The intensity of global warming is aggravating with every passing day, and so is the environmental condition. Even the IT Industry is reputed to issue 2% of the world’s CO2 emissions (the same as the much maligned airline industry). Hence emerges the need to reduce energy wastage, CO2 and other greenhouse gas pollution. The IT world, aware of its significant and growing impact on carbon emissions and climate change, must take steps to reduce this trend.

1,000 PCs running 24/7 without energy saving modes activated can consume as much as £70,000 worth of electricity in a year. Each year, enterprises waste nearly $4 billion powering devices that are not in use. The network traffic and the data centre too are the contributor to energy waste. As a result, the IT world must look at ways of reducing the output of harmful emissions and heat waste.

Poorly defined roles and responsibilities – diluted lines of accountability, development lifecycle chaotic – testing chaos, defect/bug management needs structure, no supporting configuration management processes, 100+ Unix environments – under utilised, replicating overnight process utilises huge CPU resource, lead to energy wastage, delays, resource misuse and environmental impact.

A number of options are available in this field and ever evolving technical solutions are coming forward, such as multi-core processing, virtualisation, data compression solutions, etc. These solutions not only reduce the environmental impact, they also reduce the financial impact. Here are certain testing approaches to reduce the impact.

• Pertaining to the project necessities, travel only when necessary, utilize communications technology; video-/tele-conferencing, minimize paper trails, use electronic media and define risk criteria.
• When handling Test Management, commission to sustainable, reusable environments, liaise closely with development community and be focused; perform impact analysis of change and direct testing accordingly.
• When dealing with the Test Process conduct an environmental analysis and design, order work methodically by maximising efficiencies, and adhere to structured testing methodology (Static Testing, Business Process Testing, V-Model and so on).
• To ensure environmental concerns the existing testing roles should be evolved. The roles should be captured during requirements gathering phase, they should be prioritized accordingly, alongside functionality and other business requirements, suitably tested (throughout development lifecycle), outstanding concerns are properly assessed, prioritised, risk managed and scheduled for future release.

Having a more energy efficient IT infrastructure and highly focused and driven people will minimize the organisations exposure to energy price increases and subsequent limitations imposed on the business.

The present economic downturn and the alarming global warming have mandated the consumers to choose companies with a greener image, intending to address both the issues.

With IT and data centers considered as significant contributors to environmental impact necessary steps need to be taken. To tackle it, the testing industry and the professionals working within it must assess the project, their proposed deliverables and compare these against a previously defined set of requirements, to understand whether or not they are fit for purpose.

• Until and unless highly needed replace travelling with utilizing communications technology.
• When handling Test Management, commission to sustainable, reusable environments, liaise closely with development community and be focused
• Perform impact analysis of change and direct testing accordingly
• When dealing with the Test Process, conduct an environmental analysis and design, order work methodically by maximizing efficiencies, and adhere to structured testing methodology
• To ensure environmental concerns the existing testing roles should be evolved
• Outstanding concerns should be properly assessed, prioritized, risk managed and scheduled for future release.

Testing plays a pivotal role in the IT world, accounting for 25-40% of project spend, and has a direct impact on resource usage and wastage through the testing of complex technology deliveries. The mindset and attitude of testing professionals will shift to focus on “greener” testing, whilst retaining the belief that the delivered product or service is 100% fit for purpose.

Key ‘Green’ Points to consider:

• Financial savings and profit earning potential increased through focused testing approach and reduced defect costs
• Improved brand awareness and industry recognition through improved quality and environmentally friendly leadership
• Customer growth and retention through climate competitiveness
• Increased staff morale through the adoption of “green” techniques