In This Issue:
From the Editor
Kimberly Wiefling on Having the Unpleasant Conversations You'd Rather Avoid
Featured Templates:
Will This Be On the Test?
How's Your Spidey Sense?
Does This Job Come with Little Drink Umbrellas?
You See, This Test Happens in an Alternate, Parallel Reality
I Need a Can of Raid, a Slice of Bologna, and a 30-Foot Pea-Shooter
The Code Not Taken
Here Come the Test Results... Somebody Pass the Salt
...and Then He Shot the Prototype Out of a Cannon
Project Practitioners Blog:
Capability Marketing for Non-Marketers
Getting started in Project Management
Observations on the PMP® exam
Corporate Subscriptions
From the Editor
Once you've managed to pull it off, how will you know? There's no secret to understanding when you're done. It's right there in your test results-assuming you've planned your tests out adequately, and far enough ahead of time. Too many project teams leave this critical planning step for the last minute because they are so focused on planning the execution of the project itself, or because testing "should be really simple," or because they don't believe their non-technical, non-software project really needs formal testing. But if you don't plan for testing ahead of time, it's easy to skip some critical measurement. And you know that if you don't think of it, your customer will. So this week we're bringing you some resources you can use to build a better test plan (or any test plan at all) for your project. Draft an overview list and some basic requirement checks for your short-term non-technical project, or go all the way to full requirements traceability and unit testing for your complex software/hardware integration. Just make sure you think it through before someone is standing in front of you asking, "So, does it work?"
If you need something a little less fraught than testing to wrap your head around, Kimberly Wiefling tackles a not-so-tame issue—how to have That Conversation with someone who seems to be making a hash of your otherwise orderly project. (Hint: You're buying.)
Featured Article
Eat Your Spinach, It's Good for YouHaving the Unpleasant Conversations You'd Rather Avoid, by Kimberly Wiefling
There's one project leadership challenge that I dread above all others: talking with a team member who is underperforming relative to the needs of the project and/or the unrealistically high standards of excellence that I hold for myself and others. It's not that I'm conflict averse. In fact, there are times when I flat out enjoy a roiling argument or a self-righteous rant. In those cases, I don't bloody well care what the other party thinks of me, nor whether the relationship will be in tatters as a result. Hey, sometimes I'm even purposely torturing the poor bugger! But when it's a friend, colleague, or team member with whom I'd like to have some kind of continuing civility, maybe even a productive working relationship, it can be downright paralyzing. "What if I screw it up?" I muse to myself. "What if I inappropriately blurt out my frustrations with their perceived ineptness?" I ruminate. If they are critical to the success of the project, and rather difficult to replace in a pinch, I wonder "What if they tell me to get stuffed, scream that they never want to see my ugly puss again, or simply spend the remainder of the project seething quietly, hostility oozing from every pore, while deftly undermining every important aspect of the project within their grasp?" It's enough to stop me dead in my tracks just around the bend from their office, or freeze my index finger poised just above the bright green 'call' button on my brand new iPhone.
Continue reading »
Featured Templates
NEW – Will This Be On the Test? – Project Test Plan – PREMIUMUnderstanding how you'll test product/system performance is a critical part of figuring when you'll graduate to being done with your project. If you never check progress, you can't determine achievement. But writing out all of those tests from a blank slate can be intimidating. How to be sure you haven't missed something critical? This detailed Test Plan outline covers you from initial test planning and design through documentation and project implementation. Plan your test strategies (there's a list to prompt discussion), define your scope and measurement criteria, outline environment, deliverables, and required resources. Extensive annotations walk you through the process. Download the plan »
How's Your Spidey Sense? – Project Overview Test Plan – PREMIUM
Are you really that confident you can see trouble coming without a test plan? Even if your project doesn't require testing in the technical sense, it makes sense to at least check it against the customer requirements and the original vision. This document outlines how your deliverable will be examined, and who will be involved in "testing" it, albeit at a high level. If you're running a small technical project that does require testing, this may be the only test document you need; just keep it updated as you go. Either way, you'll spend less time dodging low-flying bugs. Download the template »
Does This Job Come with Little Drink Umbrellas? – QA and Beta Test Manager Job Descriptions – SPECIAL
This Premium resource is free to registered Members until May 27, 2009
