Lesson 4 of 5
Coordination
12 min
An integration storyline is a relay race. Each team runs its leg, then hands over. Most lost time in integration testing is not spent testing; it is spent waiting for a handoff nobody announced, or working on a document that was not ready. Coordination is the test lead's main job in an integration cycle.
The handoff
- Finish the legThe team completes its steps and checks its own expected results
- Write the handoff noteStoryline ID, document numbers, quantities, status, anything unusual
- Move the cardOn the shared board, from "in progress" to "handed off" with the note attached
- Receiver confirmsThe next team displays the documents and confirms they can start
- Start the next legThe card moves to the receiving team's "in progress"
The handoff note is the most valuable artifact in an integration cycle. "Goods receipt done" is not enough. "IT-01: PO 4500002210 item 10, 500 CMC-RTR-200 received into 1710 / 171A, material document 5000001876; supplier invoice 5105600099 posted, not blocked" lets the next team start immediately and, later, lets anyone reconstruct the story.
The shared board
Use one board that everyone can see, physical or digital, with one row per storyline and columns for the state of each leg. Many projects run it in SAP Cloud ALM or Solution Manager alongside test execution; a simple shared board works too. What matters is that it is current: updated by the teams as they move, not by the test lead at the end of the day.
| Storyline | Order to cash | Plan to produce | Procure to pay | Record to report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT-01 Fleet order beyond stock, Detroit | Waiting (delivery after production) | In progress (production orders confirmed) | Handed off (rotors received, invoice posted) | Not started |
| IT-02 Partial rotor supply | Waiting | Blocked (defect on order conversion) | Handed off (300 of 500 received) | Not started |
| IT-03 Chicago | In progress (order entered) | Waiting for MRP checkpoint | Not started | Not started |
Rhythm and roles
- Daily stand-up of 15 minutes across all teams: what was handed off, what is blocked, which checkpoints run today (MRP, batch jobs).
- Test lead (Priya) owns the board, the calendar and the checkpoints, and arbitrates collisions.
- Team leads own their legs and their handoff notes.
- Defect triage daily, with representatives from every team, because the team that sees a defect is often not the team that caused it.
- Process owners (Dan for finance, the order-to-cash owner) available for decisions on expected results and workarounds.
- Is the blocking defect inside one team's leg?Yes → that team fixes; others continue other storylines · No → cross-team triage today
- Is there a safe, documented workaround that does not bypass the handoff being tested?Yes → apply it, note it on the board, keep the defect open · No → pause the storyline
- Can another storyline use the waiting teams?Yes → switch them · No → use the time for retests or data preparation
Distributed teams
Contoso's testers sit in Detroit, Chicago and with the implementation partner offshore. Time zones turn a two-hour handoff delay into a lost day. Plan legs so that handoffs land at the start of the receiving team's working day, keep handoff notes complete enough that nobody needs to call, and name a backup for every team lead. A war room, physical or virtual, during the busiest days of the cycle pays for itself: questions that would take a day by email take a minute across the table.
What would you do?
IT-02 is blocked: planned orders do not convert into production orders. The planning team says the cause is a missing setting in production scheduling profiles, owned by another consultant. Order-to-cash testers are idle. What is the best action for Priya?
- Integration testing is a relay; handoffs need notes with document numbers and status.
- Keep one shared, current board of storylines and legs.
- Run a daily stand-up and cross-team defect triage; the test lead owns checkpoints and collisions.
- Workarounds must not bypass the handoff under test, and are recorded on the board.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What makes a good handoff note?
2. Why include all teams in daily defect triage?
3. Who should update the storyline board?
4. Production is blocked and someone proposes posting finished goods by hand. What is the concern?