Optimizing the Testing of Commercial Software in a Regulated Environment
Mero, Joonatan (2017-09-25)
Optimizing the Testing of Commercial Software in a Regulated Environment
Mero, Joonatan
(25.09.2017)
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Turun yliopisto
Tiivistelmä
Test process improvement is slowly turning into one of the key development areas in software engineering. This has become of special importance in industries relying on commercial software. Typically these companies are having less testing experience in-house, often resulting in problems with internal testing quality and efficiency. This begs the question of how the testing of commercial software can be improved by customer organizations.
The motivation for this thesis came from a large pharmaceutical company keen on developing their testing practices and processes. The complex assortment of commercial software in use, as well as the quality assurance and regulatory requirements involved, created a unique challenge that demanded a customized approach towards test process improvement. A summary literary review was used in selecting the appropriate approach.
The novelty of the work was based on applying test process improvement methods in a tightly regulated industry: assessing the current state, finding the weak points and recommending improvement actions. The assessment was done using a case study approach, with analysis of previous testing projects and interviews of test personnel. In addition, evaluation of testing maturity was performed using a combination of the test process improvement models presented in the literary review.
As a result of the case study, ten categories of improvement suggestions were presented. The suggestions were evaluated based on their estimated impact over perceived effort in order to identify development priorities. Two suggestions were regarded as higher priority with the others as secondary and tertiary priority. The implementation of the suggestions prompted further research to be used to validate the thesis conclusions.
The motivation for this thesis came from a large pharmaceutical company keen on developing their testing practices and processes. The complex assortment of commercial software in use, as well as the quality assurance and regulatory requirements involved, created a unique challenge that demanded a customized approach towards test process improvement. A summary literary review was used in selecting the appropriate approach.
The novelty of the work was based on applying test process improvement methods in a tightly regulated industry: assessing the current state, finding the weak points and recommending improvement actions. The assessment was done using a case study approach, with analysis of previous testing projects and interviews of test personnel. In addition, evaluation of testing maturity was performed using a combination of the test process improvement models presented in the literary review.
As a result of the case study, ten categories of improvement suggestions were presented. The suggestions were evaluated based on their estimated impact over perceived effort in order to identify development priorities. Two suggestions were regarded as higher priority with the others as secondary and tertiary priority. The implementation of the suggestions prompted further research to be used to validate the thesis conclusions.