Is Your Test Process Helping or Hurting you?

A Practical Guide to Healthier Test Processes in Product Development

Many test processes look solid on paper. Tests are defined, equipment is in place, and results are recorded.
Yet in practice, these same test processes often cause delays, rework, unstable production, and frustration across teams.

The problem is rarely “bad testing”.
More often, the root cause is a missing or poorly defined test strategy.

In this article, we highlight common signs that a test process may be holding your product back — and how to assess and improve it before issues appear in production.

What a Healthy Test Process Looks Like

A healthy test process supports the product throughout its entire lifecycle — from early development to stable production.

In practice, this means:

Test strategy is defined early, not added later
Testing scales from prototype to production
Test results are actively used for decisions
Clear ownership and responsibilities are in place
Test and production are developed together, not separately

When these elements are in place, testing improves quality, speed, and confidence.

Signs Your test process is Hurting you

Many teams recognize one or more of these challenges:

Late design changes driven by test
Issues are discovered when fixes are already costly.
Manual workarounds in production
Operators rely on manual checks or spreadsheets to keep production running.
High retest rates
Often caused by unclear criteria or unstable test setups.
Poor traceability
Test results are hard to link to specific units or versions.
Test data without action
Data is collected, but not used to improve the product or process.

One issue alone may be manageable. Several together usually signal a deeper test problem.

Why Test Processes Break Down

Most test challenges are not technical – they are structural.

Common root causes include:

Test strategy added after product design
Focus on executing tests rather than defining purpose
Separation between development, test and production
Production needs not considered early

Without a clear strategy, testing becomes reactive instead of preventive.

Why Early Test Strategy matters

When the test strategy is aligned early with product and production requirements, teams can:

Detect issues sooner
Reduce rework and late changes
Improve production stability
Strengthen traceability
Shorten the time to market

Early test strategy reduces risk and uncertainty across the organisation.

How Virinco Can Help

Virinco supports customers with:

Early definition of test strategy
Scalable test systems and test fixtures
Alignment between test, production, and industrialization
Traceable and usable test data

Our Focus is not just testing products – but helping teams deliver products that are ready for production.

Final Thoughts

If your test process feels heavier than it should, it probably is.

The good news is that most test challenges are fixable — especially when addressed early.
Want to review your test process?
Contact us to discuss how a structured test strategy can support your product and production goals.

A short Self-Check

Below is a short self-check designed to help you reflect on your current test process.
It is intended as guidance only and can highlight areas worth reviewing.

How Robust is Your Test Process?

Take this quiz to evaluate the efficiency and reliability of your current test process. Find out where you stand—and what you can improve.

1 / 7

1. Do you define test limits manually without using past performance data?

We usually check data, but not consistently.

We always base limits on data analysis.

We rarely analyze past results before setting limits.

We always use static values without any data reference.

2 / 7

2. Can you easily compare test data across products, lines, or software versions?

t’s technically possible, but highly inefficient.

We can compare some data, with moderate effort.

There's no practical way to make such comparisons.

We have structured tools for seamless comparisons.

3 / 7

3. Do recurring defects appear without a clear explanation?

Yes, we often see repeat failures and never know why.

No, we trace issues to root causes quickly and effectively.

Recurrent problems are common and hard to analyze.

Occasionally we face unexplained repeat issues.

4 / 7

4. Do you track the time it takes to run tests or the cost of running them?

Yes, we measure and optimize test efficiency regularly.

We monitor some aspects, like time but not cost.

We have no accurate measurements, just estimates.

We don't monitor test duration or cost at all.

5 / 7

5. Are your test scripts version-controlled and shareable across teams?

Yes, we use proper version control and collaboration tools.

There's no system for managing script versions.

Scripts are hard to share and often outdated.

6 / 7

6. Is your test data archived and accessible to other departments?

Data is often lost or stored in isolated silos.

Data is partly available, but access is limited.

Yes, test data is centralized and fully accessible.

Archiving is inconsistent and poorly organized.

7 / 7

7. Do problems frequently occur at the customer site despite passing internal tests?

Rarely – our tests simulate real-world conditions well.

It happens regularly and surprises us.

Yes, many issues slip through undetected.

Occasionally, some gaps emerge.

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