EuroSTAR Software Testing Conference 2008 presentation on Red Hot Testing in a Green World by John Brennen. See more at conferences.eurostarsoftwaretesting.com/past-presentations/

1. Red Hot Testing in
a Green World
12th
November 2008
The Hague, Netherlands.
John Brennan
Principal Consultant, AppLabs
john.brennan@applabs.com
+44 7967 246 432

2. Agenda
» The Future of Software Testing
» Testing Realities
» Environmental Impact
» Real World Example
» Testing Approaches to Reduce Impact
» Evolving Roles and Responsibilities
» Reasons to Go Green for Red Hot Testing

3. » What drivers will provoke changes in how testing is approached?
» Why do we test, what do we hope to achieve?
The Future of Software Testing

4. The Future of Software Testing
What about
the
environment?

5. Testing Realities
» Timelines Fixed – Testing Squeezed
» Functional Risks
» Security, business process failure, component or functional failure
» Non-Functional Risks
» Performance, load, stress, usability, maintainability, reliability,
interoperability and portability
» Timelines move – painfully
» Failure achieving time-to-market readiness, lost competitive advantage
» Testing projects stack up – test planning and control confusing
» Parallel testing, whilst some phases delivered to the live environment
» Resulting in parallel environment testing
» Additional test environments required to support stacked up projects
Ineffective/Inefficient Testing = Resource Wastage/Global Impact

6. Environmental Impact
1,000 PC's at 24/7 equates to £70,000 wasted
revenue
40% of Global IT Device Emissions$4 billion powering devices not usedUK: Data Centre Energy = 1.15 billion kWhUS: Data Centre Energy > 50 billion kWh
US: 50 billion kWh = 1.5% total US
consumption
(or 5.8 million households)
Forrester: 35% of application data is
duplicated

7. Real World Example
» Poorly defined roles and responsibilities – diluted lines of
accountability
» Development lifecycle chaotic – testing chaos
» Defect/Bug Management needs structure
» No supporting configuration management processes
» 100+ Unix environments – under utilised; little appreciation for
wastage; new environments built; support over-stretched
» Replicating overnight process utilises huge CPU resource
» Leads to energy wastage, delays, resource misuse and
environmental impact
» Estimated financial impact – millions in lost revenue

8. Testing Approaches to Reduce Impact
» Project Rules
» Travel only when necessary
» Utilise communications technology; video-/tele-conferencing
» Minimise paper trails, use electronic media
» Define risk criteria
» Test Management
» Commission sustainable, reusable environments
» Liaise closely with development community
» Be focused; perform impact analysis of change and direct testing
accordingly

9. Testing Approaches to Reduce Impact (Cont.)
» Test Process
» Environmental analysis and design
» Order work methodically, maximising efficiencies
» Adhere to structured testing methodology
» Static Testing
» Business Process Testing
» V-Model
» …and others

10. Evolving Roles and Responsibilities
» Existing testing roles evolving to ensure environmental concerns are
» Captured during requirements gathering phase
» Prioritised accordingly, alongside functionality and other business
requirements
» Suitably tested (throughout development lifecycle)
» Outstanding concerns are properly assessed, prioritised, risk managed
and scheduled for future release
» Examples
» Test Analysis
» Test Execution
» Test Management
» Performance Testing
“Making pages faster is good for your users,
good for you, and good for Mother Earth”

11. Reasons to Go Green for Red Hot Testing
» Financial savings and profit earning
potential
» Corporate Social Responsibility
» Brand impact and awareness
» Staff motivation and morale
» Customer growth and retention,
through climate competitiveness
» Going green no longer optional extra,
legal imperative
» Moral/ethical issue facing everyone!
…..65% of Companies aiming to trim
costs:
» 23% focus on Energy Efficiencies
» 13% Redundancies
» 19% Recruitment Freeze
» 17% Low Salary Increases
£2.5 billion saving over 12 months
through efficient energy use
Intel:
» 2000: Began Publishing Carbon
Footprint
» 2005: Joined EU Emissions
Trading Scheme
» 2006: US EPA Climate Leaders
» <GHGs 30% between 2004-2010
» 2007: Joined CCX
» 2008: Biggest purchaser of
“Green” energy (US)
IBM:
» “Big Blue” = Big Green Initiative

12. The Future of Software Testing
What about
the
environment?