Testing Methodology Intermediate 102

Testing Methodology – Intermediate

Author: Misti Chancellor
Date: June 24th 2011

Choosing a Testing Methodology

The following outlines considerations necessary to choosing a testing methodology for your organization.


Know your testing needs

  • What types of tests do you perform? (Functional, User-Acceptance, etc.)
  • What do you test? (hardware configurations, software applications, network appliances, etc.)
  • For software applications, what method do your developers use? (Agile, Waterfall, etc.)
  • What are your inputs? Where are they found? (Requirements – project documents, etc.)
  • What are your outputs/deliverables? Who receives them? (Code – testers, etc.)
  • How much oversight of the development and testing process does your organization require? (Checkpoints, reviews, etc.)
  • Who is involved in the process?  What are their responsibilities?

 

Research your options

  • Would your organization rather purchase an existing methodology framework or build its own?
  • What is your budget limit?
  • If purchasing, what frameworks are available that fall within that limit?
  • How suited is the framework to your organizational processes? Will customization be needed?  Will your processes need to be retooled to fit the framework?
  • What are the licensing requirements for the framework?
  • What technical support needs will be required?
  • How much training will be necessary?
  • What is the timeline to implement the framework?

 

Make the purchase and do necessary customization / Build the framework internally

     

    Implement the framework within the organization

    • Communicate the change to the organization, particularly to critical stakeholders (testers, project managers, etc.) – Support from management is critical to this step.
    • Provide the necessary training to utilize the framework
    • Apply the framework to support day-to-day testing and project testing endeavors and build in quality to the final product.

     

    Review and Improve

    Periodically review the testing methodology against the business processes of the organization to ensure that it best supports the testing efforts of the organization. As necessary, modify the methodology to match processes that provide the best possible quality of the final product.