test environment management process enterprise release management In the IT field, the test environment management process involves the testing teams operating test cases using necessary hardware and software.
With this process, industry leaders can move into the delivery period with their services and products after a full-scale visualisation, automation, and control during the Software Development Lifecycle.
What Is Test Environment?
A test environment can be defined as a habitat or arena for testers for executing test cases in a secure manner.
- This environment includes software tools, hardware components, and network configurations.
- A test environment is vital to prevent downtime in the staging environment when any adverse impacts or circumstance occurs.
- The testing environment can serve multiple testers. Creating, validating, and managing test environments requires versatile skill sets and experience.
- A well-structured and configured test environment enables testers to perform their tasks during enterprise release management without any interruptions and issues.
Difference Between a Testing Environment & Staging Environment
Notably, staging and testing environments are necessary for checking the products and processes in the software development lifecycle. However, they are not the same.
The testing environment works inside a controlled laboratory, but the staging environment mimics the real-world functionality.
In testing, certain functions of the application are tested individually. In the staging environment, the entire software is tested to detect vulnerabilities and bugs.
Let’s take the example of developing and testing a car:
- First, each component, such as braking systems, acceleration, steering wheel, engine functionality, aerodynamic efficiency, etc., is checked and accessed individually for normal functioning (against certain pre-defined standards). This is what happened in the test environment during application development.
- Next, after complete assembly and development, the car is taken out for a test drive. Not on the open roads by regular customers and with passengers, but in a controlled environment only by skilled and qualified testing professionals. This is the staging environment for SDLC.
However, at the time of staging, testers carry our real-world testing in a private and controlled zone.
Key Elements for Creating a Test Environment
The key elements of developing a suitable test environment are as follows.
- The Test Server Setup- It is important to create a new test server that supports all applications.
- Test PC setup- IT testing team can choose the suitable browser or OS for varying tester PCs.
- Network- The best test environments can work on specific networks, like Private networks, LAN WiFi, or Internet setup.
Importance of Test Environment Management
A test environment is the overall system experience, making it easier for IT testing teams to understand what to expect and the software quality before deployment.
- The team members can plan, discuss, and coordinate the schedules properly for better testing experiences and reduce release delays.
- It is suitable for automating the testing process with advanced TEM tools to reduce team pressure.
- IT professionals can manage their real data better and check compliancy with necessary compliance standards.
Test Environment Management Best Practices
It is important to focus on three main factors in the test environment management process. First, testers must know the environments, plan and work on the operations and changes, and schedule the main updates.
Know the environment
The corporate and IT world constantly adapts to the new demands of the customer base and the business expansion requirement. Since the products and services that the teams are testing are unique, having a custom enterprise release management is important.
Not each environment would suit the requirements of all teams. With a comprehensive platform for IT project cycle testing, the teams can check the different ecosystems and see what works. They can work with customisable dashboards with all necessary data available.
Schedule the plans
There are different demands with the software among companies that meet their objectives. Not having an accurate plan in place can cause issues for the teams to deal with these demands and cause productivity loss or conflicts.
The teams can expect a valuable scheduling system with a good testing environment platform.
They can transparently collaborate on the decision-making process, data management, and IT services. As a result, they get real-time insights and optimise the workload evenly, allocating reasonable periods and resources.
Orchestrate proper testing cycles
One of the best practices during the test environment management process is to use the self-service approach to execute the environment changes. Since businesses and teams have different needs, they must orchestrate the testing environment suitably with their complex business functions.
The IT team can run smooth processes and operations in their environments with a self-service platform. The Agile processes and automation benefits allow for a suitable environment building.
Professionals can improve productivity when they automate the data operations and IT environment. As a result, they can deliver better project results and avoid excess outages or incidents.
Conclusion
Overall, establishing a testing environment is highly useful for IT service providers to streamline their application development cycles better. It is important to have a suitable platform that works as a robust governance model and runs suitable testing ecosystems.
After that, expect a smoother, cost-effective testing experience for your software products and service models.
