How do you manage the scope creep and change requests during release testing and quality assurance?

1 Define the release scope

Before you start the testing and QA phase, you need to have a clear and agreed-upon definition of the release scope. This includes the features, functionalities, requirements, and acceptance criteria that the release should deliver. You can use a release plan, a scope statement, or a product backlog to document the release scope and communicate it to all the relevant parties. This will help you set the expectations and boundaries for the testing and QA activities.

2 Establish a change control process

Even with a well-defined release scope, you may still encounter change requests from the stakeholders or customers during the testing and QA phase. These can be due to new or modified requirements, feedback, issues, or risks. To handle them properly, you need to have a change control process that defines how to evaluate, approve, prioritize, implement, and communicate the changes. You can use a change request form, a change log, or a change board to facilitate the change control process.

3 Assess the impact of the changes

Before you accept or reject any change request, you need to assess its impact on the release. This means analyzing how the change will affect the scope, schedule, budget, quality, and risks of the release, as well as the dependencies and integrations with other releases or systems. You can use a impact analysis template, a decision matrix, or a trade-off analysis to help you with the impact assessment.

4 Negotiate and prioritize the changes

Once you have assessed the impact of the change request, you need to negotiate and prioritize it with the stakeholders or customers. This involves discussing the benefits, costs, and risks of the change, as well as the alternatives and options. You need to balance the value and feasibility of the change with the goals and constraints of the release. You can use a negotiation strategy, a MoSCoW technique, or a value stream mapping to help you with the negotiation and prioritization.

5 Implement and test the changes

After you have agreed on the change request, you need to implement and test it according to the release plan and quality standards. This means updating the release scope, schedule, budget, and quality documents, as well as the test cases, test scripts, and test data. You also need to ensure that the change does not introduce any new issues or defects, or affect the existing functionality or performance of the release. You can use a version control system, a configuration management tool, or a defect tracking system to help you with the implementation and testing.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?