SOFTWARE QUALITY AND TESTING SUPPLEMENT
Moving testing on Where is testing going next? Building quality earlier in the development lifecycle JAVA vs COBOL? We put two programmers in the ring Plus 16 pages of software quality and testing insights
In association with Micro Focus Š 2012 Micro Focus. All rights reserved.
Welcome to Q.T. Supplement
p.3
Welcome to Q.T. Supplement I
’d like to welcome you to this
addressing these challenges is the
special supplement on software
focus of this publication. It goes
quality and testing. As a tester,
without saying that quality is an
you are more than familiar with
important part of the equation. But
the challenges involved in testing,
before we look into the detail, I’d
and that includes mainframe
like to give you my own personal
applications. How we go about
take on the subject.
Kevin Brearley, Director of Product Management, Micro Focus
STRESS TEST
Why testing is putting a strain on resources Companies are under pressure to deliver applications faster than ever whilst maintaining standards of quality. How can they rise to this challenge? Businesses around the world currently
Testing is putting intense strain on
In 2012, we will see more companies
spend more than $50 billion on
enterprises’ time and internal resources.
moving their testing off the mainframe.
application testing and quality
To ease the burden, companies are
Increasingly, businesses will be doing
assurance, according to Pierre Audoin
increasingly turning to advanced
their heavy-lifting testing on other
Consultants (PAC). And the market is set
tools and technologies. This trend will
environments such as Windows
to continue its robust growth. Over the
accelerate: expect to hear more about
Server. These platforms will help
next five years the testing market alone
crowd sourced testing, Testing-as-a-
many businesses resolve the major
is expected to grow by a compound
Service (TaaS) and cloud testing over
bottleneck and cost constraints
annual growth rate of 15.4 per cent.
the coming months.
presented by the mainframe.
Even though IT budgets remain tight,
These services and technologies are
Businesses that release test
businesses have no choice but to
perfect for testing applications stored
processes from the constraints of
increase their spending on testing.
in the cloud or on mobile platforms.
the mainframe will also be able to
Think of any large corporation. The
But they’re of little practical use for
complete testing cycles faster. And
chances are that it is under immense
testing applications housed on a
this will give developers more scope
pressure to deliver high quality
mainframe. And that is where the
to focus on quality.
applications in a short space of time.
majority of most companies’ testing
Rapid speed to market counts for
continues to be concentrated.
2012 could be the year in which
everything in today’s highly competitive
testers finally wrestle control of their
business environment.
applications from the mainframe.
THE NEED FOR SPEED: faster time to market with testing It’s not just Tom Cruise who feels the need for speed. Today’s companies operate in a constantly shifting business environment. Companies that have the ability to react to commercial opportunities in real time will flourish and prosper. The rest will be left behind.
In many ways, today’s market
Millions of Instructions per Second
represents a vast Darwinian ecosystem
(MIPS) and the time that important
where only the fittest survive. It
testing activities consume.
goes without saying that this battle for market supremacy is having a
Given all these constraints, is it any
profound effect on the way in which
surprise that service delivery managers
businesses deliver applications. And
struggle to meet their deadlines? They
the mainframe is right in the middle
need to have the flexibility to speed up
of the crossfire. Often ridiculed
application change but are hamstrung
as cumbersome and archaic, the
by the environment that they are
mainframe has set a benchmark in
operating in.
business performance and reliability that has yet to be surpassed. But these
Accelerated time to market
What’s more, these products allow
Aside from consuming precious
So what then, is the alternative?
development cycle, which reduces
resources, mainframes are often
Moving applications off the mainframe
the need for costly re-working.
off-limits to testers and developers.
and into another test environment
They also allow testers to
Pre-production testing can only be
is one option. Products such as
accomplish their testing in a
scheduled according to the capacity
Micro Focus’ Test Server allow users
shorter time frame.
available on the mainframe. And that
to scale test capacity to meet
capacity is often tied up in running
fluctuations in business demand.
Another consequence of testing in
core production systems.
