Team Competition - How to compete against other software testing teams and win?

There may be occasions when you or your software testing team is pitted (compared from a business point of view) against another individual or another team. Examples include:

1. You are a senior tester and the management has just hired a junior person. Now, some tests have been assigned to the junior tester. The idea is to see if there is a discernible difference in the outputs of the two of you.

2. Your management or client has decided to off-shore (OR bring on-site) some of the testing work. Some work is now being done in parallel in both locations. The idea is to see which team provides more value with respect to the cost it incurs.

3. An experienced person with the business background has been added to the team. The idea is to see if business knowledge or software testing knowledge provides greater value in testing.

Before I go on, let me clarify that healthy competition is a fast way to grow your capabilities. Otherwise, things tend to stagnate. And quite often, the competing teams end up collaborating with and supporting each other the other side of the tunnel.

But, in the meantime, you have to think about at least maintaining your position. If you do NOT take any additional action, your role may be diminished or change into something else regardless of your preference. How can you maintain (and subsequently grow) your position?

1. Study the other team.
When sports team prepare for competitions, they actively study the other team. You should do the same. You should find out the following information about the other team:
 a. The number of members in the team
 b. Their names and location
 c. Their general background, experience, knowledge, achievements and struggles
 d. Their prior exposure to your company's specific applications, tools and processes
 e. Their working style/ culture
 f. Any natural advantages they have over you

2. Follow their work and deliveries.
You should actively follow their work and the deliveries they produce. Use all channels (official and informal) to keep you updated about their progress.

3. Analyze the other team's strengths and weaknesses.
Your team should now be able to have a fair idea of the other team's strengths and weaknesses. Be ready to update their image in your mind as you follow their progress regularly.

4. Identify your own strengths and weaknesses.
This is a good time to be more aware about your own team. What things is your team good at? What tasks is it not so good at? In what respects does your team absolutely struggle?

5. Change your approach appropriately.
If are keenly aware of the other team and your own team, it should be easy for you to identify the ways in which you can out-perform them. Some examples are given below but you should find out your own ways to out-perform the other team. And, implement the changes quickly.
 a. If the other team only executes the predefined test cases, your team may want to additionally invest time in enhancing and then executing the available test cases. Or perform exploratory testing in addition.
 b. If the other team focuses on functional bugs, your team may want additionally focus on performance bugs, usability bugs and look and feel bugs.
 c. Get work done faster. If their team members watch the clock (come in at time, work and leave on time), your team can shorten your breaks or concentrate more on the tasks or stay on the task longer.
 d. If the other team has individual performers, your team may want to harness the power of team work.
 e. If their team works in a silo, your team may have a good rapport with the other engineering teams.

6. Inform the decision makers yourself.

You can be sure that the decision makers who initiated this change would be actively following its effects. You should inform your own achievements in a positive light to them. Do NOT rely on someone else to do this for you. If so, they may tone down your achievements according to their own biases, opinions and agenda.

7. Finally, help your NEW team.
When the dust settles, your team will have a better assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. You will also be more mature. The other team will also share the same benefits. After all, everyone wants to grow.

If the decision makers take a professional decision, the work will be more aligned according to the strong areas of the either team. The teams may even be re-distributed or merged into a single unit. It is a WIN-WIN situation. Now is the time to help yourself and your new team to the best of your abilities.