Archive for 2010

Original Software signs partnership agreement with Test-Direct

A QUICK path to success

18th March 2010 – Original Software, the Application Quality Management (AQM) vendor, today announced a strategic partnership with Test-Direct, the UK’s premier financial services testing organisation. The partner agreement allows the service provider to position Original Software solutions in opportunities where there is a good fit with customer requirements. Test-Direct joins Original Software’s growing community of service providers, with a particular focus on financial services sector.

Test-Direct offer all their clients the benefits of their proven QUICK test methodology. QUICK is a risk based, real world approach to delivering quality testing faster, reducing costs and improving testing process through Quality, Understanding, Improvement, Communication and Knowledge. This methodology is being mapped as a template into Original Software’s Application Quality Management solution, Qualify, for the benefit of Test-Direct’s customer base.

Alan Reilly, MD of Test-Direct expanded: “Original Software’s solution suite has a unique approach to functional testing capability that makes it ideal for certain customer accounts and situations, such as user acceptance testing, where many other solutions are just too technical for the end user. TestDrive and TestDrive-Assist provide a powerful combination when it comes to rapid production of repeatable scripts for regression testing, which is imperative when time-to-market is critical. We have had a great deal of interest in Original Software’s solution and are working on some key high profile opportunities at the moment.”

“Test-Direct offer in-depth expertise in the financial services sector” said Colin Armitage, CEO of Original Software. “Their combination of onsite, nearshore and offshore services offer a unique combination of cost savings without compromising the benefits of face to face consultancy. We’ve built a good relationship with the company already and the feedback on our solution has been really positive. Mapping Test-Direct’s QUICK test methodology into our quality management offering is a great example of how simple it is to apply a partner’s preferred quality process in to our technology.”

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About Test-Direct (http://www.test-direct.com)
Since March 2002, Test-Direct has been combining in-depth industry expertise with practical testing skills, tools and methods. With testing solutions delivered by cost effective, planned or on demand teams, we ensure that our clients are able to launch new products and services with a risk based knowledge of their quality and performance and go live with confidence.
We pride ourselves on working with our customers not for them. Test-Direct always seek to form partnerships that produce win-win outcomes. We enjoy ongoing and established relationships with some of the UK’s largest blue chips.

About Original Software (www.origsoft.com)

With a world class record of innovation, Original Software offers a solution focused completely on the goal of effective quality management. By embracing the full spectrum of Application Quality Management across a wide range of applications and environments, the company partners with customers and helps make quality a business imperative. Solutions include a quality management platform, manual testing, full test automation and test data management, all delivered with the control of business risk, cost, time and resources in mind.

More than 400 organisations operating in over 30 countries use Original Software solutions. Current users range from major multi-nationals to small software development shops, encompassing a wide range of industries, sectors and sizes. We are proud of our partnerships with the likes of Coca-Cola, Cargill, HSBC, FedEx, Pfizer, DHL and many others.

Press contact

Kate Mackinder
Media Relations Officer
+44 1256 338 689
Kmackinder@origsoft.com

Agile quality assurance takes centre stage at TestExpo 2010

Original Software to present at this year’s event

15th March 2010 – Original Software, the Application Quality Management (AQM) vendor, today announced its attendance at this year’s TestExpo where George Wilson, the company’s Operations Director, will be presenting a conference session on the subject of automating software quality in an Agile environment.

TestExpo is a free event aimed at everyone with an interest in software quality. It takes place Thursday 25th March at the Congress Centre in London. George Wilson’s presentation ‘Agile Test Automation – Can it be done?’ starts at 10am and will explore how to define a test process to ensure application quality within an Agile environment.

“Agile is a methodology that is seeing increasingly widespread adoption. Yet for the QA professional an Agile approach can cause discomfort. In the ideal world they would have a ‘finished’ product to verify against a finished specification. To be asked to validate a moving target against a changing backdrop is counter intuitive. It means that the use of technology and automation are much more difficult, and it requires a new approach to testing, in the same way that it does for the users and the developers” expanded George Wilson.

Original Software’s solution suite has received high praise for its capabilities in enabling Agile development in a recent report by industry analyst group, Ovum. In the report the company’s solutions were applauded for being a better fit for agile processes than any competitive functional test automation suite. “[Original Software] supports a range of development methodologies including Agile, waterfall, and hybrid processes as well. The solution offers pre-built templates for Agile methodologies such as Scrum, DSDM, XP etc. Users can also create their own templates, or modify an existing template to suit their needs” it states.

“In its totality, Original’s suite is appropriate for automation specialists, non-technical testers and even business users for acceptance testing. It fits in with classic waterfall processes, and it can also be used in agile processes more easily than other functional test automation suites.” This report was published by Ovum in February 2010 and copies will be available for all delegates visiting Original Software’s stand.