The production of business-focused
this fashion is reduced cost. Products
applications can also be sped up
like Test Server mitigate the need to
Even when service delivery managers
because Test Server expands the test
make substantial investments in new
get access to the mainframe they are
environment beyond traditional test
mainframe MIPS. They actually help
constrained by its existing capacity.
teams. It allows business users and
reduce mainframe MIPS consumption
Worse, they are frequently under
developers to fully participate in
because more testing is done in the
pressure to reduce the amount of
the testing process.
new environment.
workhorses of the IT world require a huge amount of maintenance.
delivery managers to identify issues considerably earlier in the
THE NEED FOR SPEED: faster time to market with testing
p.5
We’re on a MIPS control mission It’s no secret that mainframes are extremely costly to maintain. These practices have been proven
systems to a UNIX platform instead –
Most businesses have a finite
to deliver significant business value.
and the whole process took only a year.
number of MIPS and don’t want
Micro Focus customers have been able
to exceed their quota. Thankfully,
to cut application delivery costs by as
Many testers and developers wrongly
there is an alternative – Windows
much as 77%. They have also been
believe that they are chained to the
Server. By moving applications
able to boost customer satisfaction
mainframe in perpetuity. In fact, there
onto a Windows environment,
and enjoy faster time to market.
are a wide range of products on the
Micro Focus customers have
market that can be used to significantly
reduced their IT costs by as much
One company that has explored
accelerate the mainframe application
as 77%. Development throughput
alternatives to the mainframe is
testing process.
can be improved by 40%. It
Tesco. The retailer was planning to
seems the message is getting
launch in the United States and other
through to businesses – according
new territories and needed a new
to Gartner*, organisations are
mainframe. This would have taken
now routinely transferring
up to three years to set up. After
workloads worth 2,000 to 3,000
consulting with Micro Focus, Tesco
MIPS onto other environments.
decided to move their critical store
*Gartner January 2010
THE PRESENT FUTURE: what's around the corner in testing? Testing applications can be a time consuming and prohibitively expensive exercise. No more so than on the mainframe. Fortunately, there is another way.
The humble mainframe continues to
re-writing. The former approach forces
cost commodity hardware. From a
dominate the enterprise space. The
organisations to do business in the
financial perspective this makes
50 largest banks in the world use
manner dictated by the package’s
complete sense. Application testing
mainframes to run their mission-
functionality or spend a considerable
on the mainframe can take up a huge
critical applications as do 24 of the
amount of time and money customising
amount of processing power and
27 largest retailers.
the package. Workflow that is
cost – sometimes as much as 50%
fundamental to the way a business
of available MIPS. Re-hosting testing
The applications that are housed within
operates can be lost, and costly,
on Windows, for example, can halve
mainframes need to be updated and
complex data modelling and retaining
testing costs and significantly reduce
enhanced on a continual basis. And
is invariably required. Many package
the amount of time needed to deploy a
since these applications are so critical
implementations are never fully
new release or package.
to the enterprise, every update has to
completed or go over time and budget.
be thoroughly tested prior to release.
Of course, this all counts for nothing Re-writing applications is an even
if the completed applications have
riskier approach. The majority of
bugs in them. Testing in a Windows
An emphasis on cost
re-engineering projects either fail
environment mitigates this risk
completely or are delivered years later
because teams are also able to perform
In today’s cost conscious business
than they should be.
more testing within shorter timeframes
environment, IT budgets are under
at lower cost, which reduces re-work
pressure as never before. Your CIO
expense, speeds up the completion of testing and generally improves quality.
large component of the overall cost of
Moving the testing environment off the mainframe
developing or updating an application,
There is an alternative and far more
testing phases faster by moving their
is this really possible?
cost-effective way to test mainframe
testing environment onto Windows
is often tasked with producing good quality applications at much lower cost. Considering that testing is a
Does this really work? Yes, it does. Delivery teams today can complete
applications – re-hosting mainframe
Server. And test capacity can be scaled
Traditionally, organisations have
testing. Delivery managers can
up and down as required which is
addressed this challenge through
move the testing environment away
not typically possible in a mainframe
package replacement and application
from the mainframe and onto lower
environment, meaning organisations
THE PRESENT FUTURE: what’s around the corner in testing?
p.7
Opening a new window on testing Delivery teams dread testing applications on the mainframe because they are handcuffed to the mainframe environment and capacity constraints. programmers developing composite Windows frees testers from these
applications can exploit this new
restrictions in an instant. All testing
testing environment to ensure their
takes place on Windows Server
application changes meet the same
rather than the expensive and
quality standards as their COBOL
resource-hungry mainframe. The
counterparts, but without having
mainframe testing bottleneck is
to rely on the expensive and often
eliminated and IT application service
unavailable mainframe. Now, more
delivery is dramatically improved.
than ever, it makes sense to escape
What’s more, Java and .NET
the mainframe trap.
