Organization of Testing Activities in Norwegian Software Companies

Software testing plays a major role in determining the quality of software products. Testing activities are influenced by the available methods and tools, but also by the non-technical aspects of the software development process. The scope of the study is to explore how testing activities are organized in Norwegian companies, and factors that influence the creation of a testing department, or encourage the investment in personnel dedicated to testing. The research was performed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and started with an initial survey which comprised questions with multiple choices as well as open ended questions. The next stage included interviews and an additional round of open ended questions. Our study found four organizational categories in which testing activities can occur, combined with observations on the correlation between testing automation activities and testing team structure. We were interested in retrieving the factors that influence and determine a certain organization of the testers in software producing companies. This study provides a snapshot of the current trends of organizing software testing activities and it is a stepping stone into research of the testing practices and testers´ experience.