Applying structure to benefits of Automated Testing
Authors
Hendriksen, Frederik Ørbæk ; Damsgaard, Christian Kirk
Term
4. Term
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-06-14
Pages
17
Abstract
Automated testing (AT) offers potential advantages over manual testing (MT), but realizing them depends on context and should be assessed as an IT investment. This thesis examines how a business case model can shape how AT’s benefits are communicated and understood in a software company. We conducted a seven‑month Action Research collaboration with Elbek & Vejrup involving two interventions: first, a presentation and panel using unstructured benefit lists; second, a structured dissemination of benefits derived from the literature and organized with the Business Case model’s benefits grid (types of change and benefit valuation), explicitly incorporating limitations and conditions rather than generic notions of risk. In the second intervention we held 1.5‑hour interviews with product owners. When benefits were unstructured, discussions narrowed to cost and time with little attention to limitations or prerequisites. When structured, product owners adopted the grid’s terminology, articulated benefits more systematically, and consistently related them to limitations and conditions; the vocabulary began to be used in the organization. These observations suggest that applying structure through the Business Case model fosters more nuanced, multi‑dimensional discussion of AT than simple lists and can inform both practice and the literature. We do not judge AT’s viability for the partner; the model is used as a tool to challenge thinking and improve dissemination.
Automatiseret test (AT) rummer dokumenterede fordele i forhold til manuel test (MT), men realisering af gevinsterne afhænger af kontekst og bør vurderes som en IT‑investering. Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan en Business Case‑model kan påvirke formidlingen og forståelsen af AT’s fordele i en softwarevirksomhed. Vi gennemførte et syv måneders Action Research‑forløb med Elbek & Vejrup med to interventioner: først en præsentation og paneldebat baseret på ustrukturerede fordelslister, dernæst en struktureret formidling af fordele fra litteraturen organiseret i Business Case‑modellens benefit grid (typer af ændring og værdisætning) med eksplicit fokus på begrænsninger og betingelser frem for generelle risikobegreber. I anden intervention interviewede vi produktejere i 1,5 time hver. Uden struktur kredsede diskussionerne primært om tid og omkostninger, mens risici, begrænsninger og forudsætninger udeblev. Med struktur begyndte produktejere at anvende grid‑terminologi, artikulere fordele mere systematisk og knytte dem til relevante begrænsninger og betingelser; terminologien blev taget i brug i organisationen. Vores observationer peger på, at Business Case‑modellens struktur understøtter en mere nuanceret, multidimensionel drøftelse af AT end flade lister og kan supplere praksis og litteratur. Vi vurderer ikke AT’s levedygtighed for partneren; modellen anvendes som refleksions‑ og dialogværktøj til at udfordre tænkningen om gevinster.
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Keywords
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