One way of getting resilience (the ability to adapt) into your projects, is to be able to scale up your project fast and easy. Adding capacity when you need it without having a large lead time. Sounds like utopia to you? Well friends, plug yourself into the grid we call the Internet and make use of Virtual Testing. Test capacity on demand.

I talked with Bruce Daley of Test Common to get some insight.

Photography by fdcomite.

Q. How do virtual test environments work? Is this suited for every project?

A. "Thanks to advances in cloud computing virtual test environments can be quickly-to-instantly created using companies that specialize in offering these services like Skytap. By utilizing the cloud there is no need to buy, connect, and configure hardware to create a test system. You simply pay for the time you use. This flexibility is especially useful for project managers being held to tight deadlines and suddenly being faced with unexpected testing needs. Because this technology is dependent on an underlying technology (which in this case is virtualization software from vendors like VMWare) not all operating systems are supported so it is not appropriate for every project. "

Q. Could you explain us how a Project Manager can find suited testers for a test job he has to perform next week? How would that work using Test Common?

A. "There are two ways a Project Manager can find testers using Test Common. The first is the traditional way of posting job requirements and waiting for response. In this regard, Test Common is no different from the classified ad section of the newspaper except that the site is focused on testers and Project Managers can check past experience. The second way a Project Manager can find a tester is by using the site as a social network similar to Facebook or LinkedIn and actively search for the right tester."

Q. Do you have a tip for companies that are using virtual testers and testing for the first time?

A. "Start small. Perhaps so small as a test with a single developer and a single tester."