When organizations expand internal test teams, hiring managers sort through piles of résumés hoping for a few gems. But scanning for coveted technical skills and relevant experience often leads to disappointment. With the proliferation of new software and the explosion of mobile devices, the QA industry is surging, and experienced testers are becoming harder to find. What inherent qualities do great testers really possess? Do those attributes show up on résumés? Should technical expertise or tool/application knowledge drive the hiring decision for new testers or are there more important capabilities and talents that managers should consider? Résumés often fail to describe other important factors, including the “tester’s mindset.” By zeroing in only on technical experience, we risk minimizing or ignoring the vital characteristics—curiosity, skepticism, and cooperativeness—of great testers. Join Shaun Bradshaw as he shares a proven, multi-step process used to evaluate candidates for the “tester’s mindset” and discusses the necessary technical aptitude that will create top performing testers. Learn the importance of developing and providing ongoing training and mentoring to ensure the process of building great test teams doesn’t end with the hire.

1.
W1
Test
Management
5/4/16
11:30
Nature
vs.
Nurture:
Building
Great
Test
Teams
Presented
by:
Shaun
Bradshaw
Zenergy
Technologies,
Inc.
Brought
to
you
by:
350
Corporate
Way,
Suite
400,
Orange
Park,
FL
32073
888-­‐-­‐-­‐268-­‐-­‐-­‐8770
·∙·∙
904-­‐-­‐-­‐278-­‐-­‐-­‐0524
-­‐
info@techwell.com
-­‐
http://www.stareast.techwell.com/

2.
Shaun
Bradshaw
Zenergy
Technologies,
Inc.
Shaun
Bradshaw
is
a
co-­‐founder
and
principal
of
North
Carolina-­‐based
Zenergy
Technologies,
a
software
quality
and
test
automation
solutions
firm
with
multiple
industry
experts
under
one
roof.
With
more
than
nineteen
years
in
the
IT
industry,
Shaun
is
a
recognized
expert
in
QA
and
test
process
improvement,
test
management,
and
metrics.
He
has
architected
the
test
strategies
and
managed
large
teams
of
testers
for
numerous
projects
including
a
two-­‐year,
$70
million
ERP
implementation
that
went
into
production
with
no
major
issues.
A
regular
on
the
QA
and
testing
industry
speaking
circuit,
Shaun
has
delivered
keynotes
at
US
and
international
testing
conferences.

3. Nature vs Nurture:
Building Great Test Teams
Shaun Bradshaw
shaun@zenergytechnologies.com
A Testing Partner You Can Trust

4. Why do we need to build test teams?
Over the past 30+ years the business view of
testing has changed considerably…

5. Testing in the 80’s
• Mainframe applications
• Limited technology choices
• Architect = Designer = Developer = Tester
• User community = highly technical
• Limited, if any, interaction with the
business

6. Testing in the 80’s

7. Testing in the 90’s
• Client/Server applications
• Broader range of technology choices
• IT specialization -> testing = entry into IT
and, ultimately, development
• Siloed development environment
(waterfall)
• User community = business users
• IT “serves” the business

8. Testing in the 90’s

9. Testing in the 00’s
• Web-based applications
• Even more technology choices
• Testing as a career! 
• Agile takes root
• User community = everyone
• IT and business merge

10. Testing in the 00’s

11. Testing in the 10’s
• Apps are everywhere
• Unlimited technology choices
• Testing is a necessity
• Fewer walls between dev and test (literally
and figuratively)
• User community = everyone, everywhere
• IT and business are virtually
indistinguishable

12. Testing in the 10’s

13. Impact of Changes on Test Teams
• Expanded testing needs, leading to more
testers
• Increased interactions between testers and
developers
• Increased domain and technical
knowledge required as automation
becomes larger part of the testing role

14. Building Test Teams – Common Model
• Identify technical skill requirements and
amount of experience needed
• Work with recruiters and staffing agencies
to identify people with the requisite skills
• Sift through dozens of resumes looking for
keywords and experience

15. Building Test Teams – Common Model

16. Building Test Teams – Common Model
• Interview prime candidates based on the
resume information
• Hire individuals based on interview results

17. • Results
• Hire experienced individuals with (hopefully) the
requisite technical skills
• Limited interaction and knowledge of their soft skills
and ability to learn and communicate
• Disparate skills, backgrounds, experience across
the team (this has its pros and cons)
Building Test Teams – Common Model

18. • Why only target testers with prior testing
experience?
• Consider a different approach
Building Test Teams – Recommended Model

19. • Establish relationships with “local”
university IT, IS, CS, Math, and Business
departments
Building Test Teams – Recommended Model

20. • Begin the filtering process
• Gather information on graduating students
• Meet with classes and/or have brief, mostly non-
technical, conversations with recommended
students – get a sense for their ability to
communicate, learn, and understand
Building Test Teams – Recommended Model

21. • Continue the filtering process (the goal is
to have 15-20 candidates)
• Have current test team and/or development team
run technical interviews with the best candidates
• Technical abilities
• Soft skills
• Personality
• Cultural fit
Building Test Teams – Recommended Model

22. • Invite the candidates to 1-day testing
workshop
Building Test Teams – Recommended Model

23. • Use the workshop as an opportunity to
evaluate
• Tester’s Mindset
• Interest in testing as a career
• Engagement during the class
• Understanding/comprehension of basic testing
concepts
• Gauge the candidates’ interactions with each other
• Serves as an extended interview
Building Test Teams – Recommended Model

24. • Invite the 5-10 candidates to multi-day
testing/automation boot camp
Building Test Teams – Recommended Model

25. Building Test Teams – Recommended Model

26. • Make final team selections based on
• Technical aptitude
• Demonstrated eagerness to learn and lead
• Ability to work with the rest of the candidates/team
• Ability to communicate with the rest of the
candidates/team
Building Test Teams – Recommended Model

27. • Technically capable team of testers
• Immediate team cohesion and knowledge
of each other’s strengths/weaknesses
• Assurance of cultural fit with existing team
members
Key Benefits

28. • Shorter introduction period and less
expensive than intern program
• Better insight into who you are hiring vs.
common model
Key Benefits

29. • Lunch and Learns
• Advanced topics
• Conference presentations
• Mentoring programs
• Incentives for blogging and presenting
• Training development
Continued Team Growth

30. Questions?