Challenges in setting up Test Environment Management

2. The on-time delivery of a high-quality software product is a crucial thing for any organization. • Late deliveries and faults in the product might jeopardize your reputation. • That's where test environments can help you. A test environment is nothing but a setup of software and hardware products that the stakeholders use to execute test cases. • At the same time, IT test environment managementis also vital. • In recent years, small enterprises and large organizations have started building reliable, scalable, and robust IT test environments that boost productivity and efficiency of processes and help deliver the best quality software products. • When it comes to test environment management, any flaws might lead to extra costs and time. • On the other hand, when you have appropriately planned and allocated resources accurately among teams, you will be able to deliver a high-quality product on-time, with almost no errors.

3. Apart from the maintenance and upkeep of the test bed, IT test environment management deals with many functions such as central repository maintenance with all updated test environment versions, creating new requirements, monitoring of the environments, updating or deleting outdated test environments, addressing environmental issues, and proper resource allocation among various teams. • In this post, we will discuss some challenges that organizations face while setting up test environment management. Stay tuned! Proper planning on resource usage • Resource planning and allocation are one of the most challenging things while managing test environments. • A test environment manager is responsible for resource planning and funding. • If you fail to do so, it might affect the actual output. Furthermore, sometimes, improper resource allocation might lead to team conflicts, an unwanted situation in any organization. • The best way is to get requirements at different times in advance and allocate resources accordingly.

4. Remote environment • When a test environment is located geographically apart, it might create a challenge for testing teams as they might not have all testing assets all the time. Sometimes, they have to rely on the support team for different test assets such as software, hardware, or other assets. It might affect the actual speed of development and delivery. • The project manager must address the issue of a remote environment to speed up things. Elaborate setup time • It is also an issue that must be addressed efficiently. Sometimes, the setup time is elaborated too much that it becomes difficult for test teams, especially in integration testing cases.

5. Shared usage by teams • Another challenge is using test environments by multiple teams. For example, if a testing environment is used by developers and testers simultaneously, there are chances that test results will be corrupted. • Allocating separate test environments to teams is the best solution for this challenge. Insufficient budget • Small Organizations often face this challenge. They don’t have sufficient funds to set up test environment management. • Sometimes, they use the same test environments among different teams, which might lead to errors and corrupt test results, as we have discussed above. • A project manager must address this issue to get accurate test results and seamless testing environment management.

6. Also Read:How to design IT Environment Management strategy? Complex test configuration • Some tests might require complex test environment configuration. It is the responsibility of the test team. • When you don't have experienced testers who possess sheer expertise in test environment configuration, you might face this challenge. • The best way to address this issue is to hire an experienced tester with a proven track record. Conclusion • To deliver software products on-time without compromising the quality, managing your test environments is crucial. • IT test environment management is the need of the hour, and you need to leave no stones unturned to ensure it.