10 Skills of Elite Testers: Day #6

There are several types of reports that you may be called upon to deliver. Daily, weekly, or per project, these reports are critical to the continued success of your team and your company. Be sure you are clear in advance about what information the recipient needs from you and then provide them that information in a concise and easy-to-understand manner.

Skill #8:
Deliver Stellar Reports

When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.
~Henry J. Kaiser

• Highlights of major issues you have encountered (which I am sure you communicated previously to your lead at the time of the event). This can include major new bugs entered (6 new crash bugs found today), issues that are preventing testing (can’t test the Help menu because it won’t open: Bug#123), etc.
• Tests you performed and completed
• Tests you performed and are still in progress
• The results of the testing you performed that day; number of bugs found (newly entered and existing bugs updated), number of bugs regressed, number of bugs closed, etc.
• Communicating the impact of any impediments to testing. If you can’t test an area of the program but should be able to (and were assigned to test that area today), then let your lead know how much time and effort remain to complete that testing.
• For instance: You were assigned testing of the Help menu today. This Help menu testing is forecast to take 2 days. At this point, your lead is expecting that testing to be done by the day after tomorrow. Since you are unable to test this area due to Bug#123 – be sure that your lead knows that the testing will not be done for at least one day beyond the original expectations
• What percentage of your assigned testing is completed
• When you expect to complete your assigned testing

Remember that you can always include the hard data that your bugbase reports give you for added emphasis. This will make your reports more impactful and raise the opinion people have of you when they read your reports.

Weekly Reports
These reports are the summation of the status of the parts of the project that you worked on that week

• Highlight major issues
• State your information as objectively as possible
• Add the bug report graphs that show your progress
• Include what is on your plate for the upcoming week
• What parts of the project are you expected to work on
• Estimated completion date for each assignment
• If you have nothing assigned to you, point it out here and be sure that you have your lead assign you tasks so that you can plan your work

Again in this report, be sure to add hard numbers data. Create an expectation that this is the information people will receive when you deliver a report. This will accomplish two major things:

• You will be seen as a reliable source of information that can be trusted
• You will raise the bar for your team to aspire to. This creates an environment where you and your team will be viewed as professionals. Anyone who is unable work as a professional will be weeded out sooner than later. This will make your work day more rewarding and enjoyable.

As a tester, those are the two main reports that will probably be asked of you (if even those). The other report that you will want to be able to deliver (whether they tell you this at the outset or not) is an End of Project Report. This report should be used for the Post Mortem meeting:

• An End of Project Report should be a high-level summary of the project upon its completion
• Include total number of bugs found
• Total number of bugs fixed
• Total number of bugs deferred
• Make them sortable by Priority, by test suite section, etc.
• Detail what went right with the project (from a QA perspective)
• Detail what could be improved for the next project
• And list suggestions to achieve this improvement
• Detail what you learned during the project

As you can see, you will add hard numbers data that you have by now mastered acquiring from the bugbase. The rest of the information you should use for two purposes:

• You have a ready report for a Post Mortem meeting
• You have an record of your contribution to this project

Having all of these reports readily accessible will be the foundation you use when tracking your progress. It will be accessible for you to reflect on when trying to remember how you did certain things during the project. Use this information to show your boss why they should promote you – if you can compile this report, you obviously are a keeper and the company had best “pony up” if they plan to keep you around.

Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.
~Isaac Asimov