Since its launch in 1996, TestExpo has grown to become a respected source of testing news and innovation and a valuable forum for debate, discussion and networking amongst testing professionals. It is free to attend, and interested parties should register for TestExpo at: http://www.testexpo.co.uk.

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About Original Software (www.origsoft.com)

With a world class record of innovation, Original Software offers a solution focused completely on the goal of effective quality management. By embracing the full spectrum of Application Quality Management across a wide range of applications and environments, the company partners with customers and helps make quality a business imperative. Solutions include a quality management platform, manual testing, full test automation and test data management, all delivered with the control of business risk, cost, time and resources in mind.

More than 400 organisations operating in over 30 countries use Original Software solutions. Current users range from major multi-nationals to small software development shops, encompassing a wide range of industries, sectors and sizes. We are proud of our partnerships with the likes of Coca-Cola, Cargill, HSBC, FedEx, Pfizer, DHL and many others.

Press contact

Kate Mackinder
Media Relations Officer
+44 1256 338 689
Kmackinder@origsoft.com

FDM Mounties Charge into Action Flying the Original Software Banner

Original Software partners with FDM for training, software, services and outsourcing

01 February 2010 – Original Software, the Application Quality Management (AQM) vendor, today announced a strategic partnership with FDM, the IT Services provider. The partner agreement allows FDM to not only resell Original Software solutions, but also allows full use of them within their training academy. FDM will train their apprentice testers on the Original Software solution set, so that all of the academy graduates – called FDM Mounties – go out into the services workplace fully comprehending the solutions and their potential benefits to customers.

“FDM is well renowned in the industry for the quality of its outsourcing services” said Colin Armitage, CEO of Original Software. “It has a very strong customer base and an award-winning academy that helps fuel its global, skilled resource pool. We have worked well with the company on some high profile customer accounts and will be proud to include FDM’s services as part of our offering. Both companies put quality right at the heart of their business models.”

Rod Flavell, CEO of FDM expanded: “FDM has trained over 1500 individuals to the highest industry standards. We train our Mounties in the most cutting edge IT tools and solutions, so that they can go out into the marketplace as talented professionals with expertise in the very best technologies. We have a strong foothold in the financial sector, and so Original Software’s ability to validate databases and test green screen apps is key, but we are seeing widespread demand for solutions that work well in an agile environment and with SAP testing – something their solutions excel at.”

Andy King, Head of Testing at FDM Group said: “We have worked with Original Software for some time now and have been testing on various client sites, utilising their tool suite. The decision to partner with the team is fantastic news and we will benefit greatly in 2010, as the demand for both FDM Testers and Original Software continues to grow.”

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About FDM (www.fdmgroup.com) (www.fdmacademy.com)
FDM Group is an international IT Services provider specialising in five core service areas: Application Support, Development, Testing, Infrastructure and Training. Supplying IT solutions to over 200 blue-chip clients within various sectors for over a decade, certifies their expertise. With offices in the UK, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the USA, FDM has shown exponential growth throughout the years and has firmly established itself as an award-winning IT Services Provider.

About Original Software (www.origsoft.com)
With a world class record of innovation, Original Software offers a solution focused completely on the goal of effective quality management. By embracing the full spectrum of Application Quality Management across a wide range of applications and environments, the company partners with customers and helps make quality a business imperative. Solutions include a quality management platform, manual testing, full test automation and test data management, all delivered with the control of business risk, cost, time and resources in mind.

More than 400 organisations operating in over 30 countries use Original Software solutions. Current users range from major multi-nationals to small software development shops, encompassing a wide range of industries, sectors and sizes. We are proud of our partnerships with the likes of Coca-Cola, Cargill, HSBC, FedEx, Pfizer, DHL and many others.

Press contact
Kate Mackinder
Media Relations Officer
+44 1256 338 689
Kmackinder@origsoft.com

Test Management Summit 2010 gets Original

Original Software to host sessions on Agile Testing, Test Automation and Test Data Management

25 January 2010 – Original Software, the Application Quality Management (AQM) vendor, today announced its attendance at the 2010 Test Management Summit where George Wilson, the company’s Operations Director, will be hosting a workshop on Test Data Management as well as speaking in a session on the subject of Agile Testing. Peter Hopley, the company’s EMEA Sales Director, will also be presenting a summit session about Test Automation.

The annual summit, which takes place in London on Tuesday the 26th and Wednesday the 27th January, is the fourth of its kind. Run in conjunction with the Test Management Forum (TMF) – the forum for testing professionals in the UK, it is hosted and organised by Gerrard Consulting.

