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We’ve all heard test management myths such as: “Utilize everyone, all the time”, “Don’t let people come to you without solutions to problems,” “Training time is useless,” and my all-time favorite “Work smarter.” Are you supposed to believe them? Much of what you may have heard about management is myth—based not on evidence, but on something from the Industrial Revolution, or something that someone else read in a book that does not fit your context. And it may be wrong—dead wrong. As with many myths, they do contain a tiny nugget of truth. If you would like to learn what to do instead, to avoid the gridlock of 100 percent utilization, to help people develop solutions when they are stuck, to effectively utilize training and which kinds, to work more effectively—the kinds of management that works for knowledge workers—join Johanna in exposing test management myths.
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Test Management
5/7/2014 11:30:00 AM
Exposing Test Management
Myths
Presented by:
Johanna Rothman
Rothman Consulting Group, Inc.
Brought to you by:
340 Corporate Way, Suite 300, Orange Park, FL 32073
888-268-8770 ∙ 904-278-0524 ∙ [email protected] ∙ www.sqe.com
Johanna Rothman
Rothman Consulting Group, Inc.
Known as the “Pragmatic Manager,”Johanna Rothman helps organizational leaders identify problems and risks in their product development and recognize potential “gotchas,” seize opportunities, and remove impediments. Johanna is the technical editor for agileconnection.com and is author of Manage Your Job Search, Hiring Geeks That Fit, Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects, the 2008 Jolt Productivity award-winning Manage It! Your Guide to Modern, Pragmatic Project Management, and Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management. She is currently writing a book about agile program management. In addition, Johanna writes columns for Stickyminds.com and projectmanagment.com, and blogs on jrothman.com, and createadaptablelife.com.
Exposing Test Management Myths
Johanna Rothman New: Manage Your Job Search!
www.jrothman.com @johannarothman [email protected]
781-641-4046
© 2014 Johanna Rothman
“Utilize Everyone All the Time”
A mind is a terrible thing to
waste!
Context switching wastes
people, prevents innovation,
and makes everything take
longer
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Exposing Test Management Myths
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© 2014 Johanna Rothman
“I Can Move People Like Chess Pieces”
Test managers never have
enough people!
But testers need domain
expertise to be effective!
Managers need to manage
the project portfolio:
optimize at the top-most
level, not at the person-level"3
© 2014 Johanna Rothman
“I Need an Expert for This...”
Project dependencies
create bottlenecks!
Never let experts work
alone
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Exposing Test Management Myths
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© 2014 Johanna Rothman
“We Have NO Time For Training”
4
We are too busy running
like hamsters, making do!
“If you train people, they
will leave”!
If you don’t train them, they
might stay
© 2014 Johanna Rothman
“Promote the Best Technical Person Into Management”
3
Management work is
different from technical
work!
Managers work outside the
team!
Managers need
interpersonal skills
Exposing Test Management Myths
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© 2014 Johanna Rothman
“Work Smarter”
Who wants to work
dumber?!
Exhortations don’t work!
Management has to create
the environment in which
teams can “work smarter”
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© 2014 Johanna Rothman
“I Know What Everyone is Doing”
One-on-ones are for more
than just status reports!
Build trust and a working
relationship
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Exposing Test Management Myths
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© 2014 Johanna Rothman
“Time Spent at Work is a Useful Measure of Work”
Who here has had good
days and bad days at work?!
The only measure is
features complete
"9
© 2014 Johanna Rothman
“I Know How Long the Work Should Take...”
Conceptually easy to
understand is not the same as
easy to complete!
Related to Dunning-Kruger
effect: People think they are
more competent than they are!
Wanting to have the work take
less time does not make it so
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Exposing Test Management Myths
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© 2013 Johanna Rothman11
What’s your favorite management myth?
© 2014 Johanna Rothman
You Can Help Me
"12
Would you like a book
about these myths?!
What would a great title
be?
Exposing Test Management Myths
www.jrothman.com [email protected] 6
© 2014 Johanna Rothman
Let’s Stay In Touch...
I’ve been writing the myths, one a month on Stickyminds,
and then posting afterwards on my site,
www.jrothman.com!
Pragmatic Manager: www.jrothman.com/
pragmaticmanager!
Please link with me on LinkedIn
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Exposing Test Management Myths
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