Software is the engine of the enterprise and one of the most strategic areas of investment for companies today. So the fact that it remains the most inefficient and unpredictable area within IT today is a problem. Most software projects are either delivered late, over budget, don’t meet customer needs, or are cancelled altogether.

What’s the source of the problem? Most development teams continue to create software the way cars were initially built – by hand, one at a time. This approach allows for individual artistry and creativity, which is essential to developing innovative, quality software. But to address today’s challenges, this approach must be balanced by a more structured, automated approach to development that optimizes production and supports continual process and product improvement.

Integration and testing – the focus of this paper – is just one of many steps in the software development process that can benefit tremendously from a more structured, automated process. Failures in integration and testing not only impact product quality and delivery deadlines, but also have a trickle-down effect that can bring the activities of those responsible for testing, documenting, marketing, and selling products to a grinding halt. The end result is lost time to market, fewer sales, and lower customer satisfaction and retention.

This paper helps you understand both the business and technical impacts of most common integration and testing blunders and provides specific recommendations on how to address them. You’ll learn about industry best practices that you can begin to implement today, as well as recommended technology investments that can vastly simplify and accelerate the best practice implementation process.