Talk by Lizaveta Nikalayevich & Virginia Weidhaas held at Agile Testing Days 2023 in Potsdam
You are an experienced QA engineer with 6+ years of experience. You know a lot about quality, automation, different techniques of testing and test documentation. But suddenly, you find yourself in a position where you are the only QA in a company supposed to coach development teams to do testing. Well, just tell them what’s the right thing to do and what’s not. What can go wrong?
Ah wait… That’s what happened to me. I couldn’t understand why it didn’t work when I just approached developers during my first coaching weeks and said “Hey, you know what? Your testing process doesn’t work, let’s change it!”. That’s where I encountered first obstacles: - the team was focused on defending themselves instead of solving existing problems even though the testing process really didn’t work - I found out that my willing and authority alone are insufficient to drive the process change, it should have been started with the mindset shift - being too direct had negative impact on my relationship with the team There might be some solutions.
What if I stopped being judgmental about processes and started being curious? What if I should be asking instead of telling? Let's talk about this with the backend developer I work with and go through some real-life scenarios which might happen in your organization too, and ways to solve them.
7. “Humble inquiry is the fine art of drawing
someone out, of asking questions to which
you do not already know the answer, of
building a relationship based on curiosity
and interest in another person.”
25. During the last sprint we had 3 rollbacks. It’s a team retrospective.
We already talked about it a lot, so we know what happened and we know all
the details. Now we have to agree on some actionable steps.
EXAMPLE
28. LEARNINGS
Look at problems as "we” situation.
Don't put people in a position where
they have to defend themselves. You,
as a team, have to find a solution
together.
31. Advocating for
quality is an
ongoing process
that requires
persistence
AND
Your team wants
you to succeed
QA Coach is in
charge of quality
Focus on
relationship
building first to
establish openness
and trust
Train yourself to ask
for information in a
non-judgemental way
1 2 3 4
32.
33.
34.
35. Image credits p1
https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/honesty-concept-illustration_24487827.htm#query=honesty&position=1&from_view=keyword&track=sph image
by storyset “be sincere”
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/493/268/e4e.png be curious
https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/15822013-listening-vector-icon-design active listening
https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/2383139-cartoon-vector-illustration-of-speech-bubble-with-question-mark ask questions carefully
https://pngtree.com/freepng/thinking-man-vector-illustration-hd-transparent_9008060.html check assumptions
https://harishsnotebook.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/why_s.jpg Ask questions instead
https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/meeting-illustration/65 meeting from Story Time
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paris_transit_icons_-_M%C3%A9tro_1.svg Paris transit icons
https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/22179276-delivery-truck-with-cardboard-box-package-flat-vector-cargo-truck-illustration delivery track
https://giphy.com/gifs/happy-day-f2HlHx3wJSCRO let me tell you smth gif
https://www.urbanpro.com/noida/the-qa-coach-sector-27/13038222 the QA Qoach
https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/hand-drawn-flat-design-shrug-
illustration_24681948.htm#query=man%20asking%20question&position=2&from_view=keyword&track=ais image by Freepik Stop telling
https://dlaqljgi7pm30.cloudfront.net/images/8cobvnyqsmwi/mwj4yczn9ofs/logo_version_1x_20220227_142100_0000.png?v=20220313221814
Always be curious
https://imgproxy.ra.co/_/quality:66/w:1500/rt:fill/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWFnZXMucmEuY28vODA4MjY5Zjk5NzNiY2JjNmIwOTgyMTdlYWZlZDQ3YTk5ZT
E5OGY1My5qcGc= Don’t judge me it’s Thursday
36. Image credits p2
https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/media/ioqltz1k/14-es-working-life-dgwr-
3841x2160.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=1200&height=678&rnd=132841396857170000&anchor=center&mode=crop&format=webp Build
trustworthy relationships
https://assets-global.website-files.com/6442419dcf656a81da76b503/647e81426a20593d18301ec8_6-Team-Bonding-Ideas-with-Food-and-Drinks-
Get-to-know-each-other-Lunch.jpg Team lunch photo
https://personalitytests.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/How-do-ENFPs-handle-conflict-and-resolution.jpg “If you were a vegetable” people talking
https://pngtree.com/freepng/red-yellow-quarreling-friends-conflict-clipart_6019352.html Change your mindset
https://giphy.com/gifs/IntoAction-RVpcIhl5VwLK6jWbYc We are all on the same team gif
https://www.gcci.org.pk/uploads/services/10.jpg Example 2 team picture
https://depositphotos.com/vector/lessons-learned-concept-102543688.html Lesson learned
https://www.flaticon.com/de/kostenloses-icon/mann_4086679 “we have to do it better” man
https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/woman_4603310 “we have to do it better” woman
https://en.ac-illust.com/clip-art/22160927/children-dancing-with-their-shoulders-crossed Team photo from “Learning”
https://www.kindpng.com/imgv/wiibxo_exclamation-mark-png-transparent-png/ exclamation mark
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/deloitte-doles-out-special-increments-and-bonuses/articleshow/81318021.cms Bonus
https://marvelousgeeksmedia.com/2021/04/15/scene-breakdown-a-lesson-on-curiosity-in-ted-lassos-the-diamond-dogs/ Ted Lasso playing darts
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/julien-leblanc-27aaa61_tedlasso-leadership-leader-activity-7060215271721979904-LlJo?trk=public_profile_like_view
Be curious Ted Lasso
