Answering your test maturity questions

Test maturity models come in all shapes and sizes, but what are the differences? And, how do you know which one is best for your organization? 

Well, let’s start off with a couple of definitions. What do we mean when we talk about test maturity? Test maturity really refers to the questions: 

• How good is your testing process? 
• How skilled are your testers? 
• How effective are your test tools? 
• Are results visible and measurable? 

Choosing the Right Test Maturity Model (TMMi) for Your Organization

If you are at the very beginning of your organization’s testing journey, things may seem a little chaotic. And, your test maturity is probably fairly low. It might be that there is no process. The testers are not dedicated testers – they are business analysts or system users. It might be you don’t have any tools other than a spreadsheet that is only sometimes updated with test results.

Or you may be at the other end of the scale. You might have a tightly defined, consistent, and repeatable test process. With that, you invest regularly in professional training for your team. Better yet – you have the very best-in-class tools available at your disposal. You have a great team, and the test process is very mature. Lucky you! 

Chances are though, you are like most test organizations, and you are somewhere in between. Maybe you are working on trying to establish a centralized test process. But it’s hard, so you’re not quite there yet. Or maybe you are working on a business case to persuade your senior managers that they need to invest in more dedicated professional testers and tools. 

If you are thinking about test maturity models (which you are, since you are reading this!), you are probably aware of roughly which one of these pictures is most like your organization. But because you’re reading this, you are probably also trying to figure out how to get better, and how your test process can be more mature. That’s where models come in. 

Exploring TPI and TMMi Models for Test Process Improvement

A model of any kind is a simplified representation of a system, intended to provide a high-level understanding without getting into the detail, for the purpose of trying to communicate about or explain interesting things about that system. A test maturity model is a simplified view of some key factors that are important in the world of software testing, things that if done well will lead to success so that we can use them to talk about how to make your testing better. 

There are many different models, all of which can give you a picture of where you are on your testing journey, and more importantly, can give you an idea of where you want to go. These can range from a very custom model tailored to your own organization, focusing on pain points you already know exist; to generic SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis providing a good broad range of topics to note your test efficiency in; to a full-blown questionnaire and matrix model like TPI (Test Process Improvement) or TMMi (Test Maturity Model). Which one you should choose will really depend on where the potential challenges to your process come from, and how formal you want the assessment of your test maturity to be. 

Trissential’s Approach to Test Maturity Models 

At Trissential, we understand how important it is for your organization to stay ahead of your quality goals and objectives. That’s why our Quality Kickstart approach is designed to provide you with a comprehensive roadmap tailored to your organization’s quality journey. With the help of our customized workshops and experienced professionals guiding you every step of the way, we can ensure that our recommended improvements will meet your industry standards and exceed your expectations. If you’re interested in learning more about what our method entails, don’t hesitate to contact Jackie McDougall.

Jackie McDougall, Director of Quality Assurance
Email Jackie at jackie.mcdougall@trissential.com
Connect with Jackie on LinkedIn

Learn more at https://trissential.com/solutions/quality-solutions/