How to Lead a Successful Proof of Concept (POC) Process with Results does not Leave Doubt!

Contemplating a shift in your organization’s automation tools?

Unsure how to kick off the Proof of Concept (POC) process or worried about its ambiguous outcomes?

Let’s navigate the POC journey together, ensuring clarity and aiding in the selection of the ideal automation tool.

Replacing or introducing a new automation tool demands meticulous planning, setting clear process goals, and defining what the new tool should achieve compared to its predecessor.

The POC process requires well-defined criteria for assessing the tool’s performance, which should be endorsed by relevant stakeholders beyond the testing team, extending to other departments leveraging the tool.

Presenting these criteria to additional stakeholders not only adds another dimension but also secures their commitment to the tool replacement, influencing its successful integration within the organization.

Let’s dive into the process of effectively leading a POC.

Firstly, it’s crucial to understand the reasons behind considering a new tool. Engage with your team to comprehend the daily impacts—both positive and negative—of the existing tool. In one instance, I initiated a discussion with my team after hearing their ongoing complaints. This conversation aimed to discern whether these complaints were rooted in real technical shortcomings of the tool.

As a result, it became evident that our team spent considerable time maintaining automation tests due to lacking functions in the tool, despite testers’ expectations, alongside the tool’s high cost. Consequently, we opted to explore the POC process to assess the viability of replacing the tool.

Here are the steps to select the automation tool:

1. Begin by integrating the POC process into the version roadmap, allocating reasonable time within version development for relevant staff to execute the POC.

2. Narrow down three tools from the market. Seeking advice from other test managers, engaging with QA groups on social media, and market exploration can help identify tools suited for your organization.

3. Establish the end-to-end system flow(s) for testing. While avoiding overly complex scenarios, ensure it covers the core functionality of the system, aiming to evaluate how the tool manages the product’s end-to-end process.

4. Define specific criteria for the automation tool, tailoring them to your product’s needs. Here’s an example table of criteria implemented for a user interface automation tool, where we predefined the priority for each criterion based on the product’s requirements and our team’s testing priorities.

The priority of criteria may fluctuate depending on the product’s demands.

Criteria	Priority	Tool #1	Tool#2
Cross Browsers Testing	High
Supported Dev Languages	High
Supported Test Framework High	High
Setup and Execution- CI/CD	High
Integrations	High
Code oriented	High-Medium
Version Control Supported	High
Easy Maintained	High
Debugging and Logging	High
Easy to write	High
Reporting Capability	High
Maturity, Documentation, Support	High
Cost-Efficient	High
Speed	High
Wait for Element	Medium
Video and Screenshot support	High
Parallel Execution	High
Remote Execution	High
Manage Cookies	Medium
Repeatable, Reliable	High
Email Notifications (Custom email message received if tests are passed successfully/ failed/or any network failure)	High
Dev Engineer Skill Level	High
Installation Complexity (both in time and in resources	Medium
Load/Performance	High

Among the criteria we’ve outlined, some dive deep into technical aspects while others focus on potential costs associated with the chosen tool. Surprisingly, it’s worth considering criteria like staff training expenses within the organization.

A comprehensive planning phase for the POC process should encompass all relevant aspects to gain a holistic understanding.

Next, convene a meeting with pertinent stakeholders to present and discuss the selected criteria, allowing ample room for diverse opinions. Post-meeting insights can lead to criteria updates, aligning them better with collective conclusions.

Another key aspect of this meeting is agreeing on the specific end-to-end flow to be evaluated during the POC. This mutual agreement ensures you’re on the right track before diving into the POC and secures additional commitment from stakeholders.

Here’s how the POC process unfolds:

1. Initial Phase: Dive into learning about the tools based on the predefined criteria. Gather information online and through practical tool engagement (installation, scenario scripting, report executions, etc.).

2. Automation Phase: Automate an end-to-end flow for each tool. Regularly track POC progress, updating stakeholders on progress status every few days, ensuring alignment with the predefined plan.

3. Internal Team Meeting: Present the results and address queries about the tools and their potential implementation.

4. Concluding Stakeholder Meeting: Review POC outcomes, address queries, and collectively decide on the final tool selection.

In summary, while the POC process might present challenges, it’s a pathway to innovation that breaks the routine, offering the prospect of improved outcomes. Methodical leadership, predefined structures, and stakeholder involvement ensure objective and irrefutable results.

Do you find this post beneficial? Share your insights in the comments about how it has contributed to your understanding.

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