In some large enterprises, IT-departments may have outsourced their development and testing but kept management in-house, which may not be without its challenges. First, when contracting, leaders must have a vision of what modern development and testing looks like. It acts as a compass point to the people, giving them a direction without being the actual goal per se. Leaders need know how to buy and how testing and development work impacts their projects.
How not to outsource your understanding
This is not all: they need to communicate effectively within their organizations with their managers and lead effectively. Being in the know saves time, energy and money. Marko Rytkönen, a quality assurance consultant from Hidden Trail has worked on both sides of the table, in corporate settings and as a consultant. Marko’s extensive experience yields the right questions that IT leaders need to be asking themselves when buying and running software development projects.
He emphasizes modern practices and visibility to understand what impacts quality. Leaders must know when development and testing are of good quality and help their teams, regardless if they’re subcontractors or not, to perform at their best.
It’s important not to outsource your own understanding because you need to lead and manage people. As a leader, you may not need to know the details of testing, but you need to understand what modern testing looks like. In other words, you must spot the difference between understanding and operational expertise, says Marko.
Learning from the best in the field
To avoid not knowing what you don’t know, it helps to be trained by those who have been doing similar project tasks. When you’re feeling confident about project leadership, it’s easy to see the forest for the trees and not get lost.
Splended organizes development and quality training where you can be mentored by the best in the field, network with others in similar roles and learn skills that apply in your everyday routines.
Check out our offering here to get your skills updated.
