Test Plan Question:

Share the plan.

► Ways to Share
o Engage designers and stakeholders in the test planning process.
o Actively solicit opinions about the test plan.
o Do everything possible to help the developers succeed.
o Help the developers understand how what they do impacts testing.
o Talk to technical writers and technical support people about sharing quality information.
o Get designers and developers to review and approve all reference materials.
o Record and reinforce agreements.
o Get people to review the plan in pieces.
o Improve reviewability by minimizing unnecessary text in test plan documents.
► Goals
o Common understanding of the test process.
o Common commitment to the test process.
o Reasonable participation in the test process.
o Management has reasonable expectations about the test process.
► Status Check
o Is the project team paying attention to the test plan?
o Does the project team, especially first line management, understand the role of the test team?
o Does the project team feel that the test team has the best interests of the project at heart?
o Is there an adversarial or constructive relationship between the test team and the rest of the project?
o Does any member of the project team feel that the testers are “off on a tangent” rather than focused on important testing tasks?