Preliminary considerations for software test tool introduction

Software test tool introduction

For projects that are related to software test tool introduction to be implemented as promising as possible, not only detailed planning but also the following preliminary considerations are recommended:

• What is the maturity of the development and testing process?
• Is the manual test process already structured?
  • a) Is a systematic testing process defined?
  • b) Where can the productivity or quality of work be increased by using tools?

The questions listed above seem less significant at first glance, but at second glance they are essential. It makes little sense to expect a higher degree of effectiveness from automation when the possibilities of test process optimization are not exhausted. Only when the test process has reached a certain degree of maturity, then it should be thought about a tool introduction. The following tool categories and the order of their introduction are recommended:

Tool Categories

1) Error management

2) Configuration management

3) Test planning

4) Test procedure

5) Test specification