Full-Service Application Testing for a Full-Service Mortgage Company

When managing any process between two groups, objective information helps everyone make the best decision. For one testing team at First Horizon Home Loans, finding the objective information it needs about application defects is no longer a problem.

As one of the largest mortgage companies in the U.S., First Horizon Home Loans services nearly 500,000 home buyers. The company's steady growth has meant that its Information Technology department must manage and develop a growing variety of applications for loan origination and delivery, financial, internal work flow and imaging applications.

Testing these applications before they're put into production is the task of the Quality Assurance (QA) testing team.

As a group that's independent of the application development teams within the IT department, the QA testing team acts as an objective interface. The team identifies business clients' requirements for each application, objectively tests the application, and communicates the existence of defects and their resolution to both the development team and the client.

With a strict business focus on its testing process, the QA testing team sought out tools to help it perform tests more quickly and accurately—and manage the entire process of testing, documentation and communication. That's why the team turned to Compuware for many of its testing tools—TrackRecord in particular.

Tracking Down Better Communications

"TrackRecord helps us track defects in applications very efficiently, and communicate in more detail with the developers," says Carolyn Mattox, vice president of business and process management in First Horizon's IT department. "The QA testing team manages the application defects it finds in testing. It logs each defect found into TrackRecord. The team can then tell the developers exactly what needs to be fixed. It helps the team provide excellent information to internal clients as well; where the problems are, what needs to be fixed, and so on."

As part of the QACenter family of application testing products from Compuware, TrackRecord helps organizations establish and maintain a systematic method for tracking defects, from detection through resolution and verification. By handling labor-intensive tasks of documenting and reporting defects, TrackRecord helps organizations resolve problems quickly and improve application quality.

"TrackRecord has really saved us, because without it, we'd be tracking all this information manually," says Stephanie Madkins, testing manager. "Instead of the test managers spending all their time tracking information, they're actually spending time overseeing the testing process and working with clients. Further, with the customized reports from TrackRecord, we can really improve client relationships—and that's important."

The QA testing team also uses other testing products from Compuware, including QARun for functional test automation. "It's very easy to use," says Mattox. "Even on small application test projects, it makes creating the test and analyzing the results more efficient." The team also uses File-AID/CS, a comprehensive test data management tool to develop, test and support client/server applications.

Staying Focused on the Application

The QA testing team chose TrackRecord, in part, because the tool was easy to use. "We use TrackRecord daily now," says Madkins. "If you're testing, you always have to monitor your defects, and TrackRecord helps us do that. For example, the Notification feature in TrackRecord helps us inform the developers that they have a defect to repair, and we know everyone's been notified."

It's this ability to improve communications between different groups—testers, developers, and customers—that makes TrackRecord important to the success of First Horizon's formalized testing process.

"TrackRecord has given us the ability to speak the same language to our internal clients and our development team," says Madkins. "When we're in a testing phase, it's sometimes hard to keep the developer focused on the application at hand. By the time we begin testing an application, the developer may have spent many, many months on it. They're ready to move on.

"With TrackRecord and QARun, we can now show them exactly what problems the test team is encountering. We can provide clear instructions for the development team as to the defect's character, what it's doing to the application's performance, and what they should look at. Now they get much more accurate information, and it helps them spend their time wisely, too."

Keeping the Customer Satisfied

Working effectively with internal customers is just as important as it is with developers. "With TrackRecord, we can tell our customers, 'Here's what we found, here's the percentage of items fixed, here's the defects we've certified as fixed, and here's the outstanding items that need to be addressed,'" says Madkins. "That's an important aspect of our success."

The QA testing team reaps the benefits of TrackRecord when it completes a system test and turns the application over to the client for acceptance testing. From a list of defects still being worked on, for example, the team can show clients that the development team is addressing them. Based on that information, the team can help negotiate decisions between developers and the client, such as whether to go ahead when the defects are minor, or wait until the development team fixes the remaining defects.

"We're committed to providing the finest service to our customers, and TrackRecord goes a long way in helping us achieve that," says Mattox. "The more our customers see us providing excellent service, the more confidence they have in their applications when we deliver them. TrackRecord makes for a much smoother testing and implementation process. It's a win-win situation for everyone."

Ultimately, a powerful tool is only as good as one's ability to use it easily, and ask for service and support when questions arise. Here, too, Compuware delivers a complete package. "As far as service goes, Compuware really makes us feel important," says Mattox. "Other companies might sell you some software and never talk to you again, but not Compuware. We've had excellent, one-on-one service, better than I've seen from a lot of other companies."