In standard certification program an individual
is evaluated by "pass" or "fail" for attaining a certain basic competency
in a particular subject. However, at STAG we have a unique assessment model
to test skills of QA team - Test Competency Assessment - COMPASS.
We believe specific competencies are needed in the area of Test Engineering
to perform a role in the test life cycle. The specific key competencies to
be possessed by Test personnel vary according to the roles within the hierarchy
of the Test Division/Organization. Typical roles would be Test Engineer,
Test Lead, and Test Manager.
Hence, the spirit of COMPASS is to break down the competency list to more fine-grained
key competency areas in Test Engineering and assess for the same. The competency required
to perform each of the stated role is different.
COMPASS is administered as a written exam for a duration spanning 90 to 120 minutes
to assess team members test skills. The questions are aligned to the competency aspect
- strategizing, planning, design, and execution, reporting - with respect to
the defined role. To assess competency for each role there is different set of written exam.
The answers are evaluated on the basis of strong understanding of the concepts,
methods, techniques and its application. The assessment is aimed to determine
areas of strength and areas of improvement in a team member with respect to
that competency aspect for the defined role. Therefore it is not merely a
"Pass" or "Fail".
A report on every assessed team member is prepared which highlights the areas of
strength and areas of improvement with respect to specific competency aspect needed
for the role. This helps the organization in understanding the competency profile of
each test team member towards project deliverables. (Sample report provided on request. Call us today!)
COMPASS can administered in the following situations-
- As part of recruitment process -in this scenario the short listed
candidates for the specific role in QA is assessed for competency in
test skills. The COMPASS report forms a valuable input in the decision
to make job offer to the short listed candidates
- As part of regular of QA team skill assessment- in this case, the existing test
team members are assessed on the test competency. The COMPASS report forms a valuable
input for test lead/managers to gauge the competency of their test team members in the
team composition for a project and also in closing gaps in competency by charting out
suitable training programs for test team members
Aligning people skills to meet your business objective
- Helps in identifying gaps in skills required to perform a job that is needed
at different roles
- Identify and plan suitable training program as early as possible
- Increased productivity - consistent competency among team members leads to better performance
- Effective human resource utilization
- Right test talent acquisition
"...The
number of defects have come down ansd we can
correlate this directly to the "The effective
developer testing workshop" conducted
by STAG."
CTO of leading
provider of business-to-business
... decision-support
services worldwide |
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