Test Program Management
Hey guys
I was wondering if any of you could shed some light on Test Program Management for me. I mean, I know it involves a lot more than Test Management - aspects like Testware Management, Stakeholder Management, Risk and Issues Management etc. are also a part of Test Program Management... can you tell me about a few more components of Test Program Management.. if anyone has any idea? I'm trying to develop a framework for Test Program Management so any information in this regard would be very helpful ! Thank you
I'll bite. I don't know what "Test Program Management" is - or at least fully what you mean by it. At Microsoft, the roles you describe are
typically handled by test management (or a senior tester), but like all other things at Microsoft, the implementation can vary from group to group. Is this term specific to your company, or do you have some more examples or reference that would help put things into context?
you talked about everything which ideally would fit into test program management, however from a little different thinking., a test program management framework should talk about expectation management: why expectation management ? becouse managing a test project is always different as the project/product/customer perspective are different, and hence expectations from a program is also different.
expectation management would differentiate and focus uniquely on business component, delivery & execution and services respectively.
#1. what is expected or achieveables on the business front for the test project ?
#2. what kind of execution is expected is it focussed on time / catches ?
#3. what all service levels are expected or targetted from the test program management
hence an ideal TPM should be focussed about these.
hey alan
well, test program management is not a term specific to my company..
test management would encompass things like you know test execution management, testware management, managing the stages of the test life cycle etc.
what i mean by test program management is managing the entire process of testing for a client...for example company a is outsourcing testing to company x...company x not only handles the testing part of the project, but also takes over stakeholder management, issues and risk management etc...the monetary and time constraints that are usually so characteristic of any testing project are also handled by company x..basically company a can handover everything related to testing to company x, and can concentrate on their core competencies..
i hope that made it a little clearer to you :-)
what i'm basically looking for are additional components or services that can be included in a test program management packet to provide a more comprehensive and complete solution for the client.
let me know if you have any suggetions 
all inputs are very much welcome!
thanks
scotty