Shining a spotlight on Cloud and mobile
Increasingly, applications that run in the Cloud and on mobile devices utilize Java. But the back end
We’ve all heard the buzz about
processing continues to be done
Cloud Computing and mobile, but
using COBOL. Being able to test both
is it really justified? Over the next
languages in the same environment
four years, according to almost half
will provide companies with
of all CIOs, the answer is yes. They
significant economies of scale and
expect to operate the majority of
allow them to deliver applications
can plan to test for peak loads and
their applications and infrastructures
even faster than before.
critical application batch runs with
through Cloud technologies. Will
greater confidence and flexibility than
mainframe applications be part of
And by providing a unified
before. Added to which, further Micro
the picture? One has to expect so.
environment for executing these
Focus technology can then be used to
applications, organisations are on
establish a fully automated process for
Mainframe applications are already
the first step towards being able to
testing these applications both under
being tested in environments like
re-host the whole production system
Windows (for low-cost system testing)
Windows Server. There is no reason
on those lower cost platforms, where
or back on the mainframe (for final pre-
why an environment shouldn’t allow
it makes sense to do so. It may sound
production testing).
users to test mainframe, cloud and
like a pipe dream, but it will be a
mobile applications at the same time. reality in the near future. Moving the testing of core applications off the mainframe doesn’t just make sense from a cost perspective. It can also help companies reduce risk and stay one step ahead of the competition.
QUALITY AND TEST – are they on the same page? You may think that they are only partly related, but quality practices and testing are inextricably linked. And their interaction starts at the very beginning of the development cycle.
For many organisations testing is something of an afterthought. Typically, an IT team will develop
Managing business processes
But what happens if this exercise itself is poorly implemented? Then it is next to useless. Proper procedures have to
the applications that the business
Most large enterprises use application
be built into any APM operation right at
requires and only test them once
portfolios to control their core business
its inception. Establishing benchmarks
they have been built. There are
processes. However, over time, these
for data sourcing is a key starting point.
considerable flaws to this strategy.
portfolios can become more complex,
Unless the right data is extracted from
Substantial development resources
harder to manage and less aligned to
the organisation in the appropriate
can be allocated to applications that
the needs of the business.
way, it will be virtually impossible
are peripheral to the company’s core
for directors to determine which
business. Testers can wind up testing
So how can a company regain control
applications that are generally ignored
over its business processes? In the
by the business in preference to ones
first place, it needs to perform an
that are regularly used.
audit, a quality check if you like, of
applications to retire and retain.
Appropriate quality and testing
achieved through Application Portfolio
Establishing key performance indicators
practices need to be built into the
Management (APM). A key step in any IT
Take technical metrics. Every APM
beginning of the development
modernisation programme, APM allows
operation involves the collection
cycle – not at the end. And that
IT directors to evaluate the value of
of technical metrics related to the
process starts with the applications
business applications from a cost,
quality of enterprise applications. But
a company owns.
value and risk perspective.
these metrics need to be refreshed
its existing applications. This can be
QUALITY AND TEST – are they on the same page?
p.9
Failure to test can trigger disaster
on an ongoing basis, something many
how rarely they are asked for
organisations fail to do. An APM
their opinions. APM solutions
solution should also assess a wide
should include a surveying
spread of application environments.
mechanism that allows users to
You’ve established what
After all, the typical application
readily deploy questionnaires
applications to retain, but what
portfolio contains everything from
specific to their organisation.
happens if you don’t actually test them? Will you really be
COBOL to Visual Basic and Java. It is well worth building quality
courting disaster?