The summit is aimed at senior testing practitioners and managers, focussing on trends, futures and the big issues in test management. It aims to encourage networking and bring like minded test managers together to discuss techniques, approaches and tools, disseminating good ideas within the industry.

The Workshop day, takes place on Tuesday the 26th at the conference centre at Balls Brothers, Minster Pavement and the short, intensive sessions are aimed to give testers a head start in each topic, covering such things as exploratory and innovative testing, SCRUM, open source tools, and Agile test management. George Wilson will be hosting a workshop at 12.45pm, focussed on Test Data Management. Entitled ‘Taking Control of Your Test Data’, the workshop will explore strategies and techniques that can be used to support QA teams with the creation, management and verification of test data.

The Summit day takes place at the IoD building, Pall Mall, and the session topics, voted on by TMF members, include Agile testing, regression testing, measuring team performance, Test-Driven Development, requirements and performance testing. George Wilson will be leading a session at 10am, entitled ‘Agile Test Automation – Can it be Done?’ He will explore how to define a test process to ensure application quality within an Agile environment.

Peter Hopley’s session is at 3.45pm. Entitled ‘Maximising your Test Automation Success’, the session will investigate what determines the short and long term success of test automation, what to automate and what to test manually and how you can manage the jump to automation in a seamless and painless manner.

For more information on the sessions or to book at place at the Summit, visit http://www.uktmf.com/index.php?q=node/226

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About Original Software (www.origsoft.com)

With a world class record of innovation, Original Software offers a solution focused completely on the goal of effective quality management. By embracing the full spectrum of Application Quality Management across a wide range of applications and environments, the company partners with customers and helps make quality a business imperative. Solutions include a quality management platform, manual testing, full test automation and test data management, all delivered with the control of business risk, cost, time and resources in mind.

More than 400 organisations operating in over 30 countries use Original Software solutions. Current users range from major multi-nationals to small software development shops, encompassing a wide range of industries, sectors and sizes. We are proud of our partnerships with the likes of Coca-Cola, Cargill, HSBC, FedEx, Pfizer, DHL and many others.

Press contact

Kate Mackinder
Media Relations Officer
+44 1256 338 689
Kmackinder@origsoft.com

Big Five Bank Selects Original Software as Preferred Supplier for Agile Testing Solutions

TestDrive and TestDrive-Assist provide a winning combination for Agile Test Automation

20th January 2010 – Original Software, the Application Quality Management (AQM) vendor, today announced that it has signed a global agreement with one of the ‘big five’ UK banks to be its preferred testing solution provider for Agile development projects worldwide.

Agile development has increased in popularity with IT departments because of the way it can adapt to changing needs and help solve the complexities of development projects. The bank is increasingly deploying an agile approach to its software development and, after a comprehensive market evaluation, decided that the combination of TestDrive and TestDrive-Assist from Original Software was the most flexible and appropriate test automation solution on the market for use in its Agile developments. The preferred supplier status means that any test team from the bank can select Original Software’s solutions from their global vendor list and make an instant purchase, without having to go through a lengthy procurement or tendering processes.

Original Software’s manual testing solution, TestDrive-Assist, discreetly records tests while they are performed and provides an audit trail and clear information for reproducing bugs. Its ability to automatically migrate these tests to an automated test script in TestDrive, the company’s test automation solution, is a unique and powerful enabler for customers practicing agile or iterative development techniques. The functionality allows customers to test earlier, in bite-sized pieces and, by the end of the scrum or iteration, these scripts form the foundation of a future automated test.

Colin Armitage, CEO of Original Software said: “The strength of our offering in the agile space is testimony to the fact that we are on the bank’s global price list. Our solutions will enable them to reduce the time-to-market for new developments, which is critical for competitive advantage within the banking sector. At the same time, we are able to provide a full audit trail for regulatory compliance.”

He continued: “Customers practicing agile methodologies across the globe are finding our solutions easy to implement, and the reuse and repeatability of our manual tests really pay off. Automation can be a powerful enabler in Agile development, but traditional testing tools are not flexible enough and script maintenance becomes too much of a burden. TestDrive’s ability to re-run test scripts, even when the application under test has been modified, adds value with each iteration.”

“SCRUMS are wider than just testing, but all members of the team can get real benefit from our solutions. Business Analysts can use the mark-up functionality to recommend changes to the design specifications, feeding product enhancements back into the development loop.” expanded Armitage.

Original Software received praise for its capabilities in enabling agile development in a 2009 report by independent industry analyst group, Ovum. In the report, written by Paul Herzlich, the company’s solutions were applauded for being a better fit for agile processes than any competitive functional test automation suite. The report can be downloaded free of charge from Original Software’s website – http://www.origsoft.com/news-desk/analyst-commentary/