Interviewing Testers Tutorial.ppt - RBCS, Inc€¦ · Mixed interview team People at different levels in the organization Testing stakeholders Effi i t i t i Efficient interview process

Interviewing TestersSelecting the Best People for your Team

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I t i i T tInterviewing TestersYou probably don’t want to hire You probably don t want to hire vampires, but sometimes we do hire…

Process copspQuality copsPeople without proper skills P l ith t bli litiPeople with troubling personalitiesOther forms of bad hires

How can you avoid making these How can you avoid making these mistakes?Let’s look at, and practice, some ideas…Let s look at, and practice, some ideas…

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Hi i PHiring ProcessSurround yourself with a smart teamSurround yourself with a smart teamA critical management decision: hire the right peopleHow?

Define a good process for evaluating and hiringClearly define the positionUnderstand the necessary skillsUnderstand the necessary skillsWork with others to carry out effective interviews Sort candidates from least qualified to best qualified

Carrying out this process involves a number of activities, which we’ll describe here



J b D iptiJob DescriptionThe start of a good hiring process is to know who you’re g g p ylooking for

Tasks and responsibilitiesExperience requiredS ifi kill i dSpecific skills requiredAdditional skills desiredSalary Training, education, certification, security clearances, or licenses Training, education, certification, security clearances, or licenses requiredOther relevant details (e.g., work hours, dress code, perks, travel, career path)

Your HR department might have a template and Your HR department might have a template and guidelines Good and bad examples of job descriptions can be found onlineonline



E l ti C did t B d REvaluating Candidates Based on ResumesOnce job description is posted you’ll get resumesOnce job description is posted, you ll get resumesYou should filter these to eliminate unqualified candidates, based on:

Required skills and experienceRequired education and certifications (and make sure they can prove it)p )Salary history and requirementsOrganization and other written communication skillsSpelling or grammar errors (often a blackball)Spelling or grammar errors (often a blackball)

Remember to distinguish between required and desired attributes



Att ib t f G d I t iAttributes of Good Interview Multiple rounds Multiple rounds

Multiple people should be involvedVarious opinions should be considered

Mixed interview teamMixed interview teamPeople at different levels in the organization Testing stakeholders

Effi i t i t i Efficient interview processClear set of stepsEach step removes unsuitable candidatesFinal candidates are the best fit

Let’s look at examples of interview questions and styles, and why they worky y y



E l ti Attit dEvaluating Attitude“What do you enjoy about working as a What do you enjoy about working as a tester?”Ri ht ttit d f j b d i tiRight attitude for job and organizationGood fit for the groupEffective in the jobTake testing seriouslyTake testing seriouslyMaintain a positive attitude (even in tough schedules)tough schedules)



E l ti P t tiEvaluating Presentation“For a recent bug report that you had to For a recent bug report that you had to discuss with others, what information did you include and how did you explain it?” y y pConfident and knowledgeable (but not arrogant)Stands up for their workAble to admit mistakes Handles situations in a mature fashionCan represent the test teamp



E l ti O i tiEvaluating Organization“How do you decide how much time to How do you decide how much time to spend on a task, how do you track your tasks, and how to you handle yinterruptions?”Organizational skills Able to be productive when frequently interruptedAble to return to interrupted tasks Can resume a test after finding and

ti d f treporting a defectInterviewing Testers

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E l ti I t p l SkillEvaluating Interpersonal Skills“Explain how you handled the situation Explain how you handled the situation the last time your test results caused controversy on a project”S ffi i i Sufficient maturity Leadership potential C d l ith i t l i Can deal with interpersonal issues EmpatheticCan critique work products without Can critique work products without offendingSees both sides of an argumentg



B h i l Q tiBehavioral QuestionsAsk about how candidates have behaved in Ask about how candidates have behaved in past Ex: “Tell me how you handled a situation where you found what you felt was an where you found what you felt was an important bug, but which others felt was trivial”P C i d f l f h t it ill Pros: Can give you a good feel for what it will be like to work with someoneCons: A clever raconteur can sometimes outfox you, so be sure to drive the discussionMy take: An essential part of the interview process to avoid dreadful hiring mistakesprocess to avoid dreadful hiring mistakes



P ti 1Practice 1Trade resumes with a person next to Trade resumes with a person next to youB i fl d h th ’ (<5 Briefly read each other’s resume (<5 minutes)Ask each other a behavioral question (3 minutes maximum for answer)Discuss with the other attendees



Sit ti l Q tiSituational QuestionsGive the candidate a real example of a project Give the candidate a real example of a project situation, and ask what they’d doEx: “We have a challenge with determining how best to document our tests given the how best to document our tests, given the varying skills of our testers. How would you handle that?”P H l l t h ff ti th Pros: Helps you evaluate how effective the person will be in your test groupCons: Watch carefully for the glib-tongued y g gintervieweeMy take: Useful as part of a larger set of questionsquestions



