38 | Testing IT
Quality
management
and the urge to merge
In a time of radical business change and higher numbers of mergers
and acquisitions it is vital that the IT arm of the business can
provide genuine business confidence on a number of fronts not
the least of which are business continuity and scalability. Here,
SQS business unit director Dave Rigler explores some of the
ways in which IT systems can be merged and how good quality
management can provide the required level of business confidence.
A
large proportion of changes measures (eg process or solution no motivation to mask the truth but
that are made to IT systems reversion) for a range of issues that would rather provide clear and rapid
are done for economic may arise after delivery. feedback about the results that they
benefit. This might not be Using renowned suppliers and are seeing.
true for regulatory requirements or for ensuring best practice development It is now received wisdom that
changes of a purely strategic nature, and project management techniques testing early has significant financial
where return on investment is not can go a long way to providing advantages due to early fault removal.
expected in the short term. In all cases business confidence. However, However, these advantages can be
there are a number of other business these tend to result in qualitative eroded by a number of factors such as:
drivers apart from revenue and profit improvements to business confidence • Duplication of testing;
considerations that affect the IT and project risk. For example, project • Inappropriate application of
department. In essence they all add up Y is bound to have fewer production automation;
to business confidence, which is the defects than project X because • Poor release, environment or data
ability for the change managers within we using developers with more management.
the business to confidently state that experience. This means test management needs
when the business starts to use the to enforce quality gates to ensure
new approach there will be at least: Testing quantifies application testability and needs to
• A smooth transition to a working business confidence work with all stakeholders to minimise
system; Measuring business confidence is the impacts of dependencies.
• Minimal data loss and ideally better dependent on testing to quantify the Central to testing is the ability
performance but certainly no exposure to the risks identified. Figure to be sure that the testing carried
degradation in user experience; 1 shows the principal features that out provides information that is
• A low risk of a reduction in revenue; make up good testing practice. It is relevant to the application that will
• The ability to increase revenue by important that testing is independent finally be deployed. This requires
scaling the solution to the required as this means that the team that experience to avoid common pitfalls
levels; carries out the testing can be but also requires the ability for the
• A low risk of being penalised for lack measured against quality criteria (eg test team to innovate. This may be
of compliance to security, legal and test coverage and defects found) and something as simple as a change
regulatory standards; not whether the project is on time. to reporting techniques to make it
• The planning of contingency An independent testing team has clear where defects are being found.
T.E.S.T | June 09 June 09 | T.E.S.T
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