For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Micro Focus Acquires Borland Software And Compuware's Testing And ASQ Product Line

by Phil Murphy, Margo Visitacion, May 11, 2009

Micro Focus made a splash early in May 2009 with a trio of announcements — the first regarding impressive, albeit preliminary, fourth quarter financial results, and the other two detailing acquisitions of Borland Software and Compuware's application testing . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Hybrid Testing Centers Of Excellence

In Dynamic SQA, Leveraging Internal Expertise Is Critical

by Margo Visitacion, April 13, 2009

As outsourcing increasingly becomes a regular occurrence in today's software quality assurance (SQA) organizations, application development pros are wondering how to combine technical expertise and process maturity with sufficient business process knowledge. . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Test Management: The Secret Weapon In Your Arsenal To Build Dynamic SQA

by Margo Visitacion, March 24, 2009

Any software quality assurance (SQA) manager who has presided over a testing cycle understands the importance of creating an organized test plan — it's a great way to make certain that testing professionals are as comprehensive as possible while executing . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

The GRC Technology Puzzle: Getting All The Pieces To Fit

Breaking Down The Complex GRC Technology Landscape

by Chris McClean, February 3, 2009

At a time when the global business community struggles to enhance internal controls and maintain long-term viability, improvements in governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) programs can be well worth the investment. Technology plays an integral role in . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

The Dawn Of Dynamic Software Quality Assurance

Business Uncertainty, Risk, And Constant Change Are Altering The Way We Test

by Margo Visitacion, February 2, 2009

In today's uncertain economy, companies cannot tolerate waste or unnecessary risk. Application development organizations must supply software that is of high quality and meets business objectives in a continually changing environment. Development organizations . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Leverage Certified Testers To Build Your QA Organization

Taking It From Nice-To-Have To Necessary Requirement

by Margo Visitacion, October 28, 2008

Constrained IT budgets and risk-averse business stakeholders continue to highlight the need for a robust yet practical software testing organization — but what is the best way to build such an organization? Most software testing organizations grow organically . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

The Customer Experience Quality Framework

Measure Experience Quality From The Customer's Perspective

by Megan Burns, May 23, 2007

To evaluate customer experience quality, firms need a measurement framework that is complete, coherent, and looks at the world from the customer's perspective. That's why we've created Forrester's "Customer Experience Quality Framework," which centers . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

SOA Raises The Stakes For Software Quality

How Software Testing Methods Must Change To Suit Service Orientation

by Carey Schwaber, July 17, 2006

SOA makes software quality both more important and more difficult to achieve. But traditional approaches to software testing are insufficient in an SOA environment. IT organizations pursuing SOA find that they must rethink their testing methods and revise . . .

Performance-Driven Software Development

How IT Shops Can More Efficiently Meet Performance Requirements

by Carey Schwaber, February 28, 2006

When software automates business processes, software performance is the limiting factor for business performance. A slow order processing engine necessarily means slowly processed orders. Even though software performance matters to the business, it's . . .

Take Careful Inventory Before Adopting Standalone Code Quality Tools

by Carey Schwaber, September 15, 2005

Most development shops understand that the cost of repairing a defect increases exponentially as the application proceeds through the life cycle. But fewer shops know what they can do to identify defects early on. To improve the quality of their code . . .

Software Quality Is Everybody's Business

No Matter Where Testers Report, Testing Is Development's Responsibility, Too

by Carey Schwaber, Margo Visitacion, May 16, 2005

In an effort to improve the quality of their custom-developed applications, corporate IT shops are revisiting basic organizational questions. Many IT shops are pulling testers off of development teams and making them part of centralized testing teams; . . .

Corporate Software Development Fails To Satisfy On Speed Or Quality

by Carey Schwaber, April 11, 2005

Corporate development shops continue to disappoint: A fall 2004 Forrester survey of 692 technology influencers — those who hold the IT purse strings — indicated that nearly one-third are dissatisfied with the time it takes their development shops to deliver . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

QA's Role In Compliance

QA Isn't Just About Development Anymore

by Margo Visitacion, March 8, 2005

While Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) may strike fear into the hearts of many companies, the controls and monitoring practices required are nothing new to quality assurance (QA) organizations. Indeed, companies with well-developed and respected QA groups will find . . .

Quality Assurance Versus Quality Control

Making The Right Choice For Your Organization

by Margo Visitacion, December 22, 2004

Investing in quality is imperative. With more than half of all software projects considered failed or challenged and with support costs for defective software running as high as 50% of the total development cost, companies must invest in quality, even . . .

Trends 2005: Quality Assurance

QA's Position In A Changing IT Environment

by Margo Visitacion, November 1, 2004

Quality assurance (QA) has long been seen as overly bureaucratic and difficult to justify as a sustaining role in IT organizations. Recent trends, however, in outsourcing testing, increased compliance requirements, and the continual exercise to derive . . .

Building A QA Lab Goes Beyond Testing Tools

Managing Entrance And Exit Criteria Is The Key Challenge

by Margo Visitacion, Liz Barnett, August 13, 2004

Quality is a high priority on IT managers' lists and should be addressed throughout the entire development life-cycle. Quality assurance (QA) teams are the obvious place to start when addressing testing and quality concerns. The first step in building . . .

Breaking The Emergency Break/Fix Cycle

by Margo Visitacion, March 17, 2004

Unplanned emergency releases are impossible to avoid. However, by putting a few standard practices and measurement criteria in place, companies can reduce the frequency of emergency release migrations. Creating measurement criteria around defect severity . . .

When Does It Make Sense to Have Independent QA?

February 28, 2003

When it comes to the practice of independent verification and validation, an independent QA team should be the one final check-off point before allowing a system to go into operation. How it is done systematically and organizationally varies, however.

There's More to Change Management Than Change Control

by Margo Visitacion, November 27, 2002

Understanding the differences and relationships between change management and change control is critical when building processes. Placing emphasis on change planning makes the actual exercise of change control more efficient.

Must Software Be Buggy?

by David Truog, Charles Rutstein, Heather Liddell, Angela Tseng, November 19, 2002

Buggy software drags down US profits by about $60 billion a year. But better testing isn't enough. Firms must also fix software development by spotting and automating the right quality techniques.

Key Metrics for Quality Assurance

by Margo Visitacion, August 19, 2002

Organizations employing quality assurance (QA) practices as part of their testing and quality management systems must create benchmarks to measure effectiveness and progress.

Buyers Can Boost Packaged Software Quality

by Laurie M. Orlov, John P. Dalton, Marli Porth, July 23, 2002

Buggy applications hamstring businesses that depend on reliable software. Although vendors apologize, their customers continue to act like victims. It's time for buyers to take charge of improving software quality.

More Process Doesn't Equal More Quality

by Margo Visitacion, July 17, 2002

Successful QA groups must strike a balance between structured quality measures and business value. Doing this may require actually loosening some adherence to formal procedure.

Standardize Internal Software Implementations for Efficiency and Control

by Margo Visitacion, June 29, 2001

Companies should standardize internal software implementation to improve efficiency and reduce error. Standard implementation procedures should provide ample information to production staff to install effectively.

Entry-Level QA/QC Staff: Overlooked Training Ground

by Gene Leganza, June 26, 2001

Hiring overqualified yet underskilled staff, such as college interns, for QC programs can fill open positions inexpensively. Any variety of career growth programs can be used to develop these recruits talents to their and the company s benefit.