The document provides 5 quick ideas on how to start acting as a test coach without being a formal Test Coach. The ideas are to 1) know yourself and let others know you, 2) get out of the box in your thinking, 3) help things go right rather than focusing on what goes wrong, 4) let people do their own thinking and teaching through open questions and retrospectives, and 5) understand that different people have different needs. The overall goal of a test coach is to change the way people think about testing through a focus on soft skills and support rather than testing skills and control.

1. For Internal Use Only
How to be a test coach
without being a Test Coach?
Marko Rytkönen
Twitter: @_mry
@_mry

2. For Internal Use Only
Terms and conditions
• 5 quick ideas on how to start morphing into (test) coach
• I hope you will find the ideas useful too
• Books = learn lot more
Decline Agree
Yes, we agree. Just go ahead, you have only 28 mins left.
@_mry

3. For Internal Use Only
Who am I?
• Siilinjärvi  Maaninka  Kuopio  Helsinki  Espoo
• Wife + 2 daughters, sports, 70/80’s rock + suomipop
• 20+ years experience in testing
• Senior Test coach Manager at Elisa: 100’s of apps + 10’s of teams
• FiSTB board member, 2012-2017
• Lead organizer of FiSTB Testing Assembly, 2015-2017
@_mry

4. For Internal Use Only
Differences between a manager and a coach
TEST MANAGER
• Change the way people TEST
• Testing skills (over soft skills)
• Expectation: Control
• “Have you tested…”
TEST COACH
• Change the way people THINK
• Soft skills (over testing skills)
• Expectation: Support
• “How can I help you to test…”
coachmgr
@_mry

5. For Internal Use Only
Change the way people THINK (about testing)
OUTCOMES
OUR HABITS
WHAT WE FEEL
WHAT WE THINK
@_mry

6. For Internal Use Only
We see the world as we are, not as the world is
@_mry
Stephen R. Covey

7. For Internal Use Only
1. Know yourself…
@_mry
• Health + attitude + self-esteem
• Never compromise your vision on how testing done well looks like

8. For Internal Use Only
1. … and let others know you too
@_mry

9. For Internal Use Only
2. Get out of the box
@_mry

10. For Internal Use Only
2. Get out of the box
@_mry
”I honestly believe that everyone has done the best they could,
with the information they had (at that given time).”

11. For Internal Use Only
3. Help things go right
Correct
Teach +
comms
Listen + learn
Build relationships
Build relationships with
who have power
Get out of the box
(blah-blah) Manager
Coach
Deal with the things
that are going wrong
Help things go right
@_mry

12. For Internal Use Only
4. Let the people do the thinking…
• Open questions
• What observation led you to this conclusion? (Thanks to Aleksis Tulonen)
• What you will do next?
• How can I help you on…?
• Retrospectives
• e.g. https://coachjarkko.com/2015/12/22/my-basic-retro-technique/
• Exercises
• ”Aha!” moments instead of ”Oho!” moments
@_mry

13. For Internal Use Only
4. Let the people do the thinking…
@_mry

14. For Internal Use Only
4. … and let the people do the teaching too
@_mry

15. For Internal Use Only
5. Understand different needs
Follow the rule
Break the rule
Be the rule
SHU
HA
RI
@_mry

16. For Internal Use Only
Summary
Change the way people think (about testing) by
1. Know yourself… and let others know you too
2. Get out of the box
3. Help things go right
4. Let the people do the thinking.. and teaching too
5. Understand different needs
@_mry

17. For Internal Use Only
Thank you + learn more
@_mry