Page - 25 - in The Future of Software Quality Assurance

The Next Generation Tester: Meeting the Challenges ofa Changing IT World 25 7.4 Profiles A key element of a skills framework is its ability to be easily and flexibly applied to the practical needs of people, projects and organizations. Profiles provide a way to define collectionsof specific competenciesat particular levels which match particulardemands.Forexample: • An organization which creates mobile applications which make use of AI may define a profile which includes all general testing competencies to initial level plus specialist competenciesat full level in testing applicationsusing connected mobiledevicesandAI. • An individual may construct a profile which enables them to define a goal for their personal development. They may, for example, set the goal of being competent at full level in certain general competencies and competent to initial level in aparticular speciality. Note that profiles are similar to but are not the same as roles. Profiles are more flexible in their definition and relate more directly to a specific need. They are constructed from the competencies provided in the skills framework and do not suffer fromthe inflexible“onesize fits all” problemwhich is inherent in traditional roledefinitions. 8 Conclusion Role-based approaches in testing have shown their value and are still in use today. However, projects (in particular those using agile approaches) are increasingly moving away from fixed roles and towards a more flexible competency-based approach. Adopting this type of approach enables projects to define their precise competencyneedsand toalignbetterwith theneedsofbusiness. A skills framework supports the overall concept of a competency-based approach. They provide the skills definitions that enable people, projects and organizations to set up their own flexible competency profiles. By including levels of competenciesand a scheme for assessing them, the skills framework becomes a flexible toolwith which to measureskill levelsandpromote theirdevelopment.