Balancing rigorous testing with cost-effectiveness is a common challenge on software projects. You must test enough to mitigate business risks and protect your brand, but how much is enough?
You can easily test too much, take too much time, and spend too much money on testing. Luckily, there are proven ways to refine your testing practices, increase efficiency, and cut your software testing costs.
Understanding Software Testing Expenditure
The testing budget doesn’t just go on build and execution; it spans various areas, from the upkeep of test cases to the orchestration of testing environments and the allocation of testers.
Without strategic management, these costs can spiral, potentially disrupting project schedules and financial plans.
The thing is, when it comes to testing, there are many potential cost-reduction strategies. However, many of them have less-than-desirable outcomes.
You can cut test scope, cut test duration, reduce headcount, or scrap certain test phases altogether. After all, what’s the worst that can happen? It’s not like testers actually produce anything anyway. (editor’s note: for those that may not read the whole article, this is irony. Take a deep breath and read on)
Reducing scope, duration, headcount, and test phases are undoubtedly great ways to remove (extremely) short-term costs. Unfortunately, they also inevitably lead to huge increases in long-term cost, pain, and reputational damage. We’ve all seen what software crashes can do to a company and how much they cost to rectify.
When it comes to software quality, prevention is better than cure. We all know that catching bugs upfront will save you a ton of pain down the line. So, no, cutting testing corners is not the way to save money; it is quite the opposite.
Fortunately, there is a proven and effective way you can reduce budgets while bolstering your testing efforts and improving your quality assurance processes.
Why Tools Are Essential to Lower Testing Costs
The most effective way of reducing testing costs is to deploy professional test tools. This strategic investment will enhance test procedures, eliminate unnecessary repetition, and provide a rock-solid return on investment.
Test Management
A professional test management tool should be the foundation of your cost reduction strategy. This ensures you have a single (and always up-to-date) source of truth for requirements, test cases, results and real-time test status reports.
Using a test management tool will free up a significant number of hours each week for the test team and even more for those producing status reports on testing, allowing them to concentrate on executing more tests.
Test Automation
A professional test management tool is also the first step to functional test automation. By automating routine and laborious tasks, you will get more done in less time while freeing up valuable human resources for more complex and intellectually demanding activities.
Performance Testing
Finally, by using a cloud-based performance testing tool you will cut down on infrastructure spend (cloud infra is included in the cost) and any associated infrastructure setup effort.
But What About the Tool Costs?
Yes, I know what you’re thinking – professional testing tools incur an upfront cost. But the savings easily outweigh these costs, plus the additional advantages are irrefutable.
If you want to reduce testing costs without negatively affecting quality, professional test tools are essential. They allow you to slash the extended durations associated with manual regression testing, lower the likelihood of defects going unnoticed, and prevent the exorbitant costs related to post-release fixes.
I’ve talked about this in a number of previous insights:
- Testers vs. Test Tools: Which Costs More?
- Revealed: The True Cost of Test Tools
- People are the real cost
You Can Reduce Software Testing Expenditure with OpenText Tools
In summary, making shrewd investments in test tools is the way to reduce testing costs and one that doesn’t increase risk by cutting corners or reducing coverage.
When it comes to specific tools, there is one standout candidate suite. OpenText is the world leader in software test tools and provides a number of solutions to help you reduce testing expenditure.
I’ll leave you with three cast-iron examples of where OpenText test tools will help you lower your costs while increasing quality and ease:
Enhance Team Efficiency with ValueEdge Quality: ValueEdge Quality (an evolution of ALM Octane) makes test management easy and efficient, aligning with Agile, DevOps and Waterfall approaches. It allows teams to plan, run, and track tests in one place, providing complete visibility and analysis.
Streamline Script Creation and Maintenance with UFT One: UFT One’s sophisticated scripting capabilities and AI-driven object recognition reduces your testing effort and costs. It helps ensure your test suites are resilient to application changes, directly translating to a downturn in maintenance costs.
Optimise Environments Using LoadRunner Cloud: By providing a cloud-based performance testing infrastructure, LoadRunner Cloud considerably reduces the overall cost and lead times for performance testing.
Embracing these strategies and tools isn’t just about cutting costs; it’s about investing in the future of software quality and reliability.
OpenText testing tools ensure your testing processes are more efficient, effective, and aligned with industry best practices.
By choosing OpenText, you’re not just reducing expenses but enhancing your team’s capability to deliver superior software that stands the test of time and exceeds user expectations.
