Guidance for offshore testing squad - The location for Training

Off shoring forces us to be better in organization and processes. Offshore team has to be trained in all aspects of your test process from communication methods, status reporting, the test case management and defect tracking systems, the build process, how much time to spend analyzing bugs to what backup work to do in case of a bad build or downtime. And also, explanation why certain metrics are important and what they mean to reduce fear and instill an understanding of measurement also essential.

Setting expectations

Set ranges for how many test cases you expect completed in a day and in a week as well as how much time to spend executing documented tests versus exploratory testing, and how long it should take to complete a status report template, etc. Part of your training should focus on setting expectations for each tester's workweek. You will also want to layout lines of communication, especially how the offshore testers will communicate with developers in other places.

Requirements stability

Companies are driven by both technology and the market. Your training must communicate expectations about requirements, the dynamic nature of software development and change control. Domestic test teams are both resigned to and understand the need for scope creep. Build a training activity around requirements stability and what to do when requirements change.

Domain Knowledge and Item for consumption

The two most crucial and most difficult areas for your test team training are domain knowledge and test technologies and methods.

For most test teams, having a balance between testing from a business user's perspective and testing from a technical perspective is key. Given the limited time for training and the depth of knowledge needed to test effectively, getting your technically-savvy offshore team to learn about your business area, product line and customers is the toughest training task you will face. Plan and budget for extensive training on the product and business domain.

Effective training will include setting up an exercise with mock users from a made-up office where different students will have different roles and tasks in using your product. Once your team understands the context in which the software is used, they will be much more effective in testing from the user perspective. From tasks as long and complex as writing and executing end-to-end user scenarios to simple requirement validation, I would not rely on either the current test cases or a user manual as the sole learning tools for domain knowledge. They are typically dry and not at all interactive nor do they promote the questioning and full understanding the offshore test team will need for success. A better bet is to conduct a very interactive training session about the users.

Methods for Testing

1. You have to evaluate your staff before you develop training on testing techniques. What is the background of your offshore team? They are probably Computer Science college grads. The trend overseas is to almost exclusively hire computer science or information systems grads to work on software development projects. Even though the offshore test team may not know much about how to test, more than likely they are all fast learners and hungry for knowledge. If you have not worked with offshore test teams already, get ready for a very technically skilled test staff that is very eager to learn to do your work and more.

2. Your offshore test team needs to have a solid understanding of the differences between developer testing and tester testing as well as an understanding of quality, customer satisfaction and the cost of quality, such as the costs involved with releasing unplanned patches or making customer support calls.

3. A bug as a code issue is often different from a bug as a user issue. And it is well understood. This topic is more about development culture rather than a quick training item.

4. Some developers have no interest in the user experience and are much more fascinated by the system level workings of the code. How to test for buffer overflows versus developing effective user scenarios requires different training. Both are essential. The user experience and the bugs normally found at the user interface may be missed, greatly reducing customer satisfaction and increasing the immediacy of patch builds.

5. Your testing technique training may need to include basics such as model-based testing, equivalence class partitioning, forced error testing, and writing user scenario and requirements-based tests depending on the team. And they are the easy.

6. These training sessions on testing techniques need to be fun and creative, with emphasis on exercises, activities, games etc. And then, it will be more refreshing and interesting.

All the best!