THE CORE FUNDAMENTALS TO A TEST ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY

BY ANTONY BARBER – QUALITY TESTING SUPPORT LTD

Test Environment Management

Pro

visionin

g

Governance / Strategy / Security

Sup

port

Configuration

ManagementChange Management

Requirements

Management

Release / Deployment

Management

Planning

Defect Fixing

SoftwareEngagement /

Booking

Technical Testing

Data

Batch

Hardware

Test Environment Management

Configuration

ManagementChange Management

Requirements

Management

Test Environment Management (Yellow)Test Management is responsible for controlling the environment, while it is in use, in preparation for and during test execution, it

facilitates the coordination of environment related defects resolution and represents the users to the support and provisioning

teams

• Responsible for ensuing the environment is controlled and what is contained within the environment through configuration

management. Ensuring no changes are deployed into the environment without a detailed record of what is changing e.g.

Release Note

• Responsible for controlling changes to the test environment, ensuring all stakeholders are informed and engaged,

understanding the risks of the change and ensuring appropriate actions are taken to minimise the risk. It involves coordinating

multiple teams using the environment and manages conflicts and clashes

• Undertakes gathering and recording project test environment requirements and presenting these to the provisioning team.

Includes booking / requesting the environment as well as smoke testing to ensure the environment is fit for purpose

• Jointly controls Releases / Deployments into Test Environments, with the Support team, dependent upon the source. Code

change from development are the responsibility of Test Management to manage and coordinate

Release / Deployment

Management

Test Provisioning

Engagement /

BookingSoftware Hardware

Test Provisioning (Green)

The provisioning team are responsible for building and maintaining / refreshing the environment, including integration and

configuration of environment interfaces and components

• Responsible for providing the service for booking / requesting environments, covering software, hardware, integration and

either building them or refreshing existing environments. Need to provide a mechanism for environments to be requested /

booked (e.g. a tool). Smoke testing needs to be undertaken to make sure the environment meets the requirements

• Responsible for the installation of software required, other than the software in development, e.g. operating system,

databases etc.

• Test data needs to be provided, as per the organisations standards and the project requirements

• The team are responsible for coordinating all the different environments including managing any clashes due to shared

environments. The team are also responsible for decommissioning any environments that are no longer required

• Providing hardware the testing needs to be undertaken on, ranging from servers, physical or virtual to laptops, mobile phones

etc.

PlanningData

Test Environment Support

Defect Fixing Batches

Test Environment Support (Blue)

Responsible for providing technical expertise when the environment is being used

• Providing Subject Matter Expert support for environment related defects e.g. integration or configuration

• Running activities within the environment such as Batches or manipulating the environment simulate events e.g. changing dates

to enable testing of end of month

• Undertaking technical test activities, this can tends to cover testing such as Non Functional or Operational Acceptance e.g.

Simulating Failover testing

• Release & Deployment management into a test environment. This must be coordinated with the testing team and is for

activities / deployments that are required to keep the environment aligned with live e.g. Microsoft software patch updates

Release / Deployment

ManagementTechnical Testing

Test Environment Governance

Generally a meeting comprised of senior stakeholders that ensure effective Governance is undertaken by;

• Ensuring Environments are being used efficiently and effectively

• That the service is meeting its SLA’s

• That the service is fit for purpose

Security is about ensuring test environment comply with organisation standards, especially around data by;

• Compliance with standards, including Data Protection etc.

• Protection of data, either through control of environments, creating data or masking the live data

• Control of access, ensuring only those who should have access have got access

Test Environment Strategy

Test Environment Security

Strategy is about the Test Environments being ready for the future including;

• Planning for new technology

• Skills and resources are appropriate

• Demand planning