We have three major types of consulting. Our focus tends to be software testing, but most of our consultants are generalists who can contribute on multiple levels.
Hands-On, on-site, coaching-while-contributing
As a general rule, training in software testing involves taking the testers away from their work and doing theoretical exercises now that may have value later. That type of training has its place, but at Excelon Development, our consulting is different; we coach. After brief introductions and some valuable discussion, our consultants sit down and pair with testers to get work done through simultaneous training, coaching, and test execution. For a reasonable fee, your team will receive relevant training, customized for the environment, that actually speeds the delivery process of the software project!
The length of the test consulting engagement is open; we typically find the most value is added in the first week, however we also assist with long-term test team building while performing staff augmentation tasks. Most engagements include optional brown bag lunches, brief test exercises, and so on; all focused around the unique programs of your envrionment.
We also do longer-term contributor/coach consulting, as well as classic assessments and project/process rescue work.
About the Process
At Excelon Development, you get more than a hired gun, you’ll get someone who thinks actively about risk, who shares a passion for the subject, and who actively coaches teams in software development, with a specialty in quality, while doing the work.
But there’s more.
We take a software process naturalist approach — that means observing what the team is actually doing, the current risks, and making concrete recommendations for improvement.
Matt’s background spans testing, development, and project management, especially Agile Methods. As such, he can coach in a cross-disciplinary way . This means more than great bug hunting, but working actively with the programers to understand where the bugs came from, how to reproduce them, and how to perform their own checks and inspections to improve the quality of the next release.
In order to make our recommendations, we spend time actually understanding the work, preferably by doing it and helping others do it. This means our prescriptions are grounded in the problems your organization has today — not the ones recommended by a textbook.
Instead, you’ll get a consultant who focuses on observation and contribution. For a one-week assessment, that means listening to the tone of the meetings and pairing — for longer assignments, you’ll have a contributor, a producer, on the team.