Application code ought to normally be considered by any company to be an asset. Implementing application code has fiscal implications. The cost is recovered after a period of time of using the system. In a lot of cases, the data captured, processed and stored by the system has a value as well.
Application code testing is time consuming and needs outlay in funds and time and frequently results in documentation, procedures, test data, test environments as well as a working software. There is an attraction to skimp on testing as it is an costly business. Application code testing is indispensable.
If the application is unusable when it goes into production, it will cost much more to fix those issues then than it would have if testing had been undertaken before implementation. Fixing defects in live is an expensive matter, it makes pre-production testing look cheap.
How much testing must be done? There is no right or wrong answer to this. The longer that testing carries on, the better the implementation might be. The cost of finding defects increases as testing continues.
While perfection with testing is theoretically possible, it is seldom achieved, the expenditure is simply too great.
Testing assets are not usually thought of as an asset. Financially, testers are seen as a negative not a positive on the balance sheet. Test environments are expensive and are not seen as obligatory and valuable. A server has a definite base cost, a server installed with an application to be tested complete with test data may cost 10X. With many test scripts the testware is worth a good deal more than the hardware asset itself that is listed on the balance sheet.
While this does seem like a cost, it’s not, it’s an asset. The test pack can sustain the implementation of future business requirements going forward.
Generally, much effort is spent executing testing cycles. Now with the introduction of automation and when used in tandem with a test management tool, much of the testing exertion is spent installing code drops, tracking faults and fixing them. There is a financial bottom line value to testcases and the ability to execute them. Good well written testcases supported by a good test management tool and a well configured supported test environment are valuable.
Test automation can increase the worth of the testpack. The setup costs for test automation are high, but the benefits to the testing process are also high. One of the key benefits is that the time to test is greatly reduced. While automated testing itself is much quicker, sometimes just taking a few hours, it can also be run overnight. If the code was ready for testing late on a Tuesday, the test execution could be completed by first thing on the Wednesday.
Generation of an automated test pack is a specialised task using software licenses that can run into the thousands for a single license.The planning stage is considerable with much thought going into determining the keying steps. Test automation uses a substantial amount of logic so that it can adapt to diverse situations when executing against the system frontend.
A test automation specialist will ideally make sure that test automation code does not need to be updated every time the application under test is changed, although sometimes, changes are required if new objects are added to the software screens.
Certainly test automation built with little thought can become a genuine expense to a company, not an asset.
