"Quality is never an accident; it's always the result of intelligent effort."

John Ruskin

High-quality test management can determine the success or failure of a project. The question of whether a test process is actually necessary as such is no longer asked today. The importance of consistent quality assurance has long been known and recognized by the industry.

Test management comprises the planning, controlling and monitoring of the whole test cycle, which contains a large number of elements:

• Drafting of a test strategy, which includes the test methods to be used, among other aspects
• Planning of the test infrastructure and extent of test automation
• The integration of test activities in the development process
• Definition of suitable metrics and criteria for the end of test activities
• Creation of framework conditions for the test documentation
• The drafting of schedules for the test personnel
• Quoting of test costs and tracking throughout the test process

INVENSITY has gained many years of experience in test management and so possesses the expertise and skills to develop and implement effective test management jointly with you.

Standardized Approach in Test Management

INVENSITY works according to a standardized test process, which is divided into five sub-processes. The sub-processes run at dynamic points in the test process, sometimes even multiple times. The test process is first defined in a very general manner, and is adapted to suit the needs and standards of your company.

During the first sub-process (planning and controlling), a suitable test management approach should be developed which deals with planning the necessary resources. In this context, test management involves the ongoing monitoring of the test activities and the seizing of appropriate measures in the event of deviations as well as documenting all activities.

During the second sub-process (analysis and design), an analysis of the test basis with regard to its usability for specifying test cases is carried out. The test basis is usually a collection of requirements. If the corresponding documents are not sufficiently detailed, amendments must be made. A first draft of test cases is also made (initially abstract descriptions).

The actual drafting of the test cases follows during the third sub-process (realization and implementation). The test implementation then occurs using the drafted test cases in the relevant test environment.

During the fourth sub-process (evaluation and report), the results of the test implementation are evaluated and any possible activities are derived from them. It is also evaluated whether the test criteria set out in the test strategy are fulfilled, and thus whether the test process is ended or continued. If the test process is ended, a test report for the project’s decision-makers is to be created.

After the test activities have been completed, the experience gained during the project is conserved for future projects (completion). Of particular interest here are deviations from the initial planning and the (assumed) reasons for this. What’s more, the entire process should be analyzed with regard to time and effort and the result in order to make the test process as efficient as possible in future.

INVENSITY has gained extensive experience in the introduction of test processes in various organizations and a wide variety of industries. Contact us; we will be happy to help you further.


Test Methods

There are numerous test methods, which can be divided into a wide range of different categories. No two projects are conducted in exactly the same way and so test methods appropriate for the particular project should be chosen in order to ensure the optimal implementation of the test process.

Test methods can initially be divided into the categories of static and dynamic tests, with the test object not being realized in the first category, while this is the case in the second category. The well-known black and white-box tests both fall into the dynamic test category.

A standard black-box procedure is, for example, equivalence class formation in association with limiting value analysis, or a relatively unknown procedure which has a specific field of application, called the cause-effect graph analysis.

White-box procedures include, for example, all coverage measures from statement coverage to path coverage and the well-known “modified condition/decision coverage”.

Reviewing comes under the static tests category and appears in five categories according to the IEEE 1028 standard. In every organization, INVENSITY has found some form of the review process, in each case containing different proportions of the standardized review procedure and having their own advantages and disadvantages.

Reviews are not just used as part of testing. Any kind of document should be subjected to a review as part of quality assurance. INVENSITY allows for the often difficult requirements of the review with regard to communicating with staff from a wide range of fields and with different attitudes. Staff are trained in a targeted way using training courses in the field of communication, such as “acting in difficult situations” or “communication skills I-III”.

Thanks to its long-standing experience in implementing test processes, INVENSITY is familiar with and masters all of the test methods mentioned and many more, and can ascertain the optimal test methods for your organization or project in collaboration with you. What’s more, INVENSITY also offers consulting services for the introduction of test methods in your company or organizes and moderates reviews, for example.  

Tests in regulated environments

The implementation of projects in regulated environments often involves particular challenges. This is also true for the test process, which is not easy to realize with extensive documentation and continuous traceability for all requirements.

It must be ensured that requirements which can be technically implemented and tested are generated from the stakeholders’ requirements for the product. This must be ensured across all levels (represented on the V-Model as an example). If this is guaranteed, it can be used as a basis for drafting test cases, the successful achievement and complete documentation of which enables the system to be considered as successfully tested.

INVENSITY has experience in the implementation of projects in a wide variety of industries, observing many different development methods, norms and standards, including:

• Spiral model
• V-Model/V-Model XT
• Scrum
• ISO/IEC 61508
• DO-178B
• AQAP 2210
• FDA / Medical Devices
• …

INVENSITY can assist you, both in an advisory capacity and operationally, such as in the roles of:

• Test manager
• Test analyst
• Expert for test automation
• Tester/test engineer

The test manager is an expert in test planning and controlling with experience in the areas software testing, quality management, project management and personnel management.

The test analyst is an expert in the field of test methods and test specification, and also has experience in the areas of requirements and software engineering.

An expert for test automation has experience in the test field and is an expert in test tools and scripting languages.
The tester/test engineer is an expert in implementing and in documenting test cases with experience in IT environments.