Role playbook · 05 / 05
Policy · People · Process
Mission: own the test organization — policy, strategy, people, budget, process maturity, and the quality story told to executives. You work across releases, not inside one.
ISTQB home turf: CTAL-TM strategic level · Expert Test Management · Improving the Test ProcessFoundations — once, then reviewed yearly
These four are standing documents — the top of the hierarchy every release inherits. Review them yearly, not every sprint.
> /qa:test-policy # 1 · WHY the org tests — objectives, top of the document hierarchy > /qa:create-strategy # 2 · HOW this product is tested — levels, types, techniques, environments > /qa:automation-strategy # 3 · the automation program: gTAA, level split, ROI model > /qa:tool-select "API test tool" # 4 · tooling decisions: criteria, comparison, pilot plan
The management rhythm
| Cadence | Command | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly / quarterly | /qa:quality-report Q2 | Executive KPI dashboard: escaped defects, coverage, MTTR, automation %, flaky rate — cross-release trends |
| Quarterly | /qa:team-plan 6mo | Capacity vs backlog, skills matrix, training & onboarding plan |
| Quarterly | /qa:cost-of-quality | Prevention / appraisal / failure cost split, automation payback, the budget case |
| Per release | /qa:go-no-go <release> | You're the sign-off on the Test Leader's gate |
| Half-yearly | /qa:process-improvement | TMMi-based maturity assessment + improvement roadmap |
| Before audits | /qa:audit-prep ISO29119 | Traceability evidence pack, conformance gaps |
When the numbers look wrong
> /qa:quality-report # escaped defects trending up? → > /qa:process-improvement # find the process root cause (late static testing? thin risk coverage?) > /qa:risk-assessment # re-aim the effort > /qa:cost-of-quality # quantify the failure cost to fund the fix
Escaped defects trending up isn't a testing failure to punish — it's a process root cause to find and fund.The management lens
Where your work goes
/qa:automation-audit health scores.Cheat sheet
| You need to… | Run |
|---|---|
| Report quality to executives | /qa:quality-report <period> |
| Plan team capacity & skills | /qa:team-plan <horizon> |
| Justify the QA budget | /qa:cost-of-quality |
| Improve the process | /qa:process-improvement |
| Prepare for an audit | /qa:audit-prep <standard> |
Switch hats
You can be all five — switch playbooks as the day demands. See how the roles interlock on the release-lifecycle timeline.