Testersuite exists 10 years! A good reason to look back at a great journey that started in 2011. This time, Let's Talk About Test will focus entirely on Testersuite founder Frank Paymans.
"My credo is be open to criticism but stick to your vision".
As mentioned in the introduction, I am Frank Paymans (53). Grew up in Noordwijk and after a 23 year detour via The Hague and Amsterdam I am living in Noordwijk again. Back to the coast so to speak 😉 I live there with my girlfriend and our son (12). I also like special beers, good food, playing guitar, skiing and mountain biking.
No, I didn't really have an image of that. As a student, I did have an above-average strong opinion and an above-average drive to get things done and to do them my way. Those are characteristics of an entrepreneur. So it was there.
My interest lay in IT. That is why I started studying computer science at HBO.
In the 1990s, everyone who had an IT education started out as a programmer. So I started as a programmer in 1995. I only did this for a short time.
I soon started working as a SAP consultant and progressed from project manager to programme manager. Eventually, I became business line manager at Sogeti and ended up in the internal organisation. This brought me into contact with software testing within SAP. I subsequently set this up at Sogeti.
In 2008 it started to itch and I decided to become an independent entrepreneur. This is how PTWEE came into being. Here the focus was on services regarding testing and test process improvement. This eventually led to the start of Testersuite in 2011.
At PTWEE, we were working in the corporate-mid-market to help organisations professionalise testing.
As always when professionalising processes, you want to support this with tooling. The first reflex is often to use Excel. However, this is laborious and it does not promote cooperation in your process. Ultimately, this blocks the maturing of the testing process. My character then starts screaming that it should be easier and better.
So we dived into test management tools. Then you find out that these tools are too complex and too expensive for our customers. Many customers do their testing 'on the side' and have not yet reached test maturity. This was the reason to start developing something ourselves.
We started quickly. What should the application look like? What are the priorities?
In the same period, I supported the IT manager at V&D in various projects that were running there. They had the same need as us in terms of test management tooling. This was a nice generic practical case on which we could base Testersuite but also apply it to other customers.
The knife cuts on several sides. We developed Testersuite as a generic tool (with the possibility of fine-tuning) based on a good practical case. On top of that, we had a great launching customer in terms of reference.
This journey has many moments. Even before the founding of Testersuite in September 2011, we were preparing and building. The story with V&D is then a nice marker.
Another highlight is the VNSG congress in the MECC in Maastricht in 2012. There Testersuite was launched on our stand. We walked around with iPads to show Testersuite to the audience. This resulted in two kinds of reactions. Organisations that wanted to get further with testing found it interesting. People from the testing world found it nonsensical. They asked questions like what does it add and why are you developing it?
I started from my own belief and vision. I found the tools that were available unsuitable, too complex and/or too expensive. They would not work with our target group. You can only achieve this by doing things smarter and easier. That is why we say: test management made easy!
Er, actually, yes. Look, Excel is perhaps the most beautiful tool in the world. But in the world of testing, I think it is the biggest blind spot. Of course, I still use Excel. That is also the reason why it is easy to import and export Excel sheets in Testersuite. But getting a grip and control over your test process with Excel remains difficult.
The other end of the spectrum is the existing test tools that are too expensive, too large and too complex. Within this whole spectrum, we are indeed filling the gap in the middle.
That's right! I came from a service industry background and suddenly I was into software development. Just go into it opportunistically. Then you quickly learn what is involved in software development.
We sell a SaaS tool so we want to have as much influence on the product as possible and secure knowledge. You need developers and that's what we started doing. And with good developers too.
Oh certainly. Many people were critical. I heard a lot of noises like 'would you do this', 'something like this already exists' and 'there is test automation'. Especially from very experienced people.
Nevertheless, we stuck to our vision. We saw that there is a large group that has to check, test and verify with many participants and at all levels in the organisation. That remains manual work and needs to be well organised.
It is funny to see that we now work a lot with the critical test professionals from the early days and that they believe in Testersuite. That is a nice experience.
My credo is be open to criticism but stick to your own vision. Of course we connect to test automation. We do this in a way that fits in with our vision and that works.
Do not be discouraged. I have had people around me who let themselves be led by fear. Adjust if necessary but do not let yourself go crazy.
That is difficult to determine and cannot be hung up on one moment. You build up something and gradually you grow. Customers become enthusiastic and see the advantages of Testersuite . References come in and people start passing it on.
If you remain self-critical, keep the faith, know what the customer wants and what the market demands, then you see it build up. You are in that flow and suddenly you see it fly.
I find this a difficult question. Everything has happened quite organically and has been well thought out. By taking baby steps, you can quickly correct things.
If there is one thing I would do differently, it would be to try to get out of the operation sooner. So work on your organisation rather than in your organisation. You mustn't want to close all the gaps yourself. That is the eternal entrepreneurial dilemma.
We were the first in the Netherlands to understand the need for test management. We were the first and now we see that our Dutch competitors are trying to follow. We do not ignore them, but we are mainly busy with our vision. The competition is mainly busy with us. Let us take the lead.
Another success is the first major tender we won in the energy market. We just stepped over the calimero complex and promptly won from much larger international competitors. That's pretty cool!
If I may mention another success. We started in the corporate-mid-market with the philosophy of the power of simplicity. Now we see many larger organisations becoming clients, including RadboudUMC, Action and NIBC bank. It does mean something to your development but it also says a lot about your successes.
We are working on a growth plan. The team is growing at the moment. We have a well-functioning commercial and marketing department. We are professionalising many of the components. We are professionalising a number of areas and involving the team in this. There are a number of aspects to this.
First of all, we will continue to develop the product. We are positioning Testersuite even more as a platform for collaboration within organisations and we are also focusing more on further versatility, inbound marketing and sales.
And, of course, we are expanding our market share not only in the Netherlands but internationally as well.
What I want to say above all is that although I have started Testersuite , I am obviously not doing this alone. I am truly grateful to the Testersuite team I have the privilege of working with. We fight together and make a difference together.
It is so cool to work together and expand. It's a journey and it just has to be a cool journey. Growing is not just about making money. It's mostly about making an impact and being relevant.
I think that is a healthy starting point. We are not a club that goes for the quick money. I am proud of that.
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