Test Maturity Model integration (TMMi): Test Maturity in the Financial Domain

Abstract

Software quality is of utmost importance to the financial sector. Software testing plays a critical role in achieving software product quality. Financial institutions benefit from rigorous testing by having confidence in the reliability and performance of the software. This can lead to improved customer experience, increased operational efficiency, and reduced risks of system failures or security breaches. A questionnaire-based survey was designed and subsequently an international survey was conducted involving sixty financial institutions, e.g., banking, insurance companies and pension funds, from across the globe to understand their level of test maturity. As a reference framework against which to measure their test maturity, the Test Maturity Model integration (TMMi) was used. In this paper their motivations for doing test process improvement and the benefits they achieved are discussed. Concrete examples of the benefits achieved are provided. The role of test automation with test process improvement at the financial institutions is also reported upon in this paper. The most common level of test maturity achieved, measured against the TMMi, is TMMi level 3 “Defined” which represents a more than average level of test maturity. Benefits are reported by the financial institutions, especially in the areas of software quality and testing productivity. The benefits achieved show a high level of correlation with the motivations for investing in test process improvement. Almost all of financial institutions also use test automation to improve their testing in parallel with process improvement, with test automation at system level being by far the most popular.