Your team is divided on test case priorities. How do you ensure everyone is on the same page?

Conflict arises when the criteria for determining the priority of work is not set a head of time. Gaining agreement on how priorities are established reduces the situations where team members go off and do their own thing. Discussion should include the “how” and “why”, the more of the big picture people see the clearer the picture. Another factor for success is to include the team in establishing the priorities, I have found when people are part of the solution, in this case establishing the order of priorities, they tend to be more willing to follow.

As has already been mentioned plenty of tools out there to do the job and visualise and arrange backlogs. It's not just about the high priority 'must do's' - try to arrange work based on team experience and effort vs difficulty vs time etc. Priority is based on what fits if your in sprints, PLUS the business determining priority - we might need to chip in if certain things need to be in place before the 'big item' can be done etc - that's why we're the experts in IT to advise the business. It's all about collaboration and team work - regular meetings, standups and learn and share sessions. Get your team sitting with users to learn processes etc - and importantly SHARE info.

Use JIRA or Trello. Conduct a meeting to discuss and document the priorities, then create a shared board to visualize tasks. Use tools like Slack for ongoing communication and Confluence for maintaining a central knowledge base. For example, in JIRA, create a prioritized backlog and assign tasks with clear deadlines. Regular stand-up meetings can help address any concerns and keep the team focused on the agreed priorities, ensuring transparency and accountability.

To ensure your team aligns on test case priorities, use tools like project management software and prioritization matrices. Tools such as JIRA or Trello can help track and visualize test cases and their associated priorities, while prioritization matrices or spreadsheets can objectively score and rank them based on defined criteria. These tools facilitate clear communication and provide a structured way to document and review decisions, helping everyone stay on the same page and focus on what matters most for the project.

To begin with, we foster early collaboration and communication. If a project goal is to keep stakeholders engaged and informed throughout, each team member incorporates this practice into their workflow. Hence, it's crucial to ensure teams grasp the significance of staying aligned right from the outset. Additionally, creating a roadmap is essential. It aids in planning and provides clarity on the direction for you and your team.