For many testers, the natural next step in their career journey is moving into a leadership role. Becoming a test lead isn’t about leaving behind the skills you’ve honed in analysis, bug hunting, and execution; it’s about amplifying them to guide others, influence delivery, and shape the quality culture of your organisation.
But making the leap can feel daunting. You’re no longer judged solely on your individual contributions, but also on your ability to bring out the best in a team, communicate effectively with stakeholders, and ensure projects run smoothly.
If you’re eyeing the test lead role, this roadmap will guide you through the skills you need, the certifications that can help, and the actions that will set you up for success in the first 90 days of the role.
Why step up to test lead?
The test lead role requires both strategy and execution. You’ll still be connected to the hands-on testing world, but you’ll also:
- Define test strategies and plans for projects
- Coordinate the efforts of testers (and sometimes developers and BAs)
- Balance quality goals with time, budget, and business priorities
- Report clearly to stakeholders, including project managers and senior leaders
It’s a chance to grow your influence, broaden your skillset, and leave your mark on how quality is delivered across projects.
Skills that make a great test lead
To succeed as a test lead, you need to evolve beyond pure technical expertise. Here are the key skill areas to focus on:
Leadership skills
A test lead is as much a people role as it is a technical one. You’ll need to motivate and coach team members, while also balancing their workloads and resolving any conflicts that may arise. Test leads are also powerful instigators in creating a positive, quality-first culture.
Strategic planning
Instead of just executing tests, you’ll design the testing approach, which includes defining the scope, objectives, and success criteria. You’ll also be responsible for determining which techniques, such as manual or automated, are most suitable for each project. You’ll also verify that the tests meet any business or regulatory requirements.
This responsibility requires both risk planning and big-picture thinking.
Communication skills
As the test lead, you’ll be the voice of testing to stakeholders. That means explaining quality risks in business terms, not just defect counts. A great test lead will be able to spot the challenges, potential impacts, and offer solutions. Being clear and confident is essential for strong communication.
Technical knowledge
While you may test less hands-on, your credibility depends on technical awareness. That includes:
- Understanding automation frameworks and CI/CD pipelines
- Knowing how to prioritise test coverage effectively
- Staying current on tools like JIRA, TestRail, or Azure DevOps
You don’t have to be the automation engineer, but you should be able to guide strategy and ask the right questions.
Project management
The test lead role often overlaps with project management. You’ll track progress, manage dependencies, and flag risks early. Familiarity with Agile, Scrum, and other frameworks, such as PRINCE2 or ITIL, helps you adapt to various environments.
Certifications that can boost your journey
Certifications aren’t everything, but they can give you both credibility and structured knowledge to succeed as a test lead.
ISTQB Advanced Test Management
This is a natural next step if you already hold the ISTQB Foundation and focuses on planning, monitoring, controlling, and reporting.
These can help you lead in Agile environments, where test leadership looks very different from traditional waterfall. These courses focus on collaboration, continuous integration, and building quality in.
Project management frameworks
PRINCE2® or AgilePM® add to your ability to speak the same language as project managers and service owners.
Leadership training
Don’t underestimate the value of courses in communication, facilitation, or conflict resolution. Technical leaders who struggle to inspire or influence others often face challenges.
90 days as a test lead
The first 90 days are crucial not only for setting the tone, building credibility, and demonstrating value, but also for building your own confidence and happiness in the role.
Days 1–30: Learning
The first month should focus on meeting the team to get to know individual strengths, challenges, and motivations. Then, it’s important to gather context by reviewing current projects, processes, and pain points.
Then, you can begin assessing the landscape, looking to answer questions such as where defects appear and spotting patterns in incidents. With people, context and landscape in place, you can start building relationships with project managers, product owners, developers, and service teams.
Your goal here is not to change everything, but to listen, observe, and learn.
Days 31–60: Influencing
Now that you know where you are, you can begin to plan where you will move forward. By now, you can start to draft a test strategy template to create a consistent approach to align testing with risk.
If you’re looking to make your mark, you can begin with small, quick-win improvements (like clearer defect triage or daily stand-ups with testers) that show immediate impact.
This is now the time to build influence, which can be achieved through proactive communication with stakeholders and coaching the team to foster engagement and encouragement.
Days 61–90: Delivering
By this point, you may be ready to lead a major test cycle, which will demonstrate your end-to-end planning, coordination, and reporting skills. This test cycle will hopefully factor in business outcomes, allowing you to illustrate how testing supports project goals.
This is a great time to reflect by capturing feedback and proposing improvements for the next release. This fosters a culture of continuous quality, encouraging teams to think beyond defect counts and focus on prevention and collaboration.
By the end of 90 days, you should be seen not just as “a tester promoted” but as a trusted test lead in quality.
Ready to step into test lead?
The step from tester to test lead is one of the most rewarding moves you can make in your career. It challenges you to think bigger, act strategically, and inspire others, while still staying connected to the craft of quality.
With the right mix of skills, certifications, and smart first-90-day moves, you can not only succeed in the role but also thrive in it, becoming the kind of leader who doesn’t just manage tests but builds a culture of excellence around them.
Get yourself ready for a test lead role with TSG Training. Search our range of courses to ensure you’re prepared to take the next step.
