Best Practices To Call It An Effective Test Management

Technology mutates and transforms rapidly, and we have seen several examples in the past couple of years. The overall business landscape has become a lot more demanding, bringing forward the need to reinvent all aspects of tech, including testing. This critical branch of technology called testing now demands an end-to-end planning, implementation and measurement. Without anything lesser than this, a software’s lifecycle may still remain incomplete or at risks of failure from the perspective, security, competition, performance or even, scalability.

An all-inclusive test approach required to deal with all challenges

A comprehensive approach to test management includes multiple steps, including risk analysis, estimation, planning, organization, monitoring, control, issues management, and test execution. But it is not without its own sets of challenges, such as insufficient time and resources for testing, the absence of co-located test teams, and the ambiguity of what tests should be run. For test management to be as effective as possible, these challenges must be overcome first. By overcoming these challenges, a product of enhanced quality will be delivered that exceeds the number of satisfied customers. Better products and a better framework for a company are key factors in bringing out its best image in the market.

Conquering challenges with prominent test management practices

1. Early testing means earlier detection of problems

Despite this rule being unsaid, few organizations adhere to it. It results in bugs being discovered at a later stage – which increases costs. Creating the first test cases, or extracting them from the initial software requirements, should be the first step in starting the testing process.

2. Reduce work by performing iterative tests

Iterative testing is essential in software development. Through this risk-based approach, testing assets can be generated and problems reduced as they are identified early on in the cycle, thus reducing rework down the road.

3. Quality and efficiency improved by reusing tests.

Test procedures, test automation objects, and test automation content can be recycled and reused to increase the quality and efficiency of a product and to improve the efficiency of teams, which can save a lot of time and effort. Foreseeing if a particular asset will be reused in the future requires test management skills.

4. Approaches made according to requirements

It is said that different strokes fall into different oaks. Similarly, to carry out different types of tests, such as agile, security, mobile, big data and analytics, and more, you must follow different approaches that are suitable for the type of test management framework used. As a result, consider implementing a requirements-based testing approach that helps both in system and application validation, as well as in calculating the amount of testing needed.

5. Enhanced coordination between co-located testing resources

A co-located resource that uses their skills and is effectively coordinated is key to overcoming resource constraints, maximizing productivity, and improving timelines, thus improving ROI. Utilizing tools and channels such as Web clients or automatically-replicated data is necessary for overcoming the inherent technical challenges involved.

6. Flexible testing processes to reduce efforts

We need customizable test management processes to automate automated workflows because each project has different testing needs and testing efforts. Reproducible and able to be optimized or modified as needed, this process should be repeatable. Defining the process and the workflow in detail is imperative to a successful test management deployment, as well as enforcing it within the team. You need to adhere to strict compliance regulations, such as CMMI- SVC v1.3, Maturity Level 5, ISO 9001:2008, ISO 27001:2013, or HIPPA. Validating compliance with these standards requires audits.

7. Smooth coordination between development teams

The testing and development teams must work in tandem to achieve maximal communication and seamless integration in a product testing environment. Thus, quality improves, communication is improved, and details that might have been overlooked are brought to light.

8. Keep automating and save time

It takes a lot of time and effort to perform the numerous tasks involved in test management. Reducing the time spent on testing can be accomplished using specific tools – commercial or open-source. In addition to the tools that need to be installed on-premises, other tools can be accessed via Software as a Service (SaaS) such as HP ALM/Quality Center, QAComplete, Silk Central, Zephyr, JIRA, and IBM Rational Quality Manager.

But to follow this practice, picking the right tool is imperative.

Testing teams use certain test management tools when delivering the test automation services that simplify the testing process. There are a few features that all of the top tools share, even though they differ based on their purposes.

• Automation amalgamation:

Tools automating the testing phases can be executed smoothly, however manual testing stays important. But, manual testing together with tools becomes more efficient. Tests can be run using an automated testing tool either on a schedule or as needed.

• Flexibility:

To cover the different requirements associated with different testing projects, one needs flexible tools, just like the management strategy. As a result, the team can skip irrelevant tests, thus saving time and money.

• Collective features:

Cloud storage compatibility is an important feature of the best tools. Cloud-based projects have become more popular since DevOps is becoming the trend. A single shared area is needed to store all the assets needed for the tests. Additionally, the testing tools should be capable of tracking all stages of the testing process seamlessly and providing real-time updates. Comprehensive test management requires the use of the right tools to maximize the probability of success.

Summing up

In the context of software development and quality assurance, testing management tools aren’t just an option; they’re an essential component. To implement a successful test management scenario, it is recommended to use newer approaches. By following the best practices described here, you can overcome just about any obstacle.