The ROI of Testing

In today's competitive business environment, corporations need and demand a good return on investment (ROI) for everything they do-and testing is no exception. Although executive managers are requesting meaningful metrics more often than ever, many test managers are struggling to justify the cost versus benefit of their departments' work. Often these test managers are unsure how to calculate investment costs versus dollars saved when using solid QA and testing methodologies. Test managers need the business tools and techniques to provide this business critical information, not only to satisfy upper management but also to ensure their departments are indeed making a positive contribution. Shaun Bradshaw demonstrates the tangible benefits of testing on the software development lifecycle by defining ROI in the context of software testing and defect prevention. In addition, Shaun provides several key metrics you can use to demonstrate the quantitative benefits of testing.

• Prevention (QA) costs versus detection (testing) costs
• Key metrics for calculating testing's value to the business
• Testing ROI calculation examples