Potential Development Areas — Senior QA // Your QA rocks?

Professional development is defined as “activities that broaden ability beyond the minimum needed to fulfil the current role”.

#	Title	Description
1	Extra Mural Activities	- Undertaking pro bono (unpaid) activities that can help to develop professional skills or offer additional insight into, or understanding of, own working role, for example mentoring, coaching and teaching.
2	Extra Mural Studies	- Undertaking learning in subjects relevant to, but not directly related to, own role (e.g. foreign language courses, mentoring skills, cultural awareness and diversity training), perhaps through self-study and using free online courses like MOOCs (massive open online courses).
3	Deputising	- Standing in for supervisor or manager on a temporary basis during periods of absence.
4	Job Shadowing and Special Assignments	- Undertaking temporary periods or secondments in other roles, inside or outside IT, particularly those that offer a new perspective on own function or exposure to other environments and cultures.
5	Project Assignments	- Participating in a project team, working group or task force established to deliver a solution for a specific problem or issue — especially valuable if the group is interdisciplinary.
6	Mentoring	- Acting as a mentor, advising those for whom you have no direct responsibility, on matters to do with their job role, career and professional development.
7	Research Assignments	- Exploring a topic which is not part of own normal responsibilities and presenting findings to colleagues and/or management.
8	Gaining Knowledge of Activities of Employing Organisation	- Developing an understanding of the potentially diverse range of activities (service, governance, administrative, regulatory, commercial, charitable, industrial etc.) undertaken by the employing organisation.
9	Gaining Knowledge of IT Concepts and Techniques	- Undertaking study, learning and, where possible, practice in IT concepts and techniques external to own function.
10	Gaining Knowledge of Broader IT Issues	- Increasing and maintaining currency of knowledge of broader IT issues through reading, attending and participating in seminars or conferences, special studies, temporary assignments etc.
11	Gaining Strategic Knowledge of Employing Organisation	- Developing a comprehensive understanding of the business environment in which the employing organisation operates and its position, policies and direction in relation to industry, country and global issues.
12	Participation in Professional Body Affairs	- Taking an active part in professional body affairs at branch, specialist group, committee or board level.
13	Publications	- Authoring, or making a substantial contribution to, published research, technical magazines and journals, or own public blog.
14	Education/Learning Delivery	- Lecturing, tutoring, coaching — formally or informally in area of own expertise. Developing policy and implementing and maintaining online interactive and collaborative learning delivery skills and assessments.
15	Negotiating and Influencing	- Undertaking learning and practice of negotiating with and influencing others.
16	Team Leadership	- Undertaking learning and practice of the skills required to lead teams, including motivation, direction, coaching, delegation, appraisal, counselling and developing others.
17	Management Development	- Undertaking learning and best practice of the skills appropriate to managing all or part of an organisation — including business and financial management, benefits management, people management, management of change and strategic planning.