How automated testing could speed up your digital transformation journey
Data and technology are transforming the campus estate management industry. Software solutions are being increasingly used to drive efficiencies throughout building management and facilities management teams. It’s now become much easier to automate tasks such as billing, maintenance requests, lease management and monitoring sustainability metrics.
However, digital transformation projects and programmes often become fraught as a result of quality assurance principles and practices not being applied early enough in the lifecycle. Gaps can also emerge between third-party development companies or system integrators and the in-house teams.
This is something that Ryan James, Managing Director of testing services provider nFocus Testing, wants to see tackled as an urgent priority.
He believes that many campus estate management teams are being blocked from adopting the latest technology quickly, including machine learning and automation tools, because of a lack of expertise, inefficient data management and onboarding issues. As a result, firms are struggling to take advantage of the latest technology because digital transformations are taking longer than they need to. He’s concerned that due to those lengthy timescales, some organisations may be forced to take a risk-based approach towards new technology. That’s because they’re not able to test everything thoroughly, which has the potential for conflicts, high severity and priority defects or vulnerabilities to arise during any implementation.
However, those issues could be overcome by incorporating independent testers into digital transformation teams. Those testers, who might be part of your in-house personnel, or as part of an external testing team, can proactively identify if there are any issues that are cropping up during the installation processes. By identifying and rectifying any issues much earlier, digital projects will remain on time and within budget, allowing campus estate management teams the opportunity to make the most of the latest technical advances.
Ryan says: “Testing and quality assurance is a vital aspect of any digital transformation journey. It’s a chance to check that your new software or system has been implemented to the right level of quality. However, too often in digital transformation projects and programmes, issues with quality are identified too late, resulting in high-pressure environments and a significant test effort later in the project. This can cause projects to become delayed and overrun because issues then need to be rectified. As everyone knows, it’s more expensive to fix issues later in the project lifecycle. Not only does it lengthen the timeframe of your digital journey, but it also significantly impacts your budget.”
“This could be, in part, because there’s a digital skills shortage and a lack of understanding of how integrating the latest technology can be beneficial to facilities management and building management teams. The latest technology can offer so many new solutions, from higher operational efficiency to improved productivity and better customer satisfaction. But to get these benefits, you need to be quick and bring in testing at a much earlier stage. Shifting testing to the left of the lifecycle could be the key to getting your new systems up and running much quicker and within budget.”
nFocus have identified that one of the biggest barriers to digital transformation is post-go-live in terms of managing ongoing change. Too often, testing has to be done manually due to a combination of it not being implemented early enough during the digital transformation and because there is a lack of skilled automated testers.
While manual testing should take place throughout the entire digital adoption process, in more iterative software development methodologies, it can become overwhelming and unmanageable. For example, it might be possible to test everything in the current sprint manually, but without a significant amount of people power, it’s not possible to test everything from all the previous sprints.
Automated testing frees up time for the test team to work on new areas of functionality rather than having to continually test and retest the same functionality. This approach not only allows campus estate management teams the opportunity to benefit from the improved technology quicker, but it also streamlines operations and prevents digital projects from overrunning on time and budget.
Ryan says: “If you’re serious about making the most of the latest technology then we advise working with an experienced testing team. That’s because they can significantly expedite the entire transformation project. You’ll have people with the right testing skills who know how to work with your third-party suppliers to make sure that the process is going smoothly. With the right focus on quality assurance and testing much earlier in the project, you’ll have the best chance of putting your digital transformation live on time and within budget.
“We know that technology is a huge advancement for facilities management and building management systems. It was only two years ago that Gartner* suggested that one-quarter of all organisations planned to spend between 16-30% more on property and facility management software. So, the challenge for facility management teams is to make sure that they are making the most of that increased investment and getting their projects completed much faster. That way, they’ll see the business benefits quicker, creating a better ROI.”
nFocus Testing provide a range of services, including providing flexible test resources for projects and programmes testing managed services where nFocus takes ownership of testing for projects and programmes through to consultancy to implement test automation or salvage existing brittle test automation.
The firm received the prestigious Services Company of the Year award at the UK IT Awards 2023.
For more information, please visit www.nfocus.co.uk.