Anticlue

Lessons Learned: Integrated Testing

Integrated Testing is when you test everything working together, the applications, the interfaces, and the workflow processes. Last week was our first shot at it with the newest implementation. Here are the items that I’ve learned.

First there needs to be two teams, the first team is the testers and the fixers. The testers should consist of the actual applications users, have the people using the application and the workflow do the testing. The second team consists mainly of IT individuals who analyze and diagnosis problems. Vendor representatives are best on both teams.

Like two teams, there needs to be two people running the testing sequence. The first person works with the testers, does a quick triage of issues, and controls the changes to the testing process. The second person needs to keep track of the issues and work with the fixers team.

The individual controlling testing needs to approve all changes to the testing environment. There can be a change that is absolutely necessary so that testing and proceed and changes that affect all other scenarios. This individual also decides which scenarios go through retest and which scenarios are no longer suitable for testing, the kiss of death error.

For testing scenarios, one needs to get a good handle on the creation of scenarios early in the implementation process. You should test accordingly to the customers requirements, not your specification. Also if you don’t have a tool that allows for automated testing, it isn’t possible to test everything under the world. Customer expectations need to be handled.

Testing takes resources and time. The participants need to have their schedules cleared, because there is a clear dependency on testing. It hard to maintain the flow while we are waiting for a tester to return from a 2 hour meeting, or has been pulled for another priority. Testers end up waiting for the next tester.

Testing is best done in a centralized location, where the testers are all in the same room. The scenarios can flow easier, and sequencing is clearer to everyone in the room.

A conference call to discuss the testing needs to occur daily preferably either first thing in the morning or last thing in the afternoon. Everyone should be involved and the call should be mandatory.

Testing is a trying experience, its hard that the same people are trying to break what they have spent a considerable amount of time and energy building. Always be considerate of that fact when the builders and testers are the same resources.