Once raw technical data has been
procedures into an APM solution.
extracted it needs to be analysed
Development teams today are
Enterprises are notoriously
properly. This is only possible if
under huge pressure to deliver.
secretive about system crashes,
businesses put in place appropriate key
They also have fewer resources
but stories still manage to trickle
performance indicators. Again, many
available to them. Ensuring that
into the media. There’s the
companies fail to put sufficient effort
these resources are allocated to
retailer that lost £15m on one of
into this activity.
the right applications is critical.
the busiest days of the year due
This is particularly the case when
to a system crash. Then there’s
The right metrics also need to be
it comes to testing. At a time when
the online ticketing system that
obtained from stakeholders. Given that
80% of IT budgets are dedicated
collapsed leaving baseball fans
a company’s stakeholders are
to ‘lights-on’ activities, CIOs can
out of pocket. And less we forget,
typically the main users of
ill afford to waste money testing
there’s also the three day network
applications, it is surprising
redundant applications.
outage that affected millions of BlackBerry subscribers in October 2011. These are just a few examples that illustrate the vital importance of linking quality and testing.
When two worlds collide The difficulties with testing enterprise applications are compounded by the fact that many core systems span language and even platform boundaries. For example, many major mainframe applications, running COBOL, are presented to end-users by a front-end Java application interface. So, what’s the problem here. They’re both well known languages albeit with different histories. One, COBOL, is deemed to be rooted in the past, while the other, JAVA, is currently stealing all the headlines. Ian Barrow is currently a programmer who works with JAVA, while Charlie Grant works in COBOL in a financial company which has recently re-hosted to a Windows environment. Derek Britton of Micro Focus referees an intriguing interview, as our two contestants slug it out – discussing the merits, or otherwise, of both languages.
Derek: We are here to discuss what’s
squiggles, the full IDE. For COBOL, it’s
quality enterprise systems for many
different, good, or complementary
the same as any other new language.
more years than you guys have.
about your two different languages. So
And anyway, COBOL was the original
who would like to lead with a question?
write-once run-anywhere language and
Ian: It’s still a bloated, verbose language
had multi-platform support long before
though, admit that.
Ian: I would start by saying the big
Java was born.
difference that exists in our two working
Derek: ...that is an argument that
environments is agility... the fact that
Ian: Well, JAVA has grown up it’s
I use rich, productive tools. JAVA is a
definitely now the programming
very visual and intuitive test
language of the future.
environment... that’s got to be something you envy, Charlie.
is often levelled at COBOL, Charlie. Charlie: Sure, many people think it’s a verbose language. That’s probably
Charlie: Of course Java is superb
because we have billions of lines of
for building front ends.
code out there. But it’s only as wordy
Charlie: Not at all, I already have what
as you need, and more to the point it is
you have. I’m probably working on
Ian: Yes, and the code runs anywhere,
readable. And also, as it’s syntax driven,
the same IDE as you? My preference
it runs on tons of platforms, and it’s
you can do a one-liner in a COBOL
is Eclipse but I also use Visual Studio.
high-quality code. We’re talking about
program like DISPLAY “Hello World”
It just happens that the Apps I’m
the difference between object-oriented
and it compiles and runs... interestingly
working with are COBOL-based. They
versus the old-fashioned procedural
Ian you could be up and running
were moved off the mainframe with
techniques of COBOL. Who really does
with COBOL in a couple of hours flat:
very little disruption, and so now my
that anymore?
because you can read it, understand it,
interface is totally visual, with all the bells and whistles you have.
and use the same IDE to code it, there’s Charlie: Well that’s a lot of claims. I
nothing stopping you.
said JAVA is ideal for front ends but Ian: So, do you have Intellisense?
that doesn’t mean COBOL isn’t better
Ian: Well it might be easy to pick up
at running the back end. It always has
but, look, you basically can’t conceive
Charlie: Yep. Intellisense, auto-
been. And as for the quality of code,
and implement Apps quickly using a
completion, background parse, red
well, we’ve been churning out high-
small team with COBOL. JAVA does
When two worlds collide
p.11
that and that can only be good for our
accessed by a web portal, a mobile app,
There’s a lot of major enterprise
business users.
