Visual Studio 2012 Helps Improve Software Quality

New features and improvements delivered in the Visual Studio (VS) 2012 integrated development environment (IDE) and its related tools could help developers raise the quality of their code and help testers find and report problems more efficiently. Short development cycles, often driven by Agile methodologies such as Scrum, are becoming common as teams strive to implement and release applications more frequently. Tighter schedules reduce the time available for quality assurance, so the new capabilities in VS 2012 that speed the process and use time more effectively could be helpful for development teams that have the budget and time for the upgrade.

Testing Features Vary Across VS Editions

VS 2012 includes many features for performing and automating software testing. Most of the test features are not available in the VS Professional edition and require the higher-priced Premium or Ultimate editions.

The Test Professional edition, which includes the stand-alone Test Manager tool and offers other test features, is available separately and does not require purchase of the VS IDE. Test Manager allows testers to perform common routine tasks such as planning and running tests, provisioning remote test computers, and reporting bugs. (Test Manager is also included in the Premium and Ultimate editions of VS.) More advanced testing features, such as those used by developers and testers who work with code, require the IDE.