P ti 2Practice 2Working with the same partner as Working with the same partner as beforeA k h th it ti l ti (3 Ask each other a situational question (3 minutes maximum for answer)Discuss with the other attendees



T h i l Q tiTechnical QuestionsDetailed questions about test design techniques, coding, q g q gscripting, or other technical skills Ex: “Here’s a state-diagram that shows how device wiping works for a mobile phone. What would you test? Why is that sufficient?’sufficient?Pros: Allows you to explore whether the person has the technical qualifications for the jobCons:

bl f “b k l ” l lPossible over-focus on “book learning” over practical application Weeding out candidates based on irrelevant technical questions skills given the role

My take: yEssential types of questionsMust be asked by someone with more technical skill than the candidate



P ti 3Practice 3Working with the same partner as Working with the same partner as beforeA k h th t h i l ti Ask each other a technical question appropriate to their skills and

i (3 i t i f experience (3 minutes maximum for answer)Discuss with the other attendees



P l Q tiPuzzle QuestionsPresenting a brainteaser puzzle to evaluate problem-solving g p p gskills Pros: Some like these as a way to assess critical thinking skills and creativityEx: “Why are manhole covers round?”Cons:

Some flub under interview pressure Over-emphasis on IQ rather than practical abilities (stupid is as stupid does)

My take: Often no connection between these puzzles and daily work Plenty of geniuses can be a real pain in the butt to work withI don’t use these questions at all



EExamsCheck technical knowledge organization ability to Check technical knowledge, organization, ability to structure a problemPros: A valid exam provides a consistent, fair evaluation of candidate skillsCons: If the exam is invalid, irrelevant to daily work, not approved by HR or asks illegal questions it not approved by HR, or asks illegal questions, it could create significant problems My take:

The ISTQB exams fairly, objectively measure certain types of knowledgeWhy not use something similar as part of your process?Why not use something similar as part of your process?



A diti I t iAudition InterviewsThese give you a chance to see someone These give you a chance to see someone actually do their daily workExamples include:

H th did t t i l i ti t t d Have the candidate run a typical, existing test and log defectsHave the candidate create tests to adequately cover important test conditions cover important test conditions Have the candidate create tests from an actual requirements specification or user storyH th did t t t i t th t t tHave the candidate present a topic to the test team

These are only examples; you can pick any typical taskyp



P ti 4Practice 4Working with the same partner as Working with the same partner as beforeW k t l t t t t f th Work separately to create tests for the user story/requirement shown on the

t lid (5 i t i f next slide (5 minutes maximum for answer)Evaluate each other’s testsDiscuss with the other attendees



P ti U St /R i tPractice User Story/RequirementConsider the following user story/ Consider the following user story/ requirement:

As a customer I want be able to enter a user name As a customer, I want be able to enter a user name and password to login to my account, so that I can re-use my shipping, billing, and payment information from previous purchases.

Develop a set of tests to cover this storyEvaluateDiscussDiscuss



Wh t t W t h f D i th I t iWhat to Watch for During the Interview Good problem-solving skills for typical testing Good problem solving skills for typical testing problemsCritical thinking skills, including the ability to explain their thinking explain their thinking Good written and verbal communication skillsTeamwork skills (avoid disruptors of morale and ( pcohesion) Balanced curiosity, especially about software anomaliesanomaliesSufficient technical and business domain knowledgeAppropriate testing skills for the positionAppropriate experience and background



C l iConclusionsHiring is one of the most important Hiring is one of the most important tasks a manager doesIt’s easy to make mistakes in the It s easy to make mistakes in the process, which causes long-term griefUse a good process good interview Use a good process, good interview questions, good interview types, and close attention to avoid mistakesYou’ll be rewarded with a high-performing teamp g



T C t t RBCSFor twenty years, RBCS has delivered consulting, outsourcing, and training services to clients looking to improve their software and hardware testing and quality

To Contact RBCSto clients looking to improve their software and hardware testing and quality. Employing the industry’s most experienced and recognized consultants, RBCS trains and improves test groups, tests products, and provides expert test staff for hundreds of clients worldwide. Ranging from Fortune 20 companies to start-ups, g g p pRBCS clients save time and money through improved product development, decreased tech support calls, improved corporate reputation and more. To learn more about RBCS, visit www.rbcs-us.com.Add RBCS IAddress: RBCS, Inc.

31520 Beck RoadBulverde, TX 78163-3911USA

Phone: +1 (830) 438-4830E-mail: [email protected]: www.rbcs-us.com



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Interviewing Testers Tutorial.ppt - RBCS, Inc€¦ · Mixed interview team People at different levels in the organization Testing stakeholders Effi i t i t i Efficient interview process