We can audit your entire test process or focus on a particular area

You can test quality in, but it's a very expensive proposition long term. Your software architecture, release process, support process, and development process all impact test efficiency. We can quantify these impacts, propose and implement improvements that minimize your investment in "back end" testing and "diving catches" while maintaining high quality. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

We know how product specifications tie into the entire life cycle, and impact the test process. We understand what constitutes sound requirements and how to prove them. We have all been developers, and development managers. Starting with clear specifications handed to development, and development processes that prove structural and functional integrity we balance your investment across your product life cycle and avoid overloading test at back end. We know white box test techniques, how to use them, how to prove their utility, and how to make them part of your development DNA.

Trying out a new feature in a lab, and proving it quantifiably are two different things. Proving features individually and proving they work together are two different things. Requirements coverage from a black box perspective coupled with proof of implementation take the guess work out of functional testing and filter these defects out prior to expensive system testing. Integration testing - basic acceptance tests, "smoke tests" ensure breakage from integration is removed early.

Any product of marketable complexity is more than the sum of it's parts. System testing can be a money pit if you don't understand how to do it systematically and how to calibrate it to your market. We know how to pragmatically assess your product(s) reliability, stress limits, scalability, serviceability, interoperability, startup/shutdown behavior, and configuration. We know how to systematically construct operational profiles based on your customers "use cases" to ensure installability, reliability, migration, support, and sure acceptance.

If your organization has multiple products, multiple SW bases, then knowing how to manage concurrency, reduce risk, and have the data to make knowledgeable release decisions is vital to your flow of product to customer. Our staff has worked in the most challenging multitasking deadline driven release environments. And we know how to find testing synergy across releases, how to structure hand-off's for success, and how to manage release test to predictable schedules.

As Bill Hewlett said "you cannot manage what you cannot measure". Knowing what to measure, and how to read the measurements is the key to managing your test process. We don't espouse managing to numbers, we do know that the right measures provide useful information supporting sound business decisions. We know what measures are key, and how to train engineers and managers to use them properly throughout your product life cycle.

Regression test is another necessary investment that can run away with your budget if you don't know where the "sweet spot" is. Selective regression testing based on change impact is one way to build focus into your regression investment. Don't try to test everything, know when to test deep, and when to test broad. Your automation infrastructure needs to be built to last, and you need to know when to add and when to prune. An effective regression test capability is vital to your installed base's satisfaction, and your bottom line.

The prevent/capture/learn cycle. Stand back and look at your product life cycle. Pull out all that goes into ensuring your products are delivered to market as bug free as possible. What you are left with can be summarized as three activities. Prevent defects in the first place. Prevent defects from specifications to integration. Capture defects - in the most cost effective phase of your life cycle. You do not want to find an obvious "code review" bug during expensive back-end system testing. Know how to instrument your life cycle so you learn from your escapes. From phase-escapes to customer found defects. Know how to act on this information to improve how you deliver product. And make sure that all you do here is aligned with your business needs and not QA ideology.

Defects are prevented by well documented requirements, clear software and architecture specifications, and proven software development practices (code/design reviews, unit tests). Most defects are preventable. Each defect type has an associated optimal detection method, and place in the life cycle. Your marketing and development processes have high quality if they ensure prevention of defects efficiently.

Defects that have not been prevented, are caught or "captured" by testing before the product is released into production. Every defect can be caught by testing, but in practice a sophisticated system cannot be tested for every permutation of input, timing, sequence that might capture a hidden defect. Your testing investment is optimal if you are capturing all the customer-impacting defects at the most cost effective point.

No process is perfect, learning from your defect phase escapes just how well your prevention and capture investment is working keeps you in control of Return on Investment. And aligns your overall QA investment with your business goals.