Applications that are not properly tested before deployment into production environments can hit businesses where it hurts most - the bottom line.
Recent research from the Forrester Group, commissioned by Compuware Corporation in the US, has revealed that executives understand that application failure results in material revenue loss.
"Quite simply, applications that are not evaluated as they would perform live, present a significant risk to business. They might not perform as anticipated, and they might even disrupt existing programs and cause untold chaos," says Paul Wandrag, QA Architect at Compuware SA.
The study revealed that application failure is an all-too-common occurrence in enterprise environments. Based on a survey of 125 senior IT executives at large corporations with revenues ranging from $500 million to in excess of $1 billion, a staggering 44% reported application failures within the last three years.
Despite maturity of the software development industry, even experienced developers continue to make errors when writing new applications. "The trouble is that it is not easy to pinpoint software defects or assess software quality. The lack of a consistent and effective means of evaluating software leads developers, testers, managers and business executives to feel more confident about their software than they should," explains Wandrag.
Furthermore, bugs have become accepted as 'par for the course` when developing new applications. "That attitude has to change - defects are not a natural phenomenon as they can be avoided."
Bad habits have also caught up with software developers. While in the past it may have been a forgivable offence to let errors slip by under inadequate testing procedures and make it into production environments, the complexity of distributed and interconnected infrastructure demands that applications are working properly before deployment or disaster may result.
"Development teams have a tendency to hammer out code as fast as possible, dedicating insufficient time and resources to testing, while many teams don`t make use of modern solutions and techniques. A Gartner study in 2002 found that just 25% of distributed applications are tested using modern practices.
"It doesn`t have to be like that," Wandrag maintains.
The answer to the quandary of dodgy code lies in automated software quality (ASQ) testing. "Instead of leaving the difficult and tedious work of evaluating vast quantities of code to individuals, who are likely to fall prey to human error, solutions have been developed that remove this burden from the development team. Not only are these ASQ solutions far more effective than manual testing, they are also much faster and more thorough," he says.
The development lifecycle is typically broken into four basic steps: definition, development, test and deployment, but Wandrag continues, it is more accurate to consider the cycle as a continuous spiral. "Software can last for years, even decades. Latent problems may manifest themselves further down the line, creating serious issues for businesses. Hence, testing cannot be limited to the third phase, but must be a continual process."
Quality practices that should span the development lifecycle include requirements management, defect tracking and change request management, source code analysis, distributed application analysis, coverage analysis, test management and test automation. Clearly this is an onerous set of requirements that can be better handled by an ASQ solution.
Developers cite inadequate testing time as the most prevalent reason for poor software quality - yet exponentially waste several multiples of that time, which translates into money, on ironing out bugs in production. "Because ASQ evaluates software code as it is written, and throughout the lifecycle of the software, it ensures thorough and repeated testing of applications from start to finish, without impacting on the work of the developer," he says.
Compuware is at the forefront of ASQ, offering several solutions that continually evaluate and test new applications throughout the development cycle. Including QACenter and DevPartner, these products adapt to and improve development and test processes.
"While software development is not simple, answer to the question of whether or not to use ASQ solutions should be," says Wandrag.
"It`s a financial issue - implement ASQ, or continue to watch your applications cost far more than they should."
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Compuware Corporation, a multibillion-dollar company, provides business value through software that optimises productivity and reduces costs across the application lifecycle. Meeting the rapidly changing needs of businesses of all sizes, Compuware`s market-leading solutions improve the quality, ease the integration and enhance the performance of distributed, e-business and enterprise software. Compuware employs more than 12 000 information technology professionals worldwide.
For more information about Compuware, please contact the South African subsidiary on (011) 516 2900 or visit Compuware SA at http://www.compuware.co.za.
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