Developing a Testing Maturity Model for software test process evaluation and improvement

Testing is a critical component of a mature software development process. It is one of the most challenging and costly process activities, and in its fullest definition if provides strong support for the development of high qualify software. Existing maturity models do not adequately address testing issues, nor has the concept of a mature testing process been well defined. We are developing a Testing Maturity Model (TMM) to address these issues. The TMM will contain a set of maturity levels through which an organization can progress towards testing process maturity, a set of recommended practices at each level of maturity that can be put into place, and an assessment model that will allow software development organizations to evaluate and improve their testing processes. In this paper we discuss our approach to TMM development, the major features of the TMM, its ties to the Capability Maturity Model, and our initial plans for a Testers´ Tool Workbench that will support testing process maturity growth