A number of processes have to be set up in the permanent test organisation to offer the services. These processes are
split up into two groups. The processes for the services act on behalf of the execution of the services provided
by the organisation. The processes of the permanent test organisation serve to support the execution of the services.
This is shown in figure 1 “Process model of the permanent test organisation”.

Figure 1: Process model of the permanent test organisation
The service process consists of two parallel primary processes: The process for the actual execution of the service in
an assignment, and the process that supports and monitors the execution from the organisation. The processes serve to
support and focus on the services that are provided, the employees providing the services, and the combination thereof.
The processes are described in greater detail below.
Initiation
This is the first phase for execution of the assignment. The assignment always comprises one or more services of the
organisation tailored to the client’s specific situation. The initiation phase serves to describe the scope of the
assignment accurately. This can be done by creating a so-called assignment description and asking the client to approve
it. An assignment description concretely describes:
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The assignment and the client’s expectations in relation thereto
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The preconditions and basic assumptions
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The agreements concerning the delivery of support for workplace, methods, training and coaching by the organisation
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The agreements on monitoring by the organisation in relation to communication lines, progress reporting and
consultation
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The deliverables.
Furthermore the initiation phase is used to identify what is available in the permanent test organisation for (re)use
on behalf of the assignment. This may include templates and standards, but also existing test scripts from previous
releases, test environments or tools.
Execution
In this phase, the assignment is executed conform the agreements with the client. Furthermore, the parties communicate
via the agreed communication lines on the results, progress, risks and bottlenecks in the execution of the
assignment.
Completion
Reuse of resources is one of the success factors of the permanent test organisation. In this phase, the assignment is
assessed and a satisfaction measurement made with the client. The lessons learned from the assessment are fed back into
the organisation and incorporated into the (new version of the) service. This results in formal process improvement
embedded into the processes of the test organisation.
In addition to the assessment, attention is devoted to the handover of products to the test organisation. The products
were identified during “initiation”. It is determined to what extent these products must be retained for reuse. If
necessary, the products are adapted. Examples are templates, test environments, test scripts and tools.
Support and monitoring
The organisation continuously supports and monitors the assignment process as described above. The progress, risks and
bottlenecks involved in the execution of the assignment are monitored. Where necessary, new agreements are made on the
assignment. It may also be decided that the organisation will provide support for the execution of the assignment, in
the form of coaching or training.
Delivery management
This process covers activities that aim to win assignments for the organisation and manage (long-term) assignments.
Examples of long-term assignments are maintaining the test environment or repeated testing of releases. In this
case, a contract is created concerning how both parties will handle the assignment. It specifies agreements on the
service level provided by the organisation. Other subjects are the manner in which the specific assignments (test this
release) are executed within the context of the general assignment (release testing). As such, this contract does NOT
replace the assignment description from the initiation phase, although it may serve as a basis for it.
Planning
The planning process ensures that the right employee is deployed for the right assignment. ‘Right’ in this context
means that the knowledge and competencies of the employee match the knowledge and competencies required for the
assignment. Other aspects relating to ‘right’ are:
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Availability (short term, is the employee available in the short and long term, does the employee have impending
leave, courses, etc?)
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Career perspective (how does the employee want to evolve and what new knowledge and competencies must he gain to
this end?)
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Location (this is true only for organisations with multiple geographic locations).
These aspects make clear that the planning process is interwoven with all of the other processes and has many
stakeholders. It serves the interests of the employee, assignment management and the entire permanent test
organisation.
Service management
The range of services provided by the organisation is not set in stone – it may grow or be reduced. To this end, it
must be determined periodically whether the current service offering is in line with demand and with what the employee
can do. In addition services must be known (to the client, assignment management and employee) and the products for the
services must be up-to-date and in line with the latest developments. Various activities can be set up to this end:
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Research (monitoring the market to map which new services must be developed and which existing services can be
eliminated)
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Development of new services (the development of new services with related products and resources)
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Knowledge management (managing the services with related products and resources)
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Service marketing (ensuring that current and prospect clients are aware of the services).
Human resource management
The process of human resource management (HRM) aims, among other things, to continuously develop the career of the test
organisation’s employees. In combination with planning, this creates the instrumentation for the employee’s career
development. It allows him to continue to develop and grow in the compensation and career areas. This requires matters
like defined job positions with associated competency and compensation levels. Attention must also be devoted to
individual training plans and assessment and reviews.
Financial and operational management
Management has two key aspects – the financial and the operational. Financial management is a continuous process based
on budgeting (what are the expected costs and benefits) and monitoring (what are the actual costs and benefits).
Operational management can be executed on the basis of many factors, an example is KPI (key performance
indicator).
A KPI is an indicator to establish the performance of an organisation or part of it. There is no fixed set of
indicators for test organisations. These depend mainly on the objective and policy of a test organisation and how they
are defi ned. A few options:
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The percentage of employees executing assignments for clients
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The percentage of assignments completed within budget
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The number of defects (in relation to defects detected earlier) occurring in production
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The percentage of test services purchased as compared to test services provided by others.
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