or whatever.
software projects out there. And I think programmers and testers who have
Charlie: What’s really important for the
Ian: You make that sound so easy,
COBOL and new programming language
business is the value of the business
yet it can’t be.
skills such as C# or Java are well placed
logic and data that already exists,
to take a lead role in that.
getting at that, and using it in different
Charlie: OK, you’re thinking ‘how
ways. Who would choose JAVA to try to
do I call COBOL from Java when a
Ian: So who knows we might even
build an entire new banking application
mainframe App has all of these weird
up working in the same team!
for example?
data types I can’t use from Java’? Well, we can talk language-to-language.
Charlie: Really, it’s not so crazy as you
Derek: Ian sorry to interrupt, I want
You can create interfaces to COBOL
think. I know I’m collaborating more
to move you on to another important
programs that Java developers can
now with other programming teams,
area, and that is testing for mobile and
use without worrying about what they
and using testing technology that
cloud, anything to be said here?
are calling.
bridges COBOL and Java environments, there are a lot of new composite
Ian: Well obviously JAVA will be on
Derek: That’s an interesting
mobile and in cloud. It’s a mainstay
proposition. Just to give you both a
language there for development and test.
chance to finish this off, I’d like to ask
Derek: Well let’s shake hands on that
what the future holds employment-
thought please, gents. Sounds to me
wise for developers such as yourselves.
like there is space for both languages
Charlie: You’re right there, Ian. Java is designed for that and that’s why COBOL
applications out there.
to flourish, and start to cooperate more,
sticks to the back end business logic.
Ian: That’s easy, I think the JAVA
both for developers and testers. Thank
You can now leverage COBOL systems
developer has never been more
you for giving your time to this debate.
wherever they might be running by
in demand.
interfacing with new technologies like web services, for example. So your
Charlie: And that’s actually true of
back-end core business system can be
COBOL too – no Ian it is! – really.
THE MISSING LINK: addressing the skills gap Old fashioned but indispensible – COBOL will dominate computing for many years to come. But with a shortage of experienced programmers on the market, how can businesses get the support they need?
Without COBOL the world would literally grind to a halt. COBOL manages every aspect of our daily
A fifty year old language
unappealing. There is also widespread perception that it takes 100 lines of code in COBOL to write something that
existence. Whenever you use an
Antiquated, archaic and outmoded –
can be done in only 20 lines of another
ATM, stop at a traffic light or shop
those are some of the more pleasant
language – something the advocates
online, you’re likely to be interacting
expressions that have been used to
of COBOL hotly dispute.
with a system that runs on COBOL.
describe COBOL. Others have been less kind. Computer scientist Edsger
The disparaging posts added to a
The statistics speak for themselves.
Dijikstra said: “The use of COBOL
recent article on COBOL give a flavour
There are currently 220 billion lines
cripples the mind; its teaching
of how the language is viewed.
of COBOL code in existence, a figure
should, therefore, be regarded as
One respondent wrote: “COBOL is a
that equates to almost 80% of the
a criminal offense.”
Vietnam-era computing language so
world’s actively used code. Three
outdated that many college students
quarters of the world’s business
Why has COBOL plummeted so much
don’t even bother to learn it anymore.”
data is processed in COBOL, while
in popularity? Part of the reason
Another wrote: “The sooner the
90% of all financial transactions
is generational. COBOL came into
dinosaur is extinct… the better.”
are handled by the language.
existence on 28 May 1959 – more
Every year, COBOL systems are
than fifty years ago. It pre-dates the
While many students balk at the
responsible for processing 80%
microprocessor by a whole decade and
idea of studying COBOL, many highly
of point-of-sale transactions and
was running the bulk of the world’s
experienced programmers are retiring.
connecting 500 million mobile
business systems before the likes of
In 2004, Gartner estimated that there
phone users.
Microsoft, Apple and Oracle had even
were two million COBOL programmers
been established. For a generation
worldwide, with the number declining
Given the central role that COBOL plays
brought up on Java and .NET, COBOL
by 5% annually. This trend is bound
in our daily lives, it seems scarcely
is decidedly unsexy. Most graduates
to accelerate over the coming years
believable that the language is barely
find the idea of operating in a green
as more baby boomers reach
studied any more.
screen mainframe environment deeply
retirement age.
