Training our external QA team in India
When we were gearing up to release the timesheets product, I helped to coordinate an end-to-end business UAT. I used our personas and job maps to write 40 test scenarios, then lined up staff and internal SMEs to play the parts of the various personas for the test.
After a successful test, I was offered the opportunity to join our SVP of Global Engineering and VP of Delivery in India to train our recently acquired external QA team. A few weeks later we arrived in Hyderabad.
Of the three day agenda, one full day would be dedicated to training.
The team needed to know:
- Why people used the Production Portal
- How the different personas coalesced
- The detailed workflows and each persona’s involvement in them
I prepared all the training materials and, given the complex nature of the product, was prepared to start with the basics.
However, the team, comprised of a number of former software developers, has reverse-engineered the code and done quite a lot of research into the industry already. Srikanth, the team lead, had even prepared a pocketbook that summarised almost everything I was going to present using just two sides of A3 paper. This meant I had to adapt my approach, diving into far more detail than I had initially prepared for.
By the end of a challenging and lively day of training, I’d answered (or reached out for assistance to answer) all of the team’s questions and, in discussion with my colleagues, we were highly confident in the team’s knowledge and abilities.
Since my trip, I am in regular communications with the team. I’ve sent Srikanth coins to add to his collection. I’ve (virtually) celebrated the birth of Ram’s child. I’ve tried (and failed) to answer some of Kowsalya’s most detailed follow-up questions. This was a really formative trip and I am very grateful that I got the opportunity to go.
The first slide of an intensive 7 hour training day
Breaking bread with the whole team at lunch