Introduction
Designing an application, creating a framework, developing the application, and then ensuring it meets the sustainability goals is a process that every company goes through to improve its profitability. Today, C-Suite is aware that to offer the best user experience, an app needs to meet the reliability, performance, stability, security, and quality standards. QA automation is ROI-driven and ensuring that it delivers assurance to businesses on the stability of the functionality is one of the key deciding factors.
As the focus on quality and competitiveness is rising at a fast pace, so does the need to execute testing in an industrialised and cost-efficient way because organizations require software systems that are competent in supporting complex business processes. Additionally, organizations want to deliver applications quickly to support new technology stacks, implement new functionalities, speed up time-to-market, etc. The list is endless. There’s no denying that this exhaustive list of demands for speed and agility has gained prominence, but at the same time this has put pressure on the quality of operations and processes.
Under such circumstances, expecting traditional QA practices can keep pace with business demands & quickly deliver applications and bring products to market faster.
Having a Testing Center of Excellence (TCoE) is the best option here due to its ability to offer proven results by allowing businesses to optimize the quality and performance of an application, bring greater alignment between IT and business, enhance the efficiency and do much more with their QA objectives.
This blog explores what is TCoE, why it is a business must-have, when to implement it and how to set it up.
What is TCoE
It is a framework that defines, implements and reviews the testing controls and standards across an enterprise. It comprises a flexible pool of testing resources from varied roles and insights. While TCoE ensures that the testing protocols, toolsets, and KPIs are maintained at a centralized level, it enables quick deployment of any tester to any team.
Why TCoE is important for businesses
Some of the business benefits of leveraging the TCoE include:
- Zero investment automation framework, resulting in cost efficiency.
- Lower the test execution time by automating the repetitive tasks and using templates, reusable methods, and test cases.
- Optimally use the existing resources, budget, tools, and environment.
- Improved risk management with lowered failure chances and no chances of high severity defects.
- Better equipped to manage the business challenges and prioritize team tasks.
When do you need TCoE
Don’t forget to ask the below questions when TCoE is on your mind.
- Is your QA process ‘only’ aligned with the project targets and not with the end business goals?
- Are your projects facing the skilled testing resources crunch?
- Are your QA processes facing transparency issues?
- Are you looking to curtail the testing time without hampering quality?
- Do you want to establish a standard QA process for your enterprise?
- Is your project not able to meet the delivery deadline and often faces defect leakage?
- Are your resources not updated with the latest trends in the world of testing?
- Do you want to identify the common testing KPIs?
- Are the organizational processes and tooling across teams not homogenized?
- Does the shifting projects and processes make your testers often change teams and deliverables?
- Is your project team reinventing the wheel too often?
How to implement TCoE?
A growing number of companies are looking to leverage the TCoE framework focused on standardizing deliverable execution models to maintain the quality of business-critical processes and systems. Reason? TCoE helps to reduce costs.
While many third-party QA service providers offer TCoE services, finding a specialist company that holds the expertise in test process assessment and can propose improvements based on quality frameworks and proven methodology will guarantee success and implement the below steps.
- Step #1: Identify and prioritize the challenges you want the TCoE to resolve. At the least, the TCoE should aim to standardize the tools and processes, and further can be customized such as technology implementation, defining and measuring KPIs or expansion of the QA team.
- Step #2: Form the governing and strategy team for TCoE comprising an executive sponsor, steering committee, and IT and business subject matter experts who will be responsible for managing the project.
- Step #3: Create the TCoE roadmap keeping in mind the organizational targets and outcomes in mind as that will ensure project success.
- Step #4: Define the working process of the governing team with other teams to avoid future missteps and ensure the proper rollout of processes and tools.
- Step #5: Have a repository for the existing tools, processes, methodologies and KPIs for future references.
- Step #6: Collaborate/engage with the in-house team to get a clear picture of their requirements to strengthen the foundation.
- Step #7: Inform across the organization about TCoE, the purpose, and its targets to drive the adoption.
Conclusion
As more companies are focused on centralizing their software and process quality, Forsys is committed to offering targeted Quality Assurance & Engineering services to make the transition faster, easier and more efficient for businesses.
We have helped clients, from Fortune 500 companies to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in setting up and managing 12+ TCoEs. Our tried and tested roadmap for taking clients at their own pace, from gauging readiness and TCoE design to implementing best practices, training and automation has successfully delivered results every time. We don’t just manage end-to-end QA automation processes but also set up cross-functional TCoE that streamlines testing processes and removes redundancies.
For more information about how our Quality Assurance & Engineering services can help your organization achieve its QA automation goals, using TCoE, connect now.