As an example, the users of mobile applications expect them to change almost daily. The dynamics of the markets that rely on mobile apps demand that such consumers expect new features, offers and opportunities all the time. Organisations usually fail to consider quality as one of the most important aspects to deliver a first class customer experience. That, alongside with the lack of investment and accountability for ensuring it , often means that organisations fall short of the results they want and even worse put their reputation at risk. Get it right from the start Would you consider building a bridge if there was any room for error in the specifications? So why would you think that complex technology change will be delivered without having solid foundations? It is a well-known fact that requirements are the backbone of the Testing Lifecycle, so it only makes sense that a list of requirements actually exists before testing starts. Industry research indicates that only 5% of the IT projects practice consistent, systematic requirements management. It is roughly estimated that customers are paying an additional 20% of the original contract value for change requests. This shows that an effective and standardised requirements management secures the success and cost efficiency of a project. So, the first step would be to ensure that you have ‘fit for purpose’ documented requirements so that everyone knows exactly what you’re testing for and why. Then comes, resources. Resources with the right mix of domain expertise, business knowledge and testing experience . ‘Shift left’ Defects are least expensive to repair early in the integration lifecycle and become more expensive as the application nears deployment. Several studies have indicated that defects released into the market can be 80 – 100 times more expensive to repair than those found in-house.  Industry research shows that it takes 50 times longer to fix a bug during testing, than finding it in requirements stage, with such delays and inability to respond to change making continuous delivery impossible. A ‘shift-left’ approach needs to be followed, with the thinking activities on testing being moved earlier in the development process. This shift in thinking enables you to go ‘continuous’ and deliver in small, frequent increments. Lack of suitable test environments and ‘fit for purpose’ quality data By cutting corners to meet deadlines and stay within budget, suitable testing environments are often left aside.  This of course affects the quality of testing results creating mass panic amongst testing teams.

Testers usually spend up to 50% of their time looking for data, and as much as 20% of the total Software Development lifecycle is spent waiting for it.

What is needed is ‘fit for purpose’ data that can cover 100% of test cases, delivered to the right place, at the right time. By integrating Test Data Management with Risk Management financial services organisations can leverage the benefits of both disciplines enabling them to create efficiencies in their test data provisioning, whilst also mitigating the risk of delays, rework and spiralling costs.