Not a chance! This is no frou-frou assignment you can do from the beach. Testing management roles are not to be taken lightly, and they aren't for the faint of heart! And you'll need one sooner rather than later. Test managers have important insights into customer needs, as well as plan elements like equipment and personnel requirements. You should have them sitting in your design reviews and the detailed test planning, in customer planning for beta tests, and in reviews of user documentation. These job descriptions show the true breadth of these roles done right, and should make any project manager reconsider how to engage and deploy these team members effectively throughout the project. (If it takes little umbrellas, they're worth it!) Download the template »
You See, This Test Happens in an Alternate, Parallel Reality – Requirements Traceability Guideline – PREMIUM
Trouble getting back to the origins that inspired your tests? It may be time to talk about traceability. Tracing your requirements can be a complex and time-consuming effort. If you're contracted to a government project, you may not have a choice. But is it worth it in the private sector? For many projects the answer is yes—probably for many more projects than you might think. This guideline discusses traceability processes, requirements, and how to weigh the costs and benefits of each so you can make an informed choice. Flawlessly logical. Download the guideline »
I Need a Can of Raid, a Slice of Bologna, and a 30-Foot Pea-Shooter – Software Bug Fix WBS – MEMBER
Sure, that may work for a while, but eventually you're going to need a more orderly process for attacking the bugs in your project. Avoid duplicated effort and conflicting changes (and takes into account little things like side effects and documentation) with our Software Bug Fix WBS. The cleanup won't be as messy, plus you'll have an efficient but reasoned bug-fix project. Expand it for a minor enhancement or re-engineering effort, or save it to a spreadsheet as a checklist for small cleanup projects. You can always save the peashooter for change requests. Download the WBS »
The Code Not Taken – Coding Review Guidelines – SPECIAL
This Premium resource is free to registered Members until May 27, 2009
Two paths diverged in the code, and why — why do it that way? Often the answer is as simple as the coder not recognizing a more efficient alternative, or the impacts (or existence) of a recent change request. A process for catching mistakes and systematically communicating critical changes goes a long way toward minimizing issues like this. You'll need preparation, appropriate offline review, and good records. This example from a medical device development company coding in C provides an excellent look at the entire landscape of a good code review process, along with detailed checklists and forms for capturing what's found in the reviews. And that can make all the difference. Get the guideline »
Here Come the Test Results... Somebody Pass the Salt – Software Unit Test Plan and Report Guidelines – MEMBER
How do you test a complex software project? The same way you eat an elephant—one bite (or unit) at a time. Testing at the integration level will reveal errors, but at a much higher cost to find and correct them, and a greater likelihood of missing oddball bugs that might not surface in a controlled testing environment. This template includes step-by-step process guidelines and sample documents for creating formal testing procedures that you can really sink your teeth into, with no salt required. Download the guideline »
...and Then He Shot the Prototype Out of a Cannon – BUNDLE: Project Planning and Tracking Bundle
This bundle of over a dozen test-oriented templates and guidelines will help you avoid embarrassing and costly issues at the customer, and late (and also costly) surprises during development. Correcting issues gets progressively more expensive the closer you get to delivery; so the earlier you are in your project, the more money you can save with test planning. These resources show you how to test at each stage of development, then test the whole system from the customer's viewpoint. Get these 14 valuable testing plans and tools in a single bundle and put them to work on your project right away. Free to Premium members (after their free trial period), or available for direct purchase.
Want to license these templates for your organization? Contact us for licensing terms.
Project Practitioners Blog
Ann Drinkwater encourages us to market our projects and teams to emphasize the value both provide to the organization—sound advice in this business climate. Here's her take on Capability Marketing for Non-Marketers.Josh Nankivel has some suggestions for getting started in project management (and some strong opinions on the necessity of experience before formal certification).
Meanwhile, Matt Glei (who is practically doused in PM experience) celebrates his successful certification and shares his observations about the PMP® exam.
Corporate Subscriptions and Licensing
Want your team members to have their own access to templates and how-to resources for their project work? Need to share documents and deliverables beyond your project team? We make it easier with affordable corporate subscriptions and licensing. Detailed information regarding corporate options is available online. Give your whole team, or even the entire organization, cost-effective access to our comprehensive online library of resources. You already know how helpful it's been for you. Now it's time to share with everyone else. Find out more »Not sure if corporate terms apply to you? Check out our licensing terms at the top of our Terms of Service page, in refreshingly ordinary, everyday English.