Visual Studio 2010 Microsoft Test Manager (MTM)

It is the role of test management to ensure that new or modified service products meet the business requirements for which they have been developed or enhanced.

The purpose of test management is to ensure that a testing strategy is both devised and applied that is efficient, effective and economic.

The testing strategy should define the objectives of all test stages and the techniques that apply. The testing strategy also forms the basis for the creation of a standardised documentation set, and facilitates communication of the test process and its implications outside of the test discipline. Any test support tools introduced should be aligned with, and in support of, the test strategy.

Test management is also concerned with both test resource and test environment management.


Key elements of test management include:

• Test organisation - the set-up and management of a suitable test organisational structure and explicit role definition. The project framework under which the testing activities will be carried out is reviewed, high-level test phase plans prepared and resource schedules considered. Test organisation also involves the determination of configuration standards and the definition of the test environment.

• Test planning - the requirements definition and design specifications facilitate in the identification of major test items and these may necessitate the test strategy to be updated. A detailed test plan and schedule is prepared with key test responsibilities being indicated.

• Test specifications - required for all levels of testing and covering all categories of test. The required outcome of each test must be known before the test is attempted.

• Unit, integration and system testing - configuration items are verified against the appropriate specifications and in accordance with the test plan. The test environment should also be under configuration control and test data and results stored for future evaluation.

• Test monitoring and assessment - ongoing monitoring and assessment of the integrity of the development and construction. The status of the configuration items should be reviewed against the phase plans and test progress reports prepared providing some assurance of the verification and validation activities.

• Product assurance - the decision to negotiate the acceptance testing programme and the release and commissioning of the service product is subject to the 'product assurance' role being satisfied with the outcome of the verification activities. Product assurance may oversee some of the test activity and may participate in process reviews.

1. Test Management Tool

Test Management tool provides the following support:

A repository for all test assets including test cases

Test Management tool provides the following support:

• Provide visibility into requirements coverage

• Provide visibility into the progress of the testing cycle

• Provide visibility to make effective decision on go-live based on known risks

• Measure progress and effectiveness of quality activities

• Collaborate in the software quality lifecycle with a single global platform

• Manage manual and automated testing assets centrally

• Facilitate standardized testing and quality processes  

  
    2.   Lab Management Tool

Lab Management tool provides the following support:

• A means to virtualize test environments
• Provide visibility into requirements coverage
• Manage groups of VMs as single entity
• Allows rapidly clone VMs using network fencing and other technologies
• Integrates with ALM tools to create tighter interaction between development/test & operations
• Patch virtual machines that are stored in a library by deploying the VMs on a dedicated resource pool (hardware) patching them and moving them back to the library.

The diagram below illustrates Lab Management function:

                

Recent Announcements on Lab Management:

On August 4 at 8:30 a.m., Dave Mendlen, Senior Director of Developer Marketing, announced that the final release of the Lab Management functionality in Visual Studio 2010.will be available at the end of August. Lab Management will be available for existing or new Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN and Visual Studio Test Professional 2010 with MSDN customers.

Key Benefits:

• Flexible, Easy Application Development: Microsoft remains committed to enabling developers of all skill levels and organizational sizes to easily build business applications that target the desktop, cloud and Web. 

• Increasing Productivity, Reducing Cost: Visual Studio Lab Management provides an integrated platform for managing your virtual testing environments, which drives greater efficiencies and cost savings by automating workflow, utilizing Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM).

• Enabling a “Private Cloud” Solution: Visual Studio Lab Management is a “private cloud” solution that enables teams to quickly provision virtual environments. These environments enable organizations to easily develop and test against a predictable base state, lowering the risk associated with software development due to unpredictable build processes and test environments.  
  

Additional Resources:

 
Visual Studio Lab Management will be available to Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN and Visual Studio Test Professional 2010 with MSDN subscribers at the end of August 2010. 

To learn more about the product, please highlight and download the Lab Management Trial Version.

1. Visual Studio Lab Management pre-sales site: http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/solutions/software-quality/lab-management

2. Visual Studio 2010 case studies: http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Search_Results.aspx?Type=1&ProTaxID=15582&LangID=46

3. Visual Studio Lab Management Team Blog:
http://blogs.msdn.com/lab_management/default.aspx