Lean from the Trenches

Example 1: System Test Bottleneck

System testing had become an obvious bottleneck, so there was clearly no point developing new features and adding to the bottleneck. Once this became clear, the developers focused on implementing tech stories that would make system test easier—mostly test automation stuff. In fact, the test manager was tasked with creating a test automation backlog, prioritizing it, and feeding it to the developers via “Top Five Tech Stories.” The testers became customers!

For more information on this technique, see Chapter 18, ​Reducing the Test Automation Backlog​.