Why testing? 
In today’s challenging business climate, organizations are focusing more on getting maximum business value from their software. Consequently, rapid delivery and software quality continue to become more important, and the risks of insufficient software quality greater. Testing is one of the most important actions an organization can take to control these risks. Testing provides insight into the quality of the software and the risks associated with insufficient quality. Based on this insight, organizations can make informed decisions about whether to take software into operation. With proper testing, organizations can make better decisions and effectively manage risk. 

Structured testing 
Sogeti’s structured Test Management Approach (TMap®) can help you to deliver “more for less, faster and better”. A structured testing approach offers the following advantages:

• it can be used in any situation, regardless of who the client is or which system development approach is used
• it delivers insight into, and advice on, any risks in respect of the quality of the tested system
• it finds defects at an early stage
• it prevents defects
• the testing is on the critical path of the total development as briefly as possible, so that the total lead time of the development is shortened
• the test products (e.g. test cases) are reusable
• the test process is comprehensible and manageable.   

The 4 essentials of TMap  
The specific TMap content of a structured test approach can be summarised in four essentials.

1. TMap is based on a business-driven test management (BDTM) approach. 
2. TMap describes a structured test process.
3. TMap contains a complete tool box. 
4. TMap is an adaptive test method.   

The first essential can be related directly to the fact that the business case of IT is becoming ever more important to organisations. The BDTM approach provides content that addresses this fact in TMap and can therefore be seen as the ‘leading thread’ of the structured TMap test process (essential 2). The TMap life cycle model is used in the description of the test process. Furthermore various aspects in the field of infrastructure, techniques and organisation must be set up to execute the test process correctly. TMap provides a lot of practical applicable information on this, in the form of e.g. examples, checklists, technique descriptions, procedures, test organisation structures, test environments and test tools (essential 3). TMap also has a flexible setup so that it can be implemented in different system development situations: both for new development and maintenance of a system, for a self-developed system or an acquired package, and for outsourcing (parts of) the testing process. In other words, TMap is an adaptive method (essential 4).

The TMap model of essentials represent the 4 essentials. For more information, click on each of the essentials.