I got a free copy of this book from my local PerlMongers (http://madmongers.org/) group. It isn't the type of book I would normally read, but I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed it. The book is about how to manage a QA team, but succeeds in conveying a lot of advice and information about both management and QA in general. I'm neither in management nor in QA, but I found that the content provided me with a fresh perspective on both of those areas.
I found the author's writing style to be casual and witty yet informative and packed with detail. The only negative comment I have was that her overarching metaphor of the ideal QA organization as a "Perfect Beast" was awkward and repetitive.
Some good take-away quotes I found:
"You move from one project to the next; as soon as one project is past the crisis stage, you're on to planning the next one (the next project, not the next crisis!)"
"Even with a group of technically sound and diplomatic folks, there is sometimes the predisposition among developers to judge QA as evil."
McKay offers advice for how a new manager can comfortable with a department, whether that manager is hired from within or without. She offers advice on hiring, firing, giving raises and choosing project leads. She recommends tact and fairness about the seemingly innocent act of taking people to lunch. And, amusingly, she offers advice about dealing with a developer who insisting on working in the nude.
After reading some of her advice, I noticed that my own manager was doing a few of those things and it made me appreciate his efforts all the more. The book has also helped me understand some of the ways QA does their job: the goal is not to find bugs, but to thoroughly execute a test plan.
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