Testing a program or application may require much time and effort. Therefore it needs supervision and control. Permanent monitoring is mandatory for testing efficiency. What control and monitoring mean and what the differences between the concepts are, you will learn from this article.
What Monitoring Means and Why It’s Important
Monitoring is the process of analyzing the current software testing situation and providing information about its effectiveness. In other words, it is the observation of the software verifying process and providing feedback on completion of the assigned tasks.
The purpose of monitoring is to compare the current state with the plan or preliminary analysis and make sure that the testing is going according to schedule.
Monitoring is used to improve the verification process and make the necessary changes quickly and without compromising costs and release deadlines. You can monitor the situation once a week or a month. It depends on the scale and characteristics of the project.
During monitoring, you can analyze:
- Project costs. They should not exceed the agreed amount and do not lead to a difficult financial situation for the company.
- Deadline. Testing should not affect the schedule and delay the planned release date.
- Resources. You may need to attach additional tools or involve more QA engineers.
- Quality. You should not compromise on quality. You need to make sure that the product examination is thorough.
Monitoring helps to assess how fast and effective the testing is and make changes to its conduct on time.
Monitoring Stages You Need to Know
Effective monitoring requires a certain sequence. To conduct it and achieve the best results, you should follow the instructions:
- Create a monitoring plan. Like a test plan, it will help you check the key indicators.
- Determine the characteristics that you will evaluate. They depend on the project and may vary.
- Get acquainted with the current status of testing. You need to analyze which tasks have been completed, and whether you are meeting the deadline or need additional tools.
- Share the information received with all participants in the process. You should not only get data but also provide feedback to inform other team members.
- Agree on further actions. Listen to colleagues and think about how to improve the testing process at this stage.
Thoughtful monitoring is an integral part of high-quality testing.
Differences and Phases of Testing Control
Unlike monitoring, quality control in testing is the regulation of the process to ensure that it is effective and provides a high test result.
During testing control, the team makes decisions about making changes based on the information obtained after monitoring. To improve the testing situation during control, you can implement various strategies, for example:
- Change the priority of testing. If you determine that one of the sections needs more time to be examined, you should pay more attention to it.
- Review schedules and deadlines. Sometimes testing can require more time. To avoid release failure, you have to change the schedule in advance if necessary.
- Make updates to the testing environment. If you need other tools, approaches, or devices for testing, you can quickly add or change them so as not to delay the process.
Similar to monitoring, control involves several stages to take. Here are the main ones that you should take into account:
1. Start controlling the process based on the information received.
2. Find deviations from the previous estimate or plan.
3. Assess their significance and potential risks.
4. Prioritize problem resolution.
5. Take corrective actions to improve the process.
If you detect possible deviations on time, you can easily correct the testing phase without losing time and money.
General Tips for Improving the Testing Process
Although monitoring and control are important, there are a few more practices you should get acquainted with to achieve better product testing performance.
Process Standardization
You can test software easily if all your tools, approaches, and environments are standardized.
Documentation Maintenance
You will not be able to remember all the information, so you need to document all stages and processes.
Proactive Problem Solving
Early identification of problems and deviations will help you react faster and make changes on time.
To test software quickly, reliably, and cost-effectively, implement monitoring and control into your workflow and entrust your product’s testing to TestFort. It is a proven company with many years of experience on the market and more than 150 professional testers on staff.
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