code reviews
– Use the TPI model for continuous process
improvement
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