What you should know

- [Instructor] You just got word that a new product is in the pipeline. Development has begun their work and they are now reaching out to give you a heads up. Where do you start? What do you do? This course is about helping you act on those questions and move forward with your project. However, for it to be helpful, there are a few things you should know. First, you must have a good understanding of the entire quality process. You'll want to be in a position where you have some visibility into what is being executed, when it's being completed and how you deliver these results. You don't have to be the one doing all these tests but you need to know how each works. Each phase leverages the other, that there's a lot of work and preparation that you'll do that may apply to one, some or all the test phases. Use your understanding of each to reduce work, consolidate resources and most important, leverage knowledge to prepare for the unexpected. It will make your preparation work meaningful. Next, you may want to keep one of your recent test plans on hand. As I review examples of sections, schedules, test cases and other elements, you will want to see how it correlates to the preparation work you will be doing. Your product and projects are unique. My suggestions are designed to appeal to a broad audience but looking at your plan, you'll see how it applies. For example, if I talk about hardware setup and you develop a mobile app, you'll think about phones and tablets. However, if you develop software for servers, you're going to be looking at rack bound equipment. Your test plan will help you place context around my recommendations and how to tackle these prep steps. Speaking of examples, I'll be using a sample application to help illustrate the importance of preparation. Explore California is an all-in-one travel application for the state of California. The application is designed to provide both a web-based and mobile experience for tourists visiting the state. I will be using the software, its fictional team and the process of its testing throughout the course. Most important, you will want to have a good understanding of the product you'll be testing. I will mention this a lot because it's essential to many of the important decisions you'll be making about preparing for testing. However, for this course, it's essential because as I review the preparation process, it may spark ideas for testing things you need to accomplish and your own preparation for the test along the way. I'm not going to go into the structure of program management or development but having some basic knowledge of these topics will help you get more from this course. I'll be using some common industry terminology and it's always helpful to have insight on how development works and where quality exists in the process. This course follows traditional project methodologies. Good preparation is focused on ensuring that you find better and easier ways to execute your projects. It's not simply about readiness. It's about process analysis and preparing for your best practices. With Agile, DevOps and other new approaches to project management, you may have to ship your preparation focus or techniques. Last, you should be open-minded. As I work through the steps of each phase of testing, you may discover you might have missed a step or two in your preparation. This is not a mistake but an opportunity. As a test manager, mistakes and improvement shouldn't be a strange concept. Part of any quality goal is to find problems and help improve products. The Japanese have a principle called Kaizen or continuous improvement. In Kaizen, you open your mind to new changes to help find better ways to accomplish your goal. The reason for preparation is based on this principle. Early and active preparation reveals ways to improve your process. Let's keep this in mind moving forward.