Lead Quality Assurance Tester

The Lead Quality Assurance Tester oversees and plans quality assurance tests and analysis of games, their playability and performance in order to meet or exceed specified standards and end user requirements. He/She manages the team, sets priorities and testing parameters, implements quality assurance automation frameworks and has accountability for the performance and results of the team. He develops departmental plans and priorities to address resource and operational challenges. He provides technical guidance to stakeholders and advocates quality assurance best practices. The role is critical as it exerts high amount of influence on the final product. This involves collaboration within and outside the technical department. He is also expected to manage the project from a quality assurance perspective. The role involves high amount of project management, technical leadership as well as team management. He spends a significant amount of his time in guiding his team on project matters as well as in discussions with production leads regarding the quality of the production outcomes. He is an effective project manager and has the ability to communicate with people across the levels within the organization. He has an eye for detail and is able to work on multiple projects and priorities in a fast paced, rapidly changing environment.

Skills and Competencies

Technical Skills & Competencies

Game Concept Design
Proficiency Level
"Research ideas for game concept designs and assist in developing a detailed game concept blueprint. "
2
Game Quality Assurance Testing
Proficiency Level
"Lead the planning and execution of quality assurance testing to ensure the achievement of the creative and technical goals of game development."
4
Game Testing Automation
Proficiency Level
"Execute automation testing of game functionalities to identify and report issues in the game code. "
2
Gameplay Design
Proficiency Level
"Research ideas for gameplay design and design simple game mechanics to support gameplay design. "
2
Project Management
Proficiency Level
"Implement project plans for small projects or project modules. "
3

Generic Skills & Competencies

Communication
Proficiency Level
"Negotiate with others to address issues and achieve mutual consensus."
Advanced
Leadership
Proficiency Level
Lead by example at organisational level. Inspire, motivate and guide others to adopt a point of view, make changes or take action. Cultivate an open, cooperative and collaborative learning culture for the organization.
Advanced
Interpersonal Skills
Proficiency Level
Influence, guide and handle others’ emotions to build instrumental relationships and manage conflicts and disagreements.
Advanced
Developing People
Proficiency Level
Provide mentorship to help others to develop their professional and personal development to improve performance and further their careers.
Advanced
Teamwork
Proficiency Level
Establish teams, design and assess tasks to continually improve team effectiveness and cultivate a sense of organizational ownership and a cooperative working environment.
Advanced

Critical Work Functions and Key Tasks

Plan game quality assurance testing

• Develop timelines and budget estimates for quality assurance tasks
• Lead project teams to achieve quality assurance milestones and objectives
• Perform solution assurance activities for game development proposals to ensure viability and uncover potential risks
• Influence quality assurance team towards meeting higher quality standards
• Approve new solutions and/or best practices, design approaches and technologies 

Execute game quality assurance testing

• Oversee the execution of all tests done by the test team to ensure that games are of high quality 
standards that are fit for shipping for each release cycle
• Lead the design and implementation of testing frameworks, test infrastructure and tools
• Review user reported issues on game to recommend solutions to complex issues problems
• Provide general supervision and technical guidance on quality assurance testing to the test team

Optimise quality assurance process

• Recommend improvements to optimise quality assurance processes
• Drive continuous improvement by developing sustainable quality assurance processes
• Develop quality assurance metrics to illustrate impact of quality assurance on the business in order to secure 
buy-in for new investments into the quality assurance processes
• Develop quality assurance guidelines to inspect games and report quality issues
• Establish policy for documentation of procedures and end user experience of games
• Enforce compliance with defined or standardised quality specifications for games

Manage projects

• Drive project to meet schedules, budget, manpower and technical quality targets
• Work with users, technical staff and management to determine and resolve issues associated with project implementation
• Conduct regular project reviews to recommend schedule changes, cost or resource adjustments
• Collaborate continuously with design, art and technical teams to define requirements and iteratively build solutions 
• Collaborate continuously with internal production teams to define requirements and develop test plans

Manage teams and/or departments

• Communicate common goals, direction and accountability among staff
• Develop staff by coaching, mentoring and engaging in career discussions
• Exhibit effective performance management practices within department in accordance with organisational policies and procedures
• Monitor budgets, forecasting, work allocations and staffing of the various departments

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