A test center is a central unit, internal or external, that pulls together a company’s scattered testing activities: expertise, tools, processes and infrastructure for all projects.
Defects in production are expensive, but so is software testing. That is why efficient testing matters so much in a project. How efficient it is depends on several factors, including:
- The right test depth and test strategy
- Reusable resources
- Targeted regression testing
Our project experience shows, however, that many companies don’t make enough use of these levers. Test projects run separately across the company, and test processes get set up from scratch every time. Existing tools go unused, and sensible automation isn’t applied.
That is anything but efficient software testing.
Goals of an Internal or External Test Center
One way to tackle these problems, and to make testing and even all projects in the company more efficient, is to bring the testing activities together in an internal or external test center. It usually pursues these goals:
- Supporting project management with a clear, traceable picture of quality
- Providing an independent quality assessment
- Building up and pooling testing expertise
Success Factors for a Test Center
Introducing a test center successfully requires an analysis of the company’s environment and careful planning. Four factors have a particularly strong influence on whether the test center succeeds.
Expertise
The foundation for designing effective tests is building and pooling testing skills such as test methodology, hands-on tool experience, risk management and test process improvement, combined with relevant domain knowledge from the business side.
Staffing
Involving everyone concerned (key users, operations, subject matter experts, etc.) and giving the people responsible for the project (project management, the client, etc.) enough information are both needed if the company is to accept the test center’s work.
Infrastructure
Besides workstations, their equipment and the test environments, communication tools and “feel-good factors” are important aspects when designing a test center. On top of that come the test tools that the test center provides across projects, so they don’t have to be set up again for every project.
Integration
A test center’s success depends heavily on how well its activities are integrated into the development processes and into the organization as a whole (configuration, change and defect management, requirements analysis, etc.). Interfaces have to be clearly defined. The test center’s activities and results also have to be transparent and traceable for everyone in the project and the organization.
Conclusion: How a Test Center Benefits Everyone Involved
A well-established test center doesn’t just make testing more efficient. Its standardized processes benefit everyone involved in a project:
- For project management, test projects are easier to plan, set up and track. Testing costs less, because tools, experience, processes and infrastructure don’t have to be provided from scratch every time. Quality becomes predictable.
- Operations takes over a secure, reliable and stable system, because it has been tested against agreed standards for the target platform.
- The business side and key users are involved in development early on, so they get software that provides all the functions they need and is usable and performs well. As part of the test team, users already know the new system before it goes live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are testing activities in companies often inefficient?
Because testing projects are spread out across the company, and test processes have to be set up from scratch each time. The project experience described in the 2009 article also showed that: Existing tools remained unused, and meaningful automation was not implemented. As a result, knowledge that already exists in-house is lost, and every project has to rebuild it from scratch.
What factors determine whether software testing is cost-effective?
Three key factors are decisive: optimal test depth combined with an appropriate test strategy, the reusability of resources, and targeted regression testing. The rationale is simple: errors in production are costly, but testing itself is as well. Efficiency, therefore, determines whether the effort is worth it in relation to the damage avoided.
What should a test center accomplish within a company?
A test center consolidates testing activities, whether internal or external, and pursues three goals: It supports project management by providing a transparent view of quality, delivers a quality assessment independent of the project, and builds up testing expertise rather than dispersing it across individual projects.
What needs to be clarified before setting up a test center?
Analyzing the corporate environment and careful planning are prerequisites, not optional extras. Four areas have a particularly strong influence on success: consolidated expertise, staffing with the right people, infrastructure, and integration into existing processes. In addition to workstations and test environments, the infrastructure also includes communication tools and factors that contribute to a positive work environment.
What skills does a central testing team need?
Test methodology, practical tool use, risk management, and test process improvement form the technical core. It is crucial to supplement this with domain expertise: Only by combining testing knowledge with application knowledge can truly effective tests be designed. Mere methodological knowledge without an understanding of the subject matter is not sufficient.
Who should be involved in the work of a test center?
Key users, operations staff, and subject-matter experts must be involved, and project management and the client must be kept adequately informed. Both aim for the same goal: acceptance of the testing activities within the organization. A test center that operates without this involvement will be perceived as an outsider, regardless of the quality of its results.
Is it enough to simply set up a test center organizationally and let it operate?
No. Success depends largely on how well the activities are integrated into the development processes and the overall organization, for example, into configuration management, change management, defect management, and requirements analysis. The interfaces must be clearly defined. In addition, activities and results must remain transparent and traceable for everyone involved in the project.
How do operations and business units benefit from standardized test processes?
The operations team takes over a system that has been tested against the target platform according to agreed-upon standards, meaning it runs more stably and with higher reliability. The business unit and key users are involved early in the development process and receive software that offers the required functions and is both usable and high-performing. As part of the testing team, users are already familiar with the system before its implementation.
