Talking about test platform -- Discussion on construction mode

I often see many test colleagues discussing some topics related to the test platform , For example, why should we build a test platform , What is the value of the test platform ？ How to make a test platform ？ wait . To be honest, these questions , opinion , Wise men see wisdom. , There is no final right or wrong , All points of view must be substituted into the actual working scenario of the discussor to see its rationality . Today, I want to discuss with you a series of problems in the construction of public test platform in the form of multi industry and multi business , I also hope it can cause extensive discussion and thinking .

First, let's talk about the scene , What is? ” Multi industry and multi form “. Multi industry means that your company may involve software development in many industries , For example, it also involves government affairs 、 education , It also involves medical treatment 、 Automobile, etc . Multiform refers to , In an industry direction of your company , There are many forms of software products , With software 、 Have a platform 、 Hardware, etc . Generally speaking , A company has grown in size , Its business will basically continue to expand , The product form will also change with the development of the industry and the needs of the industry . For example, the products of a company in the education industry are app, There are also platforms , There are also all-in-one teaching machines , Its automotive products include SDK、app、ROM、 Car, machine, and so on . that " Multi industry and multi form " What are the challenges to the construction of the test platform ？ I won't say it here yet , Let's think first , In the following article, we will discuss .

The scene is introduced , Let's get down to business . Generally speaking , There are two modes of test platform construction . The first one is ： Through the special technology incubation test platform . You can simply understand it as testing products , This mode is generally suitable for a single business or a team with deep technology in a professional field . It is based on the in-depth understanding of a certain technology and the summary of application experience , Precipitate into a reusable testing technology platform , It has certain progressiveness and demonstrated practical value . Like many early moves app Cloud test platform , In fact, it is a typical representative . If you have a lot of business app product , Cloud testing platform is a good choice for you , Because compared with many companies , They are professional （ This is not advertising , To be fair , Most domestic software companies , In fact, the level of testing technology is relatively poor , So I also want to thank Ali 、 Baidu 、 Huawei 、testin Wait for these manufacturers that provide cloud testing capabilities to empower the industry ）. There are two main problems with this model ：（1） Pan technology should take the lead （ technology 、 scene 、 programme 、 How to play , It's not just technology ）, Otherwise, it is easy to be overturned , Be replaced . That is, you need to constantly improve the competitiveness of this test platform , In the company, it doesn't mean that the more advanced it is, the better , But at least play a leading role in your company . Otherwise, you will face such problems when making a test platform ： Why use yours instead of the industry's open source ？ What is your core competitiveness ？ What problem can you solve for me ？ Where is your platform better than my current testing method ？ For a single business , In fact, this problem is not prominent , Because you need to meet a single object , As long as you make the platform slightly more advanced than some current games, you can meet your needs , And it can also be done through compulsory use and other management means （ Management means are not what we advocate , So in all the views behind , I try not to mention this way ）.（2） It is difficult to meet the personalized needs of users . Just like making products , In the context of multiple business forms, your test platform can't cover everything , There are all kinds of needs raised . such as , stay ” Multi industry and multi form “ In the scene of , We will build a mobile cloud testing platform , Took care of the vast majority APP Class business , But some smart terminal businesses are not done , You have to give us support for terminal access , Adapt our access protocol . Many times, it's not that you can't do these personalized needs , Because in the process of doing it, we need to balance resources 、 Time schedule 、 Quality effect 、 Technical strength 、 Platform product version control and a series of other factors , We have to make some trade-offs . If we can't meet these personalized needs , What will happen ？ User churn . In the company , This kind of user loss , It means that your platform has lost a market . Come here , You must ask , Then why do we need to build a testing platform at the company level , Instead of entering these personalized businesses to make platforms that meet their needs ？ The problem involved here is strategy （ Hierarchical construction of test platform ） And resources , Later articles will discuss in detail .

Second mode ： Generate test platform according to business requirements . You can also simply understand it as function delivery . This mode is quite common , Also the most direct , I'll do whatever users give me . alike , This model also has three main problems ：（1） Requirements may not be realized by current technology . To be honest, this problem needs to be disassembled , It is possible that the Platform Builder's platform technology level has not reached , On the other hand, it may be that the demand is indeed unrestrained . Compared with the first mode , In fact, it is difficult to completely control demand in this mode . for instance , Some users attended some conferences , I think it's awesome when I see the platform publicity materials of some companies , Just give it to you according to your needs . In this mode , In order to avoid the risk of implementation , It may strengthen the review of requirements . But if you need such a strong customer , What do you do ？“ You can't meet my needs , Why should I give you a request ？”,“ If you don't do this , I don't have to ”. Then go to Hushan ！ Now that you have decided to do it , You have to start your long technical research in the process of realizing the requirements . Research while realizing , In fact, it is very dangerous , On the one hand, it may cause the function delivery cycle to be too long, and the customer may lose information , On the other hand, there is great uncertainty in the research results , There are also risks of instability and unreliability in the technology that has been put into platform construction immediately after the completion of the research , After all, it has not been tested by practice .（2） Needs can be met , But there may be many customized projects or functions , The energy of the platform construction team may be exhausted by these mass customization .（3） Business is often short-sighted , Just be able to solve the current problem , Put the heavy responsibility of platform planning on the platform builders , Put forward higher requirements for platform builders . In many companies , Platform builders are actually separated from businesses , He only does platform construction , Lack of business participation , Less understanding of business test scenarios , This will lead to insufficient or even difficult planning of the final platform . therefore , Some companies realize this problem , Start putting platform builders into the business , Tied up with business testers one team.

In fact, when we discuss the construction of test platform here , In fact, many problems can also be put into product development 、 From the perspective of project research and development , You can try to experience . Then finally ,” Multi industry and multi form “ scenario , Which mode should the test platform choose to build ？ Or is there a better model ？ What problems need us to solve ？ Interested students can leave a message 、 reply 、 Direct messages , Voice their opinions . Next, let's discuss .

It's not easy to build a testing platform , It is not something that directly produces value , It is more an auxiliary tool , In fact, many enterprises do not have a deep understanding of the test platform , Blindly emphasize value quantification in construction , Often ignore its most essential thing ： Empower , Finally, it leads to insufficient investment in the test platform and despises the complexity of platform construction . under these circumstances , We often need to weigh many things , Look for a model suitable for the construction of their respective enterprise test platforms .

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