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There are a number of ingredients to building a high performing organisation. In her talk "GOTO 2016 • Building a High-Performance Team is Everyone's Job • Camille Fournier" Camille points out one essential additive - a career framework for your staff. 

There are a number of open source career frameworks listed in https://www.progression.fyi/. To my knowledge, there is currently no Test Engineering specific framework in existence, that covers Software, Hardware & Mechanical Test Engineering. As System Engineering is a discipline close to Test Engineering (just the opposite sides of the V-Model), the following description of a competency framework is inspired by the competency framework for System Engineers (which is build upon https://www.sfia-online.org/), ISTQB qualification descriptions and various books around testing. Final ingredient is some Stephen Covey's Speed of Trust.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Covey)

Gaining Trust

"Low trust causes friction, whether it is caused by unethical behavior or by ethical but incompetent behavior (because even good intentions can never take the place of bad judgment). Low trust is the greatest cost in life and in organizations. Low trust creates hidden agendas, politics, interpersonal conflict, interdepartmental rivalries, win-lose thinking, defensive and protective communication — all of which reduce the speed of trust. Low trust slows everything — every decision, every communication, and every relationship."

Trust is a function of two things: character and competence. Character includes your integrity, your motive, your intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, your skills, your results, your track record.

The competency framework is there to help you incresing your capabilities and skill as a Test Engineer, helping you to build trusting relationships within the organisation.

Capabilities (Are you relevant?) - Capable people are credible. Capability is more than skill; it includes:

  • Talents - What are my unique, native strengths?

  • Attitutes - Do I approach work with energy and the determination to contribute?

  • Skills - Do I continuously upgrade my skills?

  • Knowledge - What am I doing to stay current and keep learning?

  • Style - Does my style of doing things get in the way or ease the path?

Building Your Capabilities

  1. Run with your strengths.
    Feed your strengths. What are they? Where are your natural talents? What can you do best? Starve your weakness by teaming with others who are strong where you're weak.

  2. Keep yourself relevant.
    Match your stregths to opportunities. Where can you make a unique, high-value contribution?

  3. Know where you're going.
    Specify that different-in-kind contribution and keep the vision of it before you from now on.​

Improving your Results

What's your track record?  Clearly, your credibility rests on teh results you get in your work. But because you can do everything right and still fail, make sure you define results accurately.

  1. Take responsibility for results
    Adopt a "results mind-set" rather than an "activity mind-set". Ask yourself: WIll what I'm doing now lead to teh results I want or am I just staying busy?

  2. Expect to win
    Openly express confidence in yourself and others. Clearly define what winning consists of. Create an emotional climate of high expectations.

  3. Finish strong
    Drop out of the "culture of quitting" and the "victim mentality". Stay strong at the end when everything's on the line.

"Quality @ Speed" relies on the Speed of Trust

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Roles & Grading

Individual role names can be chosen to better reflect the type of work performed. In seniority terms, the hierarchy as shown below is applied. So for example, in Software, the term "Senior Software Test Engineer" would be used to express the "Senior Test Engineer" specialising in Software.

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Competencies

Competencies are organised into multiple layers. The top layer is General, Hardware, Software and Embedded Software.  The next layer is divided into Core, Technical, Professional, Test Management and Integrating Competencies. This second layer is then divided into specific competencies that can be assessed by the degree of knowledge and skills, sphere of influence, frequency of guidance, responsibility and accountability.

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On a high level, the more senior a position will be, the more the Leadership aspects become important. This is specifically true for the transition from Principal Engineer to Test Manager. 

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Sphere of Influence

The level of influence reflects the degree of leadership and in turn influences the level of seniority.

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Frequency of Guidance

The more senior a role is, the less guidance and supervision is required. This is also reflected in the way individuals are motivated, i.e. from only externally motivated (told what to do) to self driven internal motivation (find what to do to reach a goal).

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ARCIFE (Accountable, Responsible, Consulted, Informed, Facilitator, Expert) analysis is a refinement on the standard RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) analysis for engagement in an activity. The ARCIFE terms are defined below:

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A – Accountable

Leadership, making sure the activity is done, and done right. Often the accountable person delegates the actual doing. There should only be one accountable person for a specific activity / issue.

R – Responsible

People (maybe different roles) that do the activity (so if the output of the activity is a report, these are the authors). Responsibility can be shared in a team.

C – Consulted

Engaged in the work; may provide input, or (more likely) either apply specific technical / domain knowledge to assist with the activity, or they use / act on the outcome of the process and influence it

I – Informed

Needs to know either that the work product is produced, or the outcome (or part of outcome and decision from process activity.

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The next two terms are in a different dimension to the level of descending importance above. To embed Test Engineering, individuals may have to help the team apply specific Test Engineering techniques, or define and develop best practice.

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F – Facilitator / Coach

Lead workshops or discussions applying Test Engineering Approach (with people from other skills) and build consolidated and agreed models. This aspect includes sufficient expertise and knowledge in Test Engineering Approach (process and techniques) to select the most appropriate for the situation, considering both the nature of the system of interest (under test), and for the “testing” competence and experience of the team they are working with.

E – Expert

Develops / explains or teaches methods and process in this area, and advances the state of the art. Considered a specialist in the competency

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Those accountable for a process may not necessarily have the highest competency level. Whilst they may, in the past, have operated at a higher level of competency - and will draw on this experience - as a leader, their role has moved beyond "doing" to a "leadership" such as setting the culture and environment for the activity to be done correctly. Of course, if a role involves both accountability and responsibility, a higher level of competency will normally be required.

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Competency Framework & Performance Reviews

As part of the performance review process, learning & development paths should be defined to enable individuals to grow into more senior positions.

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