Test Environment Management

All testing whether it is at Unit or User Acceptance Testing level is required to be conducted on test environments (non-live). Testing should also be undertaken in an environment that mimics the set- up/configuration of the live system as closely as possible.

At the outset of every Project / Change, considerations need to be given to the creation for a test environment in order to validate the delivery in a non-production environment. If there are any issues setting up a robust test environment, then the following must occur at the earliest opportunity:

• An issue is raised on the relevant RAID log stating the lack of test environment.
  
• A hard dependency should be logged on the RAID log for that project stating that testing (unless approval is gained from Director Level) cannot commence.
  
• In the absence of any formal Risk Management logs mentioned above please escalate the issue your Senior Manager and Testing Manager.

If a test environment does exist, then it is recommended the following health checks are carried out before testing begins and also on a 6 monthly basis:

• Verify the quality / validity of test data on the environment.
  
• Assess if a refresh is required from the live system to keep the test bed and environment up to date.
  
• Carry out pipe-cleaning tests: referred to making sure that the Environments are suitable for Testing. Testing is generally carried out on local environments, and before the Testing begins it is advisable to make sure those environments are working fine.

These types of checks effectively check that the environment is still operational and can still successfully connect to other test systems (and can therefore pull / push data) as expected.
Each project / system may have lower-level environmental requirements such as required operating systems and service packs, browsers, devices, database versions etc. These specific requirements should be described in the relevant test level plan / approach document.