Introduction

This document is trying to define a QA manager’s responsibilities.

Overall Responsibilities

The QA manager is the person in charge of a QA team and is responsible for leading and managing the daily work of the team. The core responsibilities are as follows:

• Responsible for establishing and maintaining an effective testing process and taking charge of the overall testing quality;
• Responsible for the day-to-day management of the testing team;
• Responsible for overseeing if the testing has risk / on track, setup the test plan process and effort estimation formula or standard if necessary with lead;
• Responsible for the quality of test cases and developing high quality test cases;
• Responsible for overseeing the quality and efficiency of team’s communicating and collaborating with people in other departments, such as communicating with developers and project managers, to jointly promote the smooth progress of the project and achieve continuous improvement;
• Responsible for the performance reviews and dialogues, training of the team and developing the ability of the team members.

Responsibilities Breakdown By Organization Success Factors

Introduction

(According to the Leavitt Diamond Model, the success factors of an organization to accomplish change are Tasks, People, Structure (Team) and Technology.)

Task Management

• Responsible for reviewing and monitoring the team’s overall task arrangements  in QA platform, including but not limited to:
  • Responsible for monitoring all information updated properly;
  • Responsible for the team’s QA resource.

About manager whether need to do the daily task management

• If your leads can help you handle the daily task management properly, you don’t need to do it daily.
• For manager’s performance, upper management will consider the team’s overall output of task management.

People Management

• Responsible for the team’s performance, overall training and new hire performance output, including but not limited to:
  • Responsible for the team’s quarterly and annual performance evaluations and dialogues;
  • Responsible for the team’s overall career progression, the team’s one-on-ones, and PDP review; and responsible for achieving a good promotion rate;
  • Responsible for supporting team leads to detect any fail-to-pass probation risks and take actions accordingly; 
  • Monitor closely the team’s morale and pursuit a sustainable workload balance; and responsible for achieving a good turn-over rate;
  • Responsible for supporting and feedbacking to help team members to make progress in an individual’s overall performance output. Don’t ignore any low performers.

Structure (Team) Management

• Responsible for the team’s overall and administrative management pertaining to the team to provide the team a high productivity environment, including but not limited to:
  • Responsible for consolidating an efficient and comprehensive team knowledge base;
  • Responsible for detecting any process execution violations and make sure the processes are complying with the process standards, optimize the processes if needed;
  • Responsible for keeping the team’s people activities complying to the company’s related policies, including but not limited to approving leaves, expenses and office usage per HR’s policies;
  • Responsible for keeping the team’s development activities complying to the company’s related policies, including but not limited to git, IT assets, and docs/confluence, etc.;
  • Responsible for promoting the company’s core values and our QA organization’s Culture and Philosophy values to the team.

Technology Improvement

• Responsible for the team’s overall tech improvement, including but not limited to 
  • Responsible for the team’s testing skills improvement, including PRD review, tech design review, code review, case design review, case optimization and execution, bug logging, etc.;
  • Responsible for testing tool enhancement and testing technique upskills; 
  • Responsible for team’s overall automation ROI

Responsibilities Breakdown By Time

Responsibilities Breakdown By Team Development Stages 

Introduction

(According to Bruce Tuckman Team Development Model, most high-performing teams go through five stages of team development.)

Stage 1: Forming

• Responsible for creating a team with clear structure, goals, direction and roles so that members begin to build trust;
• Responsible for defining a good orientation/kick-off process to help to ground the members in terms of the team’s mission and goals;
• Responsible for establishing team expectations about both the team’s testing scope and, more importantly, the team’s testing process; 
• Responsible for establishing clear objectives for the group at this first stage, create a team charter. And responsible for helping team members to set personal goals so that they can see how their work will fit with the bigger picture.

Stage 2: Storming

• Responsible for helping the team refocus on its goals, perhaps breaking larger goals down into smaller, achievable steps;
• Responsible for helping the team develop both task-related skills and conflict management skills;
• Responsible for detecting if there is a need to redefine the team’s goals, roles and tasks, and help team members past the frustration or confusion they experience;
• Responsible for tracking the progress and success of tasks;
• Responsible for building team trust, providing the team a psychological safety workspace, and encouraging team members to reflect on what they can offer and what they need from other team members.

Stage 3: Norming

• Responsible for conducting one-on-ones regularly to encourage individuals to step back, review their goals, and take responsibility for them;
• Responsible for helping team members shift their energy to the team’s goals and show an increase in productivity, in both individual and collective work; 
• Responsible for detecting that if it is an appropriate time for an evaluation of team processes and productivity;
• Responsible for getting your team to bond further with face-to-face or virtual team-building exercises. These social connections are especially important right now, as more of us work from home.

Stage 4: Performing

• Responsible for helping the team making significant progress towards its goals;
• Responsible for maintaining a great commitment to the team’s mission is high and the competence of team members is also high;
• Responsible for continuing to deepen team members’ knowledge and skills, including working to continuously improve team development;
• Responsible for acknowledging accomplishments in team progress is measured and celebrated;
• Responsible for detecting if there is still a need for the team to focus on both process and product, setting new goals as appropriate;
• Responsible for embracing the changes, such as members coming or going or large-scale changes in the external environment, can lead a team to cycle back to an earlier stage.

Stage 5: Adjourning

• Responsible for celebrating the team’s achievements, boosting their confidence, career prospects, sharing positive experiences, and retrospective for the future;
• Responsible for asking the group for 360-degree feedback to reflect, learn, and better manage future teams.

Responsibilities Breakdown By Spirit

Introduction

A QA manager’s responsibility may differ slightly from team stages and organization development. However, there are some responsibilities/spirits a QA manager should always bear in mind. 

Spirit: Set Clear Goals

• Responsible for setting clear goals, making sure that every team member understands and agrees on what the direction is, and getting the team working in the same direction. 
• Responsible for knowing when the manager should step back and give the team more autonomy, periodically checking in to make sure everyone is still on the right track. 

Spirit: Remove Roadblocks

• Responsible for helping the team remove the roadblocks when it hits a roadblock and becomes stuck. You don’t need to know all the answers to help remove roadblocks, but it usually helps to know the people who do. In many cases, knowing the right person is more valuable than knowing the right answer.

Spirit: Empower Your Team

• Responsible for empowering the team getting more done without your individual contributions.

Spirit: Be the Source of Calm

• Responsible for absorbing chaos, stress, and a world of uncertainty (or even insanity) that you never saw when you were an individual contributor, so your team can get things done.