Drop the test column. Now what?

Why teams pushback, and what to replace it with

When teams start talking about removing the test column, I find that there can be quite a varied response to it. From people wanting to drop it immediately to others thinking that it’s reckless and will cause confusion.

Which is understandable, most teams have an “In Test” column. Why is it a problem now? It gives the team a clear signal where work is up to, what still needs attention and where things are queuing up.

The problem is that the column can reinforce testing at the end of the development process, and that testing is someone else’s responsibility (testers).

The thing is, the column is not good or bad, it’s more about what it signals to the team and what to do if it disappears. Because if you drop the column without replacing the signal, the team will lose visibility of work, but if you keep it, you reinforce end-of-the-line testing.

In this post, I want to look at some of the common pushback teams raise, what is often sitting underneath it, and what to put in place instead.

For p…