The testing phase is the part of the project that many people dread the most. There is often the fear that this stage could see all of the earlier hard work go down the drain if you aren’t careful.
Yet, this doesn’t have to be a part of the role that makes you nervous each time you reach it. Instead, you can look to enjoy your testing while doing a top-class job on it every time that you get to this stage. How can the right use of PRINCE2 principles help you in this respect?
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Plan the Testing Phase Properly
When you use PRINCE2 methodology you will get used to planning your projects very carefully. This is one of the key elements of working in this way and makes it far easier for you to get through to the end in a controlled manner.
However, do you put the same amount of effort into planning your testing phase? Or do you simply add a milestone or two and hope that is enough to see you through without any major problems?
There is no reasons to rush into the testing part of the work without having planned it properly. By applying the same principles as you did with the main plan you can allocate sufficient time to matters such as negative testing, fixing errors and re-testing.
Use Your Resources Wisely
A crucial point in any sort of project is around how you use your resources. Many of the projects that fail do so because of a poor use of resources. If you can avoid this you will have a much higher chance of overall success.
This point really follows on from the previous issues around planning. If you plan your testing work extensively then you will include details of how the resources will be used as well as the dates for each task.
In this case, resources can mean the people who carry out the testing, as well as the hardware, the software and anything else that is needed to let you carry out the work to a high standard.
Get the Experts Involved
The testing part of a project is a great moment to get some end users involved. These are the experts who know how to run the business processes and who are likely to spot if there is anything that doesn’t look right.
If you are using PRINCE2 principles then you will have been communicating well with the business areas throughout the whole piece of work. This means that you should have built up a strong relationship that allows you to get the help that you need.
It is also worth bearing in mind that you might end up getting some end users allocated to the project team on a permanent basis or on secondment. If their business knowledge is allied to PRINCE2 courses London it can make for a formidable combination.
Understand the Consequence of Every Problem Encountered
Spotting problems isn’t the only thing that you need to do when you run your tests. This is just the starting point, as you then need to work out what the impact is and how to sort them out.
Understanding the impact of any faults can be difficult. As we saw earlier on, this is something that the end users can help with, as they will see what the knock-on effect would be in real life.
Since communication and reporting are so important in PRINCE2 projects, you need to keep on top of these areas at all times. When it comes to the testing stage, this means that you let everyone know about the fails and look for the best possible solutions.