QA Leader's Checklist

So I'll be moving to a new job in a few weeks.

I'll be the Director of Quality Assurance at a company which has no QA department yet.

Since I tend to write a lot of lists, I've started a list of "things I need to learn, think about, ask about; people and groups I need to talk with". A few of these things are specific to my situation, but most apply to any QA Lead role.

I shared my initial list with my friends at QAForums.com.  They helped me expand the list even more.

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Important Stakeholders

• Customers
• QA
• QC
• Engineering
• Product Management
• IT
• Customer Support
• Training
• Marketing
• Sales
• Sales Support
• Documentation
• Management
• Others

Products

• Current Products
  
  • Manuals
  • Online Documentation
  • Training
• Product History
• Upcoming Products
• Releases
• Supported Releases

Technologies

• Front End (Flash, AJAX, etc)
• Application Servers
• Database (SQL Server, Oracle, etc)
• Operating Systems (Windows, Unix, Linux, etc)
• Development Languages/Tools (Java, etc)

Platforms

• Desktop Platforms
• Server Platforms
• Browser Platforms
  
  • IE
  • Firefox?
  • AOL?
  • Opera?
  • Other?
• Supported E-Mail Clients
  
  • OutLook
  • AOL?
  • Other?

Processes

• QA Processeses
• Development Processes
• Release Processes
  
  • When do releases occur
  • how often
  • Service Level Agreements
• Product Introduction Processes
• Backup Processes
• Disaster Recovery / Business Continuance
• Problem Escalation Processes
• Hiring

Tools

• Document Collaboration
• Issue Tracking
• Test Management 
• Requirements Tracking
• Specification Tracking
• Time Management

Schedules

• Release Schedules
• Internal Releases
• External Releases
• Beta Releases
• Meeting Schedules
• Customer Commitments

Requirements

• Functional Requirements
• Performance/Load Requirements
• Security Requirements
• Regulatory Requirements
• Release Criteria

QA Infrastructure

• Lab
• Hardware
• Software
• Test Automation
• Load/Performance Tool
• Issue Tracking
• Test Plans
• Reporting
• QA Business Plan
• QA Mission Statement
• QA Vision Statement

Metrics

• Current
• Proposed

Domain Knowledge

• Glossary of Terms
• Training Classes
• Reading Materials
• Other sources

Budget

• QA
• Overall Engineering

Company

• History
• Directions
• Phone Numbers
• Web Site
• Intranet/Portal
• Facilities
• Parking
• Company Culture
  
  • Dress Code
  • Working offsite
  • Current culture of quality (or lack thereof)
  • Mission Statement
  • Vision Statement

General Office Procedures

• E-Mail Addresses
• E-Mail Lists
• IMs
• Payroll
• Meeting Rooms
• Supplies
• Human Resources
• Mailing Address
• Business Cards

People

• Who holds the power
• Who are the influencers
• Who will help you
• Who will hinder you
• Who do you need to influence
• Who organises the social events