Accessibility of deliverable

Make sure that all documents, both procedures and templates, are easily accessible for all testers and other stakeholders. An intranet page is a very effective way to provide a clear, preferably graphical structure, allowing users to easily access and download the documents they need. In one project we depicted the documentation structure as a graphical presentation of a ‘pyramid’, with the overall process at the top, and all related and supporting documents, such as work instructions and templates in the basis. This test framework became a familiar artifact in the quality system and soon everybody recognized and used ‘The Pyramid’ on the intranet as the starting point in their search for a document or template.

The change process

Deployment is the most difficult and time consuming part of the improvement project. You can publish a procedure or template, but that doesn’t mean that it will be immediately used by everyone. Often the problem in improvement projects is not the availability of documentation but the lack of adherence to the described way of working. To achieve a maturity level, at least 80% of the people in the organization should work according the documented process. If existing procedures are not followed, try to solve the root cause first. Only when it’s clear why current processes are not being followed is it worthwhile to change and enforce them.

The throughput time of the change process does not only depend on the amount of changes, but also on the organization, its culture and the running development project(s). It may be wise to look for a suitable pilot project to see if the changes have the intended effects and if the procedures are really feasible in day-today practice. But such a pilot candidate must be available – preferably in one of its early stages – and willing to participate. Also in an ad-hoc culture, where local heroes have a large influence, changes leading to a more structured and disciplined way of working may not be directly embraced. When applying changes, be prepared for resistance. Don’t change more than necessary, take small steps and communicate the changes as often as needed and in any way you can think of. An improvement project is not successful until it has been deployed by people motivated to improve.