Day #5: Deliver Test Results

Delivering test results that enable your company to make accurate strategic decisions is the difference between getting a raise and promotion and being thought of as a liability. Do this right and ensure your future!
In Day #1, we looked at the flow of the testing process and your role in it.
In Day #2, you learned how to execute tests and unearth bugs.
In Day #3, you learned how to define and quantify your bugs.
In Day #4, you got an introduction to bug writing.
Today, in Day #5, we capitalize on all that effort and show you how to showcase your value as a QA Professional.

How To Deliver Test Results

If you cannot do this, you will miss out on opportunities to achieve raises and promotions that should be yours. If you know how to package and deliver your test results, you will shine at any company – and you will get noticed!

This may be as simple as a weekly test results report to your QA lead that details what you have accomplished the preceding week, or it may be a year-end wrap up of all the projects undertaken and completed by your department; broken down by cost, effort, efficiencies gained, cost savings, proficiencies added, and more. Either way, you must be able to communicate test results clearly.

All of this data comes from the daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly documenting of your progress. You should be able to whip out a report in a matter of minutes if you have done your day-to-day work efficiently and effectively. You should have ready access to all of your previous test results.

As a tester, your report should contain:

• Any issues that are impeding your testing or other high priority issues. Be sure to list these priority issues at the top of your report so that they are obvious and get the attention of the reader

**Note: Your lead should already be aware of these issues, but this is another opportunity to document the status of the issues and allows you to be on record regarding:

• What testing cannot be done
• Why you cannot complete it
• What not being able to execute these tests is impacting

• Detailed outline of tests completed – shown as a percentage as well as stating which tests were completed
• Detailed outline of testing that is active or remaining – also show this as a percentage as well as stating which tests are not yet completed
• Estimated effort remaining to complete the unfinished testing – also include the projected day that testing will be completed

Be sure to save all of the reports that you send so that you have them available for future reference (you will use them later as documentation for getting that raise or promotion). There is a sample Status Report Template on the Forms & Templates page for you to download and use as best suits your purposes.

I cover creating stellar reports in much more detail in the course 10 Skills of Elite Testers, but this introduction and the template should get you started. Use the template as a reference to get an idea of what a weekly real-world report may look like. You should feel free to copy the format for your own use when writing your reports.

Using the template, you should be able to detail information for each bullet point above. You will then have created a report that can be sent up the chain or through the company as a reliable snapshot of the status of testing.

If you can produce a report that contains all of the information listed above and you understand how to communicate that information clearly, then you will quickly be viewed as a professional. Everyone on your development team will know that you can be counted on.

Your reports will carry more weight than those of other testers and you will begin to stand out. You will be known as a tester that can do the job as a pro. You will establish yourself as a cut above the rest!

Quality is free, but only to those who are willing to pay heavily for it.
~Lister, DeMarco: Peopleware

Congratulations!

You now know the 5 Keys to Getting Started when you get a job as a QA Tester. Learn these lessons and you will quickly stand out, especially when you can deliver your test results in a way that highlights your value.

The 5 Keys To Getting Started
1. Understand QA
2. Start Testing
3. Define and Quantify
4. An Introduction to Bug Writing
5. Reporting with Impact

These are the 5 Keys to your day-to-day work as a Software Quality Assurance tester. If you can understand each of those lessons and can master them, then your daily work life just became much easier.

You now have a basic overview of what the tests are, how to test, and how to communicate your testing. These are the Keys to the daily life of a QA tester. The more you excel at these 5 Keys, the sooner you will be ready to lead a team of QA testers and to make sure that they can do what you just learned at least as well if not better than you.

I know that seems like a lot, but as you learn these skills and practice them you will progress until all of this information and each of these activities become second nature.

See our list of more in-depth courses that will show you how to always excel as a QA Professional. These courses contain tried, true, and tested actions and information that have helped hundreds of other QA Professionals succeed and bypass their peers.

You can take the courses one at a time at your own pace. I provide them free of charge so that YOU can become an Elite QA Professional. You should be able to learn what you need to and get started in the industry as quickly as possible without having to go into debt.

If you want access to more than just this course material, go get a FREE copy of my book. It has the information you need to succeed right now, today. It covers the same lessons and includes even more information!

Take the courses...read the book. Learn the information inside. Take the actions given to you.

I have guided so many other Quality Assurance Testers, Leads, and Managers through the real-world day to day work necessary to succeed in the tech industry. Let me help you too.

Master the lessons I provide and you will not wonder what the right thing is to do next. You will know what to do. You will have the foundation to confidently state the proper course of action and know how to execute it. Keep practicing and learning and you will excel!