I was going through some of my old notes yesterday and stumbled across a sketch I made of a diagram of effects showing how test managers become ineffectual. (I re-created it in Illustrator since no one but me could have read my original sketch.)
I’d like to say that back when I was a test manager I never succumbed to this cycle. Alas, I’m sure I did. It’s almost inevitable.
Reading through those old notes was a good reminder about why I don’t manage independent QA/Test groups anymore.
I’d much rather work with organizations to integrate testing activities throughout the cycle and across all roles. The traditional role of a test manager in organizations that practice test-last development is a miserable job. Add in a sprinkle of dysfunctional QA blaming while simultaneously undercutting any efforts the QA manager makes to increase quality? The job becomes a recipe for depression and substance abuse.
Fortunately, I escaped in time.