F12 – 501: Building A Successful Test Center of Excellence (Part 1)

Track: Strategic Business Alignment

In 2008, Lowe’s initiated a Quality Assurance group dedicated to independent testing for IT. This was Lowe’s first time separating development and testing efforts for the 62-year-old company. Mike Lyles was privileged to be part of this inaugural effort.

The purpose of this two part session is to review a high level study of the building of a Test Center of Excellence within a mature IT organization that will be informative for companies of various sizes and growth related to Quality Assurance maturity.

This session will be a 2-part session (see session 601 for Part 2 of this session):

Session Part 1

  • The Startup – this session will describe how the testing center was formed initially, steps taken to build the team, baselining the process and methodology documentation, initial metrics planned for reporting, the process involved in selecting the pilot business areas that would be supported and how we prepared the organization for the changes.
  • What Worked – we will review the decisions made during the initial stages, those decisions that stood with the team throughout the process, and how the organization was socialized with the stakeholders.

In Part 1 of this session, the following areas will benefit startup testing groups as well as existing groups that are looking for improvement opportunities:

  • Documenting core processes required to build a team
  • Selecting the appropriate team member skill sets when building a team
  • Identifying core requirements when selecting a testing vendor
  • Establishing core metrics needed for the organization
  • Selecting the pilot group / business area for testing services
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Please Note: The presentations are intended for attendees only. The presentations page is password protected – contact info@softwaretestpro.com for verification of attendance and the password to access the presentation.

Session Speaker:

Mike LylesMike Lyles – QA Manager, Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
Mike Lyles is a QA Manager for Lowe’s Companies, Inc. A 1993 graduate from Appalachian State University, he has 19 years of IT experience, working in various roles over the years – from technical support to programmer, to Program Management Office, to Solutions Development Manager, to Testing/QA. His current role includes Test Management responsibilities for a major company domain covering Store Systems, Supply Chain, Merchandising, and Marketing.