Best practices for Test Environment Management

1. Best practices for Test Environment Management

2. The importance of the test environment is still unknown to many IT organizations and it is a pity as the IT test environment is a vital component for smooth test case executions. The test environment is nothing but a comprehensive setup for the testers where they can execute test cases seamlessly. • The vital components of the test environment are hardware, software and network configuration. The test environment management is a very crucial factor in helping testes to carry out their tasks without any manual or system side hurdles and issues. It does not only help to deliver the final product at the exact time, but it also helps in improving the quality of the end product. • Let's discuss why test environment management is essential for your organisation and what the best practices are for test environment management. In most of the IT organisations, the appropriate budget and time are two components that must be balanced to develop a quality product. • However, due to issues with these both components, the end product suffers in terms of quality and delivery. However, your testing process must not be compromised due to these issues as it is the vital thing for software development life cycle. It requires a sound test environment that is reliable and highly-functional to improve the quality of the software product.

3. 8 Best Practices for Test Environment Management Start testing in the early stage in the SDLC When you don't start testing a product from an early stage, you will notice bugs at a later stage. It will require more time and efforts to fix them. When you have the best test environment management tool, you need to test the product in the early stage to eliminate any bugs you find in the product. Demand Awareness and Management of Knowledge During the development phase, you need to customise the product as per the client’s needs and business requirements. You need to develop a test environment management strategy as per the needs of the client. From documents to test cases, you need to update your strategy accordingly. Conduct iterative tests The iteration testing is one of the most effective testing methods found in recent years in which the entire product is divided into small phases and each phase has its development and testing cycle. It helps testers to identify and fix bugs at the early stage and it also improves the flexibility of the SDLC.

4. Plan and Coordinate It is very important to plan and coordinate between teams. Sometimes, testing and development teams don't have separate test assets and scheduling them separately is vital for seamless testing. Resource planning and distribution are also very crucial for timely testing and to avoid conflicts between teams. The managers must plan and coordinate accordingly to ensure transparency among teams. Reuse the Test Resources and Test Cases You can save a lot of money if you can reuse test resources. You don't have to look for new resources whenever you are in need. There are some common areas in all the products and you can use test resources and test cases all the time for each product you develop. You don’t need to write new scripts every time you test new products and their features. Implement Standardization and Automation Standardisation of test environments is important for test validation and to define a benchmark for test cases. Once you have set your standards, you can automate things such as deployment, build and shakedown. It can save time, money, resources and efforts. It also reduces the number of test environments you need for a product.

5. Use Testing Techniques as per the requirements Which testing methods and techniques to use is a very subjective matter and you need to be very careful while choosing them. The best practice is to break down the tasks into measurable pieces and then define the needs for performing each and selecting the right techniques for each of these tasks. It will help to manage test environments easily. Mask and Encrypt Test Data Cybercriminals and their advanced techniques might jeopardize the security of your test data. Hence, it is very crucial to mask and encrypt your test data. Also, experts suggest that using real customer data for testing is also not a good practice to ensure data compliance. Conclusion: Fortunately, companies and enterprises are now understanding the importance of test environment management and are taking appropriate steps to develop the culture accordingly. With the right test environment management, you can utilise even limited resources and budget fully to develop a high-quality end product.

6. Contact Us Company Name : Enov8 Contact Person : Ashley Hosking Address : Level 5, 14 Martin Place, Sydney, 2000, New South Wales, Australia Email : enov8australia@gmail.com Phone(s) : +61 2 8916 6391 Fax : +61 2 9437 4214 Website :- https://www.enov8.com

7. Thank You