Many organisations realise that the testing of systems can and must be improved. There is a lot of testing going on, but there is no coherence, there is no overview and there is the feeling that the wheel is constantly being reinvented. And this while the IT environment is rapidly becoming more complex, the impact of errors can be enormous and changes are implemented more often and faster.
Testing must be improved, that much is clear. But how do you approach this, where do you start and how do you get the organisation on board? In this blog we will answer these questions and explain why you should not make test process improvement more difficult than it is.
To start with, it is important to create awareness. And we do not mean the awareness that it is important to improve the testing process. That is often obvious. We mean the importance of making people aware of the fact that it is possible to improve the testing process without it taking a lot of extra time. When this is done in the right way, it is even possible to save time immediately. When people are aware of this, there is more willingness to change.
Many organisations believe that when improving the testing process, the process must first be fully understood before a suitable tool can be found. Sounds logical, but this is not the best approach. Setting up the test process, the test organisation and the set-up of a test tool go hand in hand. A condition is that the test tool is based on best practices. This means that the test process is to a large extent already predefined in the tool. To fine tune the tool to the working method of the organisation, it must be possible to configure the tool. Example: Testersuite is based on best practices and is also fully configurable.
Excel (and Word) are often used to create test scripts, test reports and the like. This is also obvious because Excel is a tool that is usually available and people are used to working with it. However, when you want to improve the test process and ask your employees to work in a certain way, it is not wise to support this process with Excel and Word documents. The test process may be described, but implementing and securing the process is difficult. Excel and Word are by definition not suitable tools for securing a process. If you do try, there is a good chance that people will drop out because it is all very laborious. You only get one chance to make a first impression! So introduce a professional tool straight away and skip the 'Excel phase'!
When a test tool is introduced in the improvement of the testing process, resistance often arises. This is understandable. People have the idea that they have to learn how to work with a new tool. This means following training courses and getting used to a new tool in practice. But what if there is a tool that works so intuitively that training users is not necessary? A tool that users can get used to very quickly, even if they don't work with it every day. This is exactly where the power of Testersuite lies.
In practice it appears that Testersuite is accepted very quickly, also because it immediately makes the work of testers easier. An example is the possibility to add and edit screen shots directly when registering test findings. Another example is the possibility to send users automatic triggers when they can start testing or when they can re-test test findings.
When people already have Excel test scripts, they often don't like to work with another tool because they have to enter the existing test scripts. This problem is solved when existing test scripts can be imported into the new tool. Testersuite has a very user friendly import function for importing test scripts.
Often the introduction of a test tool is postponed because there is no time due to projects. While this is the ideal moment to start using a tool like Testersuite. And it delivers immediate time savings! Most IT projects involve a lot of testing and this is the perfect opportunity to start working with a good test tool. Condition is that the tool can be set up quickly and that people in the project can start working with it immediately. It is also advisable to start with the most important functionalities of the tool. Testersuite also offers this flexibility.
Of course, the management also thinks something of the purchase of a new tool. A budget has to be made available and a business case has to be made. But when the tool is very affordable and can be started with a free version of the tool, this hurdle is also easy to take. Testersuite FREE supports the entire testing process from the creation and execution of test cases to the recording of test results. With a maximum of five users you can demonstrate the added value of a good test tool in practice. It is then a lot easier to convince management. From there you can purchase Testersuite PRO or PREMIUM to get started with more colleagues.
