The Role of QA Manager in a Team
The position of QA Manager doesn’t involve just taking care of test plans. To assure quality within teams, the role requires setting up quality standards, tracking the efficiency of QA activities, connecting departments, etc.
Yes, it doesn’t imply the writing of test cases and closely working with software anymore. But it requires working closely with people, and that may be challenging. Being a quality assurance manager means to think strategically and see the bigger picture. Well, that’s what we are going to do for the next six minutes.
What Is a QA Manager Responsible for in the Team?
The QA Managers are a sounding board between a Product Owner, Tech Lead, Developers, and a QA team/engineers. They coordinate team members, design test programs, and establish metrics. Software quality management is a part of their routine.
As well as software testers, QA Managers give proper attention to the technical aspects of quality assurance, such as methodology, documentation, and tools. However, they also tend to focus on business needs, integration, and customer requirements.
QA Manager vs QA Lead
At some companies, the QA Manager position is equivalent to the QA Lead. QA Lead is another crucial person in software quality management. In small companies, for example, the responsibilities of QA Lead and QA Manager can be combined and executed by the same person, so there is no need to hire QA engineers for both roles.
Oftentimes, the job titles are conditional. Therefore, professionals with similar positions can perform different roles in different companies. Their duties vary depending on project requirements and goals. However, if there are two positions in one company, the QA Lead acts as a junior manager who assists and trains other QA team members.
Usually, the first one has the heaviest workload because of the broadest knowledge. Generally, QA Leads can help manage the day-to-day activities of other testers and are interchangeable with “Senior” in some environments. While the QA Manager is always the one who determines salary increases and hiring/firing.
What are the other responsibilities of a QA Manager, then? Below, we’ll delve deeper into this question.
Skills and Responsibilities of a Proficient QA Manager
QA Managers should have a profound knowledge of testing theory. They need to be aware of the different methods and tools to deliver the software product of expected quality. Now, let’s talk more specifically about skills and the responsibilities of a QA Manager to understand how to achieve the maximum results in this position.
Skills to Look for in QA Manager
To bring the whole team to overcome testing challenges, the QA Manager needs to have a great presence of mind and correct decision-making capabilities. Above all, an expert in this area should have a mix of technical and non-technical traits. To be more specific, they are the following:
- written and verbal communication skills;
- efficient time management;
- fast problem-solving;
- smart analytical prioritization;
- thoughtful cross-team sync.
When it comes to the responsibilities of the QA Manager, they depend on the specific industry one is involved in. Below, you’ll find a list of common responsibilities performed by a proficient QA Manager.
Responsibility #1: To Build a High-Value QA Team
It’s not only about managing a team of software testers. It’s also about building a team of QA engineers who work as integrated members of a cross-functional software team. Every particular project may require a different skill set of QA specialists. It depends on the development stage, business needs, and project requirements.
So, one of your key tasks as a QA Manager is to select the proper blend of QA roles and responsibilities for a specific project (or when the project starts scaling). That’s how you build a complete team with the required expertise.
Responsibility #2: To Set Up Quality Standards
Having experience, domain knowledge, and technical expertise, a QA Manager needs to establish quality guidelines. Which ones, exactly?
- What testing methods to apply for a particular software?
- What tools and frameworks to use?
- What strategies to follow?
- What industry standards to adhere to?
Responsibility #3: To Determine Proper Metrics
In the beginning, we were talking about the ability to see the bigger picture. Well, software testing metrics can help you with that. Basically, it’s the most effective way to track the efficiency of QA activities and one of the responsibilities of a QA Manager.
At the planning stage, you should establish the key performance KPIs and measure performance against them during the QA process. We’d recommend paying attention to derivative software QA metrics and absolute values (number of test cases, bugs, test hours, etc.). The first ones are the following:
- Test effort. Compare the number of tests performed, reviewed or designed in a certain time period, bugs per test, etc.
- Test effectiveness. Use the next formula: (bugs detected in one test / total number of bugs found in tests + after release) x 100. The higher the percentage, the better.
- Test coverage. To measure its percentage, follow the formula: (number of tests runs / number of tests to be run) x 100.
Responsibility #4: Connect Departments
The QA Manager receives information from all of the teams. It gives one an opportunity as well as responsibility to monitor cross-team activity and identify bottlenecks. Also, it ensures that all features work in alignment with each other.
What Makes a Good QA Manager?
Oftentimes, the position of QA Manager is underestimated in terms of work pressure. Having numerous employees with varied expertise, the QA Manager needs to provide alignment of their skills and project requirements. And we can’t forget about the competitive environment, deadlines, etc.
So, what makes a really good QA Manager? Is it technical skills, years of experience in software testing, certifications, or keeping up with the current testing trends? Well, that’s a mix of everything above mentioned. On top of that, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, attention to detail, understanding of the software from all points of view, patience, and a real passion for testing.
The Importance of SMART Goals for A QA Manager
Based on the layered responsibilities of a QA manager, they should also be quite analytical. For them to be sure of the performance of the team, as well as their own, QA managers should be skilled in setting up relevant targets. Further, it is rather practical for department road mapping.
- To enhance testing efficiency within the second quarter of 2023 by applying AT tools, thus reducing STLC by 50%.
- To decrease user defect reporting by 20% in the next quarter via establishing a formalized root cause analysis process.
- To produce an exhaustive training program for the QA team by the end of the third quarter of 2023, where at least 90% of the members attend. This will allow to advance their skill stack.
- To achieve a 95% boost in test coverage by organizing additional test cases/scenarios within the next six months.
- To refine QA and dev teams’ communication and collaboration with the help of regular cross-functional meetings by 80% by the end of the year.
These are just a few examples of a QA manager’s scope of work. And to accomplish such goals, they need to know precisely how, when, and with whom to do it. For example, for the first position, they would need to think through what tools to use, which engineers would handle it best, what processes to automate, etc.
Why & When to Hire a QA Manager
Can a QA team function without a QA Manager? It depends on one’s size, goal complexity, and scope of work. If it’s a project that has a minimal crew of more than a couple of QA engineers, most likely, the team won’t have a coherent direction without a QA Manager. Otherwise:
- No one will supervise the testing activities and interpret the results to meet the business requirements.
- No one will be accountable for the efficiency and productivity of the team.
- No one will be in charge of the continuous improvement of quality for a specific product.
These are the key reasons why companies prefer to hire a QA Manager. With a person responsible for this particular domain, the team lessens the risks of costly mistakes.
The other question is “When do you need to hire one?” First of all, when the project is growing. In this case, you will need someone who is responsible for planning and management, while the QA Lead focuses on the execution and moderation of work. Secondly, when there are already several teams with QA Leads. In this situation, the QA Manager will work on assigning tasks, monitoring, and evaluating the reports.
To Sum Up
A QA Manager role includes not only deep domain expertise. It also requires a great variety of soft skills to support efficient QA management and keep the team motivated. The scope of work for the QA Manager may vary in different projects. But one thing is clear: effective software quality management allows focusing on preventing quality issues instead of product defects.