Managing the Testing Process: Practical Tools and Techniques for Managing Hardware and Software Testing

Chapter 8. Staffing and Managing a Test Team

Hiring, motivating, and retaining an excellent staff are among the most important tasks any manager performs. The extent to which a manager does a good or poor job at these tasks largely determines the extent to which he or she is a good or poor manager. Although these are survival issues for all managers, from those at the neighborhood steak house to corporate CEOs to successful politicians, staffing and managing a test team has its own unique quirks. This chapter offers some pointers on a few of the issues that are particularly deviling:

• What personal attitudes, behaviors, and work styles make for good testers?

• How do you avoid hiring the wrong people for your test team?

• How many people do you need, what skills should they have, and what positions do they fill?

• Do you want to organize your staff by projects or by areas of test specialization?

• How do you find, interview, and hire good test team members?

• What motivates test staff, and what demotivates them?

• How can you use interim staff such as temporaries, contractors, and consultants to help your team over the tough stretches?