How not to test programs for business

    “Whom I want, I don’t know, whom I know - I don’t want”,

    Everyone, of course, should go about his own business, no doubt. And, of course, the judgment on the subject must be made by those who better understand it.

    That is why all the software that a company can purchase is left to the IT department. And rightly so - they are computer scientists, they have to deal with programs.

    From a formal point of view, everything seems to be correct, but let's think about what a program is.
    A program is not a set of code, not a DVD-ROM in an envelope, not information on the network, but the functionality that it will bring personally to you or your company (there is no tens of thousands of dollars worth of drive in a converter).
    Therefore, the one who will use it must test the program. Do not sit at the monitor and press the keys, but the one who will use the results of her work.

    So that the conversation is not abstract, we will consider everything with an example. As an example, let's take my favorite Stakhanovets - a software package for monitoring and controlling the activities of employees, as well as improving the efficiency and safety of work.
    What usually happens? The director of the company, the head of the department, the head of the security service learns about the product, gets a primary understanding of how this product can help him, and connects an IT specialist. Instructs him to test the program and provide a report.
    Now put yourself in the shoes of an IT professional. First, he is invited to spend a lot of time installing, configuring, and testing a product in which he is completely uninterested. That is, he needs to shift part of his immediate work for some reason. Moreover, if Stakhanovets in this organization is purchased and implemented, the head will receive additional control over the IT specialist himself. Does he need this?
    In most cases, the interests of leadership and IT are different. The director wants the company to bring more profit and require less cost. The IT specialist needs the economy entrusted to him to work without interruption, without requiring his intervention. In this context, installing an additional program is harmful for him.

    What happens next? The IT professional gives the test task the smallest priority in the hope that it will disappear on its own. Temporary keys for programs become obsolete, they are requested again, and the process does not move. “Yes, you judge for yourself,” says IT specialist, “my backup is not configured, what kind of testing is there!”
    Then you still have to test. An IT specialist installs a program, runs several formal tests, and provides management with an oral or written report on ... why this program is not suitable for them:

    · a lot of resources are being spent (he measured them);
    · Not intuitive (especially fun when IT people say that about programs for accountants);
    · Can be implemented by other means (read - by IT specialists themselves for an increase in salary).

    As a result, the leader remains without the functionality he needs, and the IT specialist without unnecessary work.
    If you are an IT specialist, you have just read the manual on how to increase the amount of free time at work.
    And if you are a leader, then in the next post I will tell you how to properly test programs for business.

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