What do you delegate?

Some of the task that I have previously delegated are like creating sanity test cases,  verifying evidences for test cases, matching figma with the requirement which were easy to review on one hand and require thinking on other hand. 

With assigning such task, the other person get exposure to noticing the gap between requirement and design, what test cases are being created, how evidences are being collected while testing, how these test cases serves the business requirement and what critical flow should be covered in short span of time while doing sanity.

I was in a state where delegating means handing over the work to another person and that’s it until someone from the higher level comes and questions the wrong things done by that person to whom I have delegated the work. 

I somehow learned it the hard way that if the other person is capable of completing the work at least 80% which you’re going to delegate then it makes sense rather than you need to work on it - which makes the work redundant. 

And setting expectations is also an important thing here. Once truly delegated we can focus on. 

Sometimes I do delegate the task of drafting test plan, test execution etc.., and some times, I love taking simple tasks so that others can do their best - to figure out what they’re really good at, Jayateerth. 

​@Jayateerth 

Earlier, I used to think delegation meant assigning a task and moving on, assuming everything would be taken care of. Reality taught me otherwise. Problems usually surfaced only when senior stakeholders started questioning the outcome, and by then it was already late to fix things.

Over time, I realized delegation works best when the person taking the task has enough context and skills to handle most of it independently. If someone can confidently deliver around 70–80% of the work, delegating actually saves time and helps the team grow. Otherwise, constant rework defeats the purpose.

Clear expectations made a big difference for me. Explaining what good looks like, timelines, and checkpoints helped avoid confusion and built trust on both sides. Once that clarity is in place, I can truly step back and focus on higher-priority testing and quality risks.

I usually delegate activities like test case design, execution cycles, or preparing test data. At the same time, I intentionally keep some smaller or repetitive tasks for myself so team members can take ownership of meaningful work and discover where they perform best.

For me, delegation is no longer about offloading work—it’s about enabling people, reducing dependency, and building a stronger QA team.