Questioning Best Practices: The Story of One Test Team's Transformation

John McConda presents the story of a test team that challenged the notion of best practices and came out more focused, efficient, and effective. Creating a mission statement and using it as a measuring stick, this team threw out all practices, started with a clean slate, and scrutinized every proposed process and practice. They sought to understand and evaluate each practice-based contribution to the testing mission. Examples: Test cases-don't need them; Automated regression test suite-just enough, thanks; Performance testing-only with accurate operational modeling; CMMI®-just the parts that work for us. The result was a transformed team that began exceeding its goals and earned accolades from a previously unhappy customer. Along the way they learned plenty of lessons about making sure everyone's voice is heard and how to implement sustainable change within a test team.