Role: Test Lead
Location: Solihull
We are actively looking to secure a Test Lead to join Experis as one of our expert consultants, delivering services to our clients.
Experis Consultancy is a Global entity with a well-established team with over 1000 consultants on assignment across 20 clients globally. Our UK operation is growing and has very aggressive plans for expansion over the coming years. We form part of the Manpower group of companies that turn over $20 billion a year collectively.
Experis UK have partnerships with major clients across the UK spanning multiple industries; our approach is a very personal one, with both our clients and our own employees. We are passionate about training, technology and career development.
The Role
This role will ensure effective and successful support and delivery of the User Acceptance Testing, implementation and post-implementation phases with the business users, project sponsor, business lead, Training and our IT Suppliers. This includes co-ordination, development and delivery of the test plans, scenario production, test scripts, provision of support to the training team (training material production/ amendments throughout the UAT lifecycle) and take leadership of the User Acceptance Test process of the new capability, under the direction of the Test Manager or Project Manager.
The role will work closely with the Project Lead or Project Manager responsible for the change and provide support to them to ensure effective delivery. It will also ensure business readiness for all change delivered through Change Delivery inclusive of process and policy implementation whilst also ensuring appropriate testing is applied to support fixes delivered from our IS partners.
Responsibilities
- Ensure the business requirements expressed in workshops and meetings are translated into a Business and Technical Blueprint and is consistent through each stage of the Test lifecycle for their specific work stream.
- Input detailed business knowledge to the design team and communicate with the IT specialists within the team to ensure the specified business requirements are understood during the transition to a technical solution and validated as entry and exit criteria at each stage of the test process.
- Challenge existing business processes and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Via effective reporting, release notes and expectation management, ensure that communications related to UAT and implementation of change are accurate and consistent, ensuring
- positive messages about the programme are fed into the business.
- Engage with the Training teams to provide support during the production of training materials by reviewing training material and user guides and supporting pilot training sessions to help with the transition of the new processes into the production business environment.
- Contribute to team activities to enable the development of a cohesive test strategy throughout every programme work stream.
- Co-ordinate and plan UAT resource as required to facilitate effective User Acceptance Testing responsible for adequate testing provision for all change incorporating business process and policy testing alongside technical code change
- Complete and drive delivery against the Implementation project plan contributing to completion of end to end delivery plan. Updating baseline plan accordingly
- Complete adequate testing and implementation provision for support fixes and small changes
- Clear identification and strong working relationship with project sponsor and stakeholders throughout the test and implementation delivery phases of each project
- Engage with the people dimension in delivering transformational change, utilising formal and informal methods of communication and relationship building
- Matrix management of UAT resource as allocated to change initiatives. Implementation
- Lead to work closely with project stakeholders to ensure change is effective and is deployed appropriately
- Record all UAT evidence throughout acceptance test phase, inclusive of successful and exception evidence for all scenarios
- Production and maintenance as defined via Change Delivery standards business implementation related documentation gaining sign off at each stage, to be stored centrally in project Document LibraryEnsure only specified code is implemented into our production environments via effective configuration management, traceability matrices, test design specifications and static testing
- Coordinate out of working hours business verification checks taking responsibility for recording and resolution of issue identification, escalating to Technical and Business representatives, where appropriate, and management teams at all times
- Provide first line post implementation support for the pre-defined warranty phase of project delivery, being the first port of call for all post go live issues, managing the warranty log, chairing the warranty meetings, managing and/or escalating any risks/issues, and arranging any post go live testing required with the relevant business and IS stakeholders
- Manage all aspects of the Post Implementation Review; collecting and collating comments, organisation and chairing of meeting, documentation and distribution of recommendations, actions and minutes
- Develop and maintain a close working relationship with RWE IT and other 3rd party suppliers to ensure effective delivery of change
- Mentor and develop skills of users in the principles of UAT inclusive of processes, methodologies and tools
- To contribute to continuous improvement of UAT and implementation activities, identifying areas for improvement via best practice research and project lessons learnt
- Via effective planning, identify and manage exceptions and project slippage in all areas. Proactively identify and manage risks/issues to successful completion or escalation where appropriate
Requirements
- Provide clear direction to the team that reflects the strategic aims of the programme.
- Ensure the information used and decisions made by the team are accepted by the relevant end client business community. Generate effective engagement and involvement of stakeholders to secure buy in to change programme.
- Communicate positively the aims and objectives of the project to the team and to the end client business community.
- Responsible for ensuring the tasks agreed with the client's business community are delivered on time and to quality.
- Ensure the team's deliverables are consistent with the benefit realisation plan for the programme.
- Formulate and maintain detailed Test plans to match programme plan and update Project Manager on variances
- Responsible for ensuring project milestones are achieved with specific responsibility to ensure the required business people are available at the agreed workshops and meetings.
- Evaluate risk and identify where escalation is appropriate, addressing issues, assumptions and dependencies.
Problem Solving
- Typical problems and challenges the job holder has to resolve:
- Identification and management of conflicting priorities and undertake effective personal planning
- Application of lessons learned to new projects
- Ability to analyse source documentation with a view to understanding testing scope, approach and scenarios to ensure full test coverage and traceability
- Identifying specific standing data requirements to fully test complex functionality ensuring that test conditions are met
- Identifying and ensuring resolution of system problems in conjunction with wider stakeholder group
- Quality assurance of all information distributed in support of governance to include information published on the intranet.
Decision Making
- Typical decisions the job holder can take and typical decisions that must be referred to the immediate manager or others:
- Ability to build rationale and influence outcomes with senior stakeholders to reach decisions in relation to Testing and UAT Outputs
- Able to balance tactical and strategic business priorities and make appropriate recommendations with regards to testing.
- Makes recommendations to inform decisions that are mission critical to relevant senior leadership stakeholders
