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Test Management Process – A Quick Overview

Test management process
Posted On: 24 March 2023

Software products lie at the foundation of every innovation today. Whether it is an autonomous car or a new mobile app, robust software defines these new-age inventions. But to ensure high-quality, efficient quality engineering and test management is critical.

What Is Test Management?

Test Management is a practice of closely monitoring and managing testing activities. The main aim of test management is to ensure the high-quality and high-end testing of software applications. Teams do this by organizing and controlling testing activities while ensuring traceability and visibility of the testing process.

With test management, test managers can closely control and analyze the testing process and efficiently manage testing resources. When done right, test management ensures that the software testing process runs as expected. It also ensures resources are focused on high-risk or important areas of the testing process.

What Are the Benefits of Test Management?

Test management ensures an organization delivers high-quality, bug-free software that meets the customer’s requirements. In addition, the right approach to test management opens doors to several benefits, allowing testing teams to:

  • Have a detailed testing guide to follow and refer to for conducting testing activities.
  • Understand the nature of the environment under test, including its architecture, configuration, and availability.
  • Get details into aspects such as scope, estimation, strategy, tools, resources, etc., needed to efficiently carry out the testing process.
  • Collate all important testing-related information into a single document for review by management or reuse for other projects.
  • Have a streamlined process for how bugs will be reported, to whom, and what each bug report will reveal.
  • Understand what risks may occur during the process of testing and accordingly plan for workarounds.
  • Have all the tools and resources in place for successful project completion and speeding up testing cycles.
  • Get a detailed report on the risks, challenges, and results of the process of testing.

What Are the Different Phases of Test Management in Software Testing?

Test management is a great way to drive the best end-to-end testing outcomes. It comprises two primary phases: test planning and test execution. Let’s look at both these phases and their sub-tasks in detail:

Test Planning

Test planning is the process of documenting all the strategies and objectives of testing. This includes the tools and resources required to complete that project and specifies schedules, estimations, and deadlines. The test planning document acts as a blueprint for carrying out the testing process. It also helps to ensure the software under test is working correctly. Here are the three sub-tasks of test planning:

  • Risk analysis: Risk analysis is the first step test managers should take before embarking on the process of testing. Early risk detection and identification can help avert bigger problems and safeguard project costs.
  • Test estimation: Test estimation allows QA teams to have a fair idea of different aspects of the testing process — from what tools or resources are needed to how long the project will take to complete. In effect, accurate estimates go a long way in ensuring better planning, execution, and management of testing tasks. They also drive better scheduling and help realize results more confidently.
  • Test organization: Test organization helps QA teams define, evaluate, and finalize testing roles and responsibilities. By stating the tasks different members will carry out, it paints a clear picture of “who is doing what.” Test functions, facilities, and activities are also described in this stage.

Test Execution

Test execution is the process of implementing tests and ensuring they meet pre-defined requirements. It helps compare actual performance vs. planned expectations and ensure the product is go-live ready.

  • Test monitoring and control: Test monitoring allows QA engineers to ensure the project is running on schedule and within budget. It enables them to have continuous, real-time visibility into testing activities and oversee necessary metrics. This helps in taking timely, corrective steps when the project runs out of resources or exceeds costs/schedule.
  • Issue management: Risks, when not addressed in time, turn into issues and must be managed efficiently. The issue management process allows QA teams to deal with issues suitably. Such management helps prevent potential damage issues can have on the project’s overall outcome.
  • Test evaluation report: The test evaluation report throws much-needed light on the performance and success of test management. In essence, it describes the results of the process of testing, including test coverage and exit criteria. The report gives a birds-eye view of testing activities and summarizes the final test results.

What Are the Best Practices for Test Management?

A properly followed test management process is the best way to boost product quality and exceed customer demands. If you want to ensure the maximum effectiveness of test management, here are some best practices to embrace:

Begin Risk Management Early

Early risk analysis and management can go a long way in ensuring the success of your test management process. Carrying out risk management early and often can help you in proactively identifying software risks or security vulnerabilities. Doing so can enable you to take corrective action and strengthen your code.

Automate Estimation

Test estimation is a crucial task of the test management process. Automating this task can allow you to accurately estimate the resources needed for successful completion. It can also help you evaluate the cost of tools as well as the human skills needed. Moreover, it gives you a rough estimate of the project timeline.

Go Low-Code

Embracing low-code/no-code test management tools is a great way to improve the accuracy and speed of the testing process. By quickly creating test cases, you can handle powerful, real-world complexities and ensure intuitive and scalable test management.

Invest in a Centralized Test Management Tool

Test management is a time and resource-intensive process. Since test managers are responsible for major aspects of the process, a centralized test management tool can be extremely beneficial. In sum, it can list requirements, unearth defects, and improve the visibility of test cases. It also helps QA teams easily measure progress and productivity using a single platform.

Streamline Test Management with ACCELQ

The process of testing, although critical, is also laden with several challenges. If you want to get better at software testing, you need to streamline the test management process. Being aware of the different phases and embracing best practices can help you accelerate the testing process.

Learn how ACCELQ can help you streamline the process of test management in software testing!

Yuvarani Elankumaran

Technical Consultant at ACCELQ.

Yuvarani Elankumaran is a highly skilled technical consultant at ACCELQ. With over a decade of experience in the field of Test Automation, Yuvarani is a seasoned professional who is well-versed in a variety of programming languages and automation frameworks.

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