6 Factors Ensuring Effective Management of Test Environment
AI and automation are rapidly securing their place amongst end-users and even key industries. Technology analysts and experts are busy validating their impact in the consumer market or leveraging the same to create a better user experience and the best test management tools like test antivirus software. Considering all factors, no technology can deliver expected results without testing and evaluation in a focused environment bringing together the related factors. The best test management tools enable enterprises and teams to create a non-production set-up with data sets that emulate an environment in which the application or system can be tested by performing rigorous and valid system tests.
Following are some of the factors that ensure an effective test management environment:
Focused Sharing Mechanism
Teams tend to use generic data sources for testing, in most cases, which dilutes the testing efforts. To narrow down the testing process, every system/application requires focused data. Hence, developing a seamless sharing mechanism and segregation for the effective distribution of data for diverse testing needs is important while managing the test environment. It can be achieved by the development of a repository or link that connects to the different folds of data. Data segregation can be done according to priority and usage patterns. Updated and new data sets can replace the old ones while maintaining the repository.
Clean-Up and Maintain the Data
Keeping the test environment with new and fresh data sets is important. During end-to-end testing, the environment might be used from time to time, which might result in a mix of old and fresh data. Hence, basic sanity is critical for fixing up any expected gaps in the data sets and speeding up the tests for individual teams.
Check for Downtime
Most organizations rely on a global support team to maintain their test environments. However, chances are that the site could have downtime at a local level for any upgrades implying that global teams need to ensure that all the environments comply with the latest standards that have scheduled network or power downtimes. It will help in ensuring smooth accessibility to the test environment.
Streamline the Responsibilities
There are bound to be issues needing proper attention while maintaining the test environment. These issues should be directed to specific subject matter experts for effective closures. Because of this, the responsibilities need to get effectively assigned within the maintenance teams. For instance, a process needs to be in place for raising tickets or service requests to the right guys (internal or external vendor) for a speedy resolution of issues.
Virtualization is a Good Resort
Every team needs resources. Hence, if possible, virtualize the environments as much as possible. Upon completion of the test activity, the testers can share the various components and make a new testing bed for further software testing companies. It can have a dedicated OS, middleware, database, test framework, and much more that can be optimized by other teams. Hence resources can be shared effectively. It can result in good cost-effectiveness.
Automation of Tests
Every release cycle requires regression tests. Thus, new frameworks are introduced and the test environment evolves with every regression test. Chances are that the tests need to be performed with similar components in similar environments. In such instances, automation of these tests helps where frameworks can be used to run these tests. Moreover, it will also bring stability to the test environment. In the most practical sense, implementation of automation framework helps to enhance the test environment’s performance and brings down the efforts of the testers. So, the detected defects are purely regarding the code that gets tested and not the process of testing it or due to any discrepancy in the test environment.