THE MISSING LINK: addressing the skills gap
p.13
The situation is putting IT executives in a quandary. COBOL runs many mission critical 24/7 applications that are too costly to replace. At the same time, there is a shortage of
The future of COBOL
COBOL programmers on the market to maintain these systems. In 2007 Micro
COBOL work, while others are bringing
COBOL continues to evolve
Focus conducted a survey of CIOs.
in contract COBOL programmers.
and flourish in new ways
Almost three quarters said they
Neither of these approaches is
that make it more accessible,
were struggling to recruit trained
cost-effective or sustainable over
relevant and valuable than
COBOL professionals.
the long term.
ever. Recently, Micro Focus and Microsoft announced a strategic
To plug the skills gap, more IT
relationship to help businesses
An alternative approach
graduates need to be encouraged to
modernise COBOL applications
embrace COBOL. Micro Focus is leading
by porting them onto the
the charge by working with hundreds
Windows platform. It is already
Making COBOL more marketable and
of schools and universities in a number
possible to work with COBOL in
encouraging universities to incorporate
of countries to boost the number of
a Java environment.
the language into their curricula may
graduates with COBOL skills. At the
solve this issue eventually. But this
same time, efforts are being made to
If you’re tied to the mainframe,
is of cold comfort to companies that
make the language more user-friendly
you may still be using COBOL
need to solve their IT maintenance
– COBOL can be used within a Windows
in a green screen environment.
issues now.
(and .NET) or Java environment.
But using the latest technology available, now this language is
Companies have responded to the
It will take time to change the wider IT
fully accessible to a completely
skills shortage in COBOL in a number of
community’s perception of COBOL but
new demographic.
ways. Some businesses are outsourcing
the fight has begun, in earnest.
Testing you can bank on “By facilitating higher quality scalable testing and detecting errors earlier in the software development lifecycle we hope to be able to deliver changes faster and deliver more robust software through to the User Acceptance Testing phase and subsequently production.”
A leading bank put the spotlight on the entire delivery process to find ways to accelerate innovation and delivery.
Testing was a major cost element of the
Challenge
Benefits
process – and therefore came under
• T est activity constrained by
• Shorter development lifecycle
scrutiny. A senior IT manager remarked: “We needed to find an innovative solution that would facilitate higher quality, scalable testing.”
mainframe resources • Q uality of applications is a key consideration • M ainframe environment is
• Clear separation of unit and integration test cycles • Faster delivery of changes with higher quality
very complex The bank has adopted the efficient application service delivery approach offered by Micro Focus through its Test Server product. Exploiting this costeffective mainframe testing solution, the spokesperson commented, “We will be able to deliver changes faster and deliver more robust software through to the User Acceptance Test phase and subsequent production.” Remarking on the same solution, the industry journal Professional Tester commented: “Integration, system and even acceptance testing could be done with no need for a real mainframe!”
Improved service delivery with Test Server
Testing you can bank on
p.15
Quality: a better way to test and develop The Micro Focus model for testing offers ground-breaking quality, flexibility and costefficiency. What was once a capacity bottleneck is removed – and time-to-delivery can be boosted, delivery quality raised, and the development process can be unified.
Need to transform the mainframe test environment? The sponsors of Q.T. Supplement are Micro Focus, a company with 30 years’ experience of modernising and maximising the value of core applications in both mainframe and distributed environments. @
www
Contact us by email at mainframe.testing@microfocus.com to learn more, or visit www.microfocus.com
INNOVATION FOR SOFTWARE QUALITY
TEST Magazine, c/o 31 Media Ltd, Unit 8a, Nice Business Park, Sylvan Grove, London, SE15 1PD Telephone: +44 (0) 870 863 6930 Email: info@31media.co.uk
Micro Focus, The Lawn, 22-30 Old Bath Road Newbury, Berkshire RG14 1QN Telephone: +44 (0) 1635 565200 Email: info@microfocus.com