Terms of Reference for Testing Staff
John Watkins · 2001
Introduction This appendix provides recommendations for the terms of reference (TORs) for the following staff involved in software testing: ▲ Testing Manager ▲ Test Team Leader ▲ Test Analyst ▲ Tester ▲ Independent Test Observer . For each TOR, the following information is documented: ▲ Responsibilities ▲ Reporting and Liaison ▲ Typical characteristics ▲ Appropriate references for further information. Each TOR appears in the following pages of this appendix. This appendix also describes the role of a typical Testing Program Board (see Chapter 4) for organizations interested in introducing such an entity into their testing program. It is intended that the individual TORs be provided to the appropriate staff on testing projects, either as photocopies or electronically, as memory aids. Testing Manager Responsibilities The Testing Manager is responsible for: Setting up and resourcing new testing projects Tasking one or more Test Team Leaders and monitoring their progress against agreed-on plans Ensuring that (where appropriate) the development teams follow the Unit and Integration testing approach documented within the testing process Assuring that (where appropriate) software development conducted by a third party follows good development and testing practice Formally representing the organization during the co-signing of the Test Certificate (Appendix H) with the representative of a third party responsible for development of software Maintenance of the testing program filing system Reporting progress and issues to senior management at agreed-on intervals Liaising with Independent Test Observers to ensure good practice has been followed in testing.