QA teams work efficiently with all limited resources available only when there are well-planned and managed test processes. But what is test management and how it can help in quality assurance? Test management is important for an organization’s success, where the underlying focus is required on all stages of the software testing lifecycle. When working with distributed teams, testing altogether gets more challenging. It is quite important that the team working on the same project is present at a central location. However, if QA teams are distributed, it is not possible.
Effective test team management helps an organization to maintain its focus on quality through the software development lifecycle. There are different test management tools available in the market such as Kualitee, that offer a collaborative work environment and great reporting functions. These tools usually help in test allocation, execution, and management. All these increase the team's productivity and assist QA managers to achieve their goals in a short period.
A lot of responsibility lies in the QA managers' part, as they are supposed to disseminate information regarding the test plans. They plan early and beforehand to identify how many testers from which location would be required. QA managers can list down with the number of people, their skills and locations so that they can begin with their resource plan and define their roles accordingly. Once managers have identified the testers, it is easier to involve them in planning, identifying tasks and what they will be working in case of downtime. Test management tools provide a proper platform for managers to plan the test cases for testers.
Well when you have testers on board, the next step is to communicate. From details of the test cases to dedicated tasks and activities, reporting, and team updates, they ensure there is an effective communication plan at hand. Test management tools also allow you to see how the tasks are assigned and communicated to the testers and how the updates will be tracked. A communication plan needs to be designed in the earlier stage of the project. These tools will save all the information at a shared location and allow viewers access to the plans and test approach documents.
QA teams are provided with all tools and apps that would be required for assistance during testing. all the plans and necessary documentation will be available in a shared accessible location. They can be cloud-based solutions to make communication and testing efforts more effective.
In the current globalization, organizations outsource their testing activities to various teams located in different locations to reduce the cost. Many challenges come their way when teams located at different places need to communicate and carry out testing efforts without any delays. That’s where test management tools step in and take all the stress away. They are the best solution for distributed teams working on a single platform.