I have been studying the maturity model put forth by Mercury around performance testing. Here's a graphic representation of it.

I have some thoughts about it, but before I get off on a rant, I thought it was only fair to put some brief points and descriptions around each phase. Obviously, this is borrowed from the CMM model.

Take a look at some of the qualities below that describe the stages and think about where your own company fits into this model. If you are a consultant, think about the clients you have been at over the last 6 months. How do they rate?

Stage 1: Project Testing

Little or no testing infrastructure
Ad-hoc testing
No formal reporting and limited visibility
No Scheduling. In-house resources pushed to get testing completed right before production roll-out.
No standard test tool. Freeware from the web or whatever you can get
Limited knowledge of performance testing methodology. Unclear objectives.
"Just get the project done"

Stage 2: Product Utility

24x7 enterprise-wide testing infrastructure
Management console and reports
Resources scheduling
Web-enabled, collaborative testing
Best in class testing capabilities

Stage 3: Service Utility

Provides testing services across multiple lines of business
Processes: known standards, collaborative workflows
Project management
Internal billing capabilities
Dashboard: visibility into project status

Stage 4: Performance Authority

Standardized services and metrics based on best practices
Real-time visibility and end-to-end traceability
Knowledge / expertise sharing
Centralized management and authority
Testing community

Next time, I'll begin looking at each one individually, and we will begin analyzing the Performance Center product and services offering from Mercury in detail.

Is your organization using Performance Center? If so, what do you think about PC? Post in the Forums area and let's talk about it.

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www.loadtester.com