Outnumbered: Ensuring Quality with a Low Test-to-Dev Ratio

摘要

How many testers does a software project need? Ask a test manager and you will likely hear "as many as we can find!" Unfortunately, it is often difficult to staff a testing organization with as many resources as is optimal. Does this mean a project must suffer poor quality if it falls short of the magic "1:1" test-dev ratio? Absolutely not!rnProjects with smaller test teams are forced into certain behaviors out of necessity. As it turns out, these behaviors can be great assets in the quest for high quality. Some of these behaviors include customer-focused planning, aggressive trimming of unneeded functionality, and balancing of traditionally tester-only tasks across the team. While these are almost requirements in smaller organizations, teams of any size can learn and benefit from these activities as well.rnA key factor for success given a small test team is the recognition that quality is everyone's responsibility. Testers and developers must be partners, not rivals, in ensuring quality.