Over the years, scores of companies looking to improve test-related business performance have implemented "silver bullet" solutions: new software packages, centralized databases, local spreadsheets, equipment pools, etc. These solutions produce marginal results because they don't account for all of the obstacles that inhibit breakthrough performance (see diagram). Against the relatively low standard set for achieving cost reductions—such as 5 to 10 percent reductions—these solutions were satisfactory.

But today, most companies find themselves in brutally competitive environments. It's imperative that new solutions deliver breakthrough results—the kind achieved by Sente customers. What's needed is a different approach.

No matter how technically elegant a solution appears to be, a solution won't deliver breakthrough results if its design fails to account for all three of the components that impact business performance in the test environment—People, Practices and Tools—and the dynamic interplay between these components. While companies give much thought to the tools part of the equation, solution designers invariably neglect to consider how real people use tools, coordinate with each other, and embrace or reject new practices in the test environment...or, for that matter, in any business environment.

Any effective solution begins from a rigorous and integrated consideration of these three components. We say this because:

• People—not processes or tools—make and keep commitments. This explains why roles designed in conjunction with processes and staffed by competent practitioners are critical to achieving order of magnitude improvements. As Edwards Deming noted, however, even the best people will struggle when equipped with poor processes and tools. Additionally, in every organization, some constituents will join the effort to improve, and others will fight (overtly or covertly). Success hinges on your ability to understand all key constituents and develop strategies to minimize all threats to success.
• Practices designed prior to implementation of new tools can impact cost savings by 50% or more. Since processes are comprised of many different practices or "process steps," it's important that people are competent to perform practices, or have a plan in place to learn them, prior to the introduction of new tools. Processes need to have "integrity," meaning that if each step is performed as specified, the process will produce the expected end result. Far too many test asset management processes seem to include a step called "and then a miracle occurs," which helps explain why so many test asset management programs fail to produce breakthrough results.
• Tools exist to lower the cost of coordination. Tools make certain practices possible. It's imperative that tools are designed for easy use by those performing practices and processes. Otherwise, people simply won't use the tools. Through the focused use of test environment analytics, tools can provide facts needed by practitioners to make more informed decisions. This can lead to additional performance improvements of 10% or more. Effectively designed metrics also drive organizational behavior and thereby ensure institutionalization of new sets of practices.

The Sente Approach to People, Practices and Tools
At Sente, we make People, Practices & Tools the foundation of everything we do. We're so confident in our solutions that we'll guarantee results before we begin installation. Our solutions incorporate a host of proven Test Resource Management™ (TRM) practices and software tools. Just as important, change management expertise is woven into the DNA of everything we do. We work with each customer to design and implement a solution that not only delivers exceptional ROI, but earns the trust of end users and management every step of the way.

Sente's TRM solutions incorporate a host of proven tactics for managing the People, Practices & Tools dynamic in the test environment, including:

• People
  • Clearly Defined Internal Customer and Practitioner Relationships and Metrics that ensure more than lip service to the notion of customer (in this case equipment user) satisfaction.
  • Clear Definition of TRM Practitioner Team Members' Roles and Analytical Approaches to keeping the organization focused
  • Change Management Expertise to ensure alignment of key functions and enrollment of key sponsors from all relevant business and end-user constituencies (Engineering, Finance, Operations, etc.)
  • Customer-Focused Metrics for measuring and communicating program results to key constituents
  • Training and Mentoring Programs where new practitioners work side by side with veterans in a rigorous certification program
• Practices
  • Gated Implementation to enable companies to refine their practices while still delivering high levels of performance to users and measurable ROI to the business
  • Technology Alignment Practices that match test technology with the business' technology roadmaps
  • Capacity Alignment Practices such as utilization analysis and scheduling that match test technology with current and future demands.
  • Inventory Management Practices such as financial ROI analysis, acquisition and disposition of assets—all of which help companies manage their test equipment portfolios for lowest cost/highest ROI mix
  • Logistics Practices for collecting and distributing data and physical assets
• Tools
  • Practitioner Suite®—Sente's powerful Desktop & Mobile Practitioner with SenteBase™ Performance Analytics provides practitioners and their customers what they need where they need it
  • Customizable, Practitioner Analytics™ for quickly and recurrently communicating program results and metrics to key constituents
  • Software that is readily custom-tailored to suit the specific roles of TRM team members
  • Communications, Marketing and Reporting Templates to facilitate quick, accurate and consistent communications with internal customers and prospects