http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/itanswers/quantifying-work-in-test-automation/ Thu, 23 May 2013 15:11:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/itanswers/quantifying-work-in-test-automation/#comment-60123 robingoldsmith Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:07:35 +0000 #comment-60123 As I discuss in my Managing Test Projects and Estimating and Controlling Testing seminars and related consulting, the key is to treat testing as a project. In this instance, the project is automating tests. A testing project consists of two qualitatively different types of tasks, each of which needs to be identified and estimated using techniques appropriate to the type of task. Test-based tasks incur effort and duration per test of a particular type and then are multiplied by the number of tests of that type to determine total effort and duration. On the other hand, administrative and support tasks are sized based on the characteristics of the task and are not affected by the number of tests. In most testing projects, the administrative and support tasks constitute the bulk of effort and yet often are overlooked in testing project estimates. The tasks the questioner is having trouble quantifying are administrative and support tasks, and they are not a function of the number of tests. They need to be estimated separately from the test-based tasks, such as creating and executing test cases.

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