Quality Assurance. Testing. No matter what you call it—and of course, there are subtle distinctions between testing and QA—the discipline is essential for successfully creating professional-grade software.

Sure, a one-person shop or a small consultancy might get away without having formal test teams or serious QA policies. Most of us can’t afford to work that way. The cost of software failure, to us and to our customers, can be huge in so many ways.

SD Times and sdtimes.com recently asked readers about test and QA in a survey. Here are some of the results; how well do the answers match your organization’s profile?

Does your organization have separate development and test teams? (Please check one only)
Yes, all development teams and test/QA teams are separate: 35.9%
Some development and test/QA teams are separate, some are integrated: 33.4%
All test and development teams are integrated: 27.4%
Don’t know: 3.3%

If any of the test/QA teams in your organization are separate, where do those test teams report? (Please check all that apply)
To the development team: 16.2%
To a development manager, director or VP of development: 33.8%
To an IT manager not managing development: 22.2%
To a software architect or project leader on a particular project: 19.7%
To the CIO/CTO: 9.2%
To line-of-business managers: 14.8%
Don’t know: 8.1%

What background do your test/QA managers and directors typically have? (Please check all that apply)
Development: 20.3%
Test/QA only: 28.9%
Development and test/QA: 48.9%
General IT background: 31.7%
General management background: 18.5%
No particular background—we train them from scratch: 14.2%

Does your company outsource any of its software quality assurance or testing? (Please check one only)
Yes, all of it: 3.7%
Yes, some of it: 32.3%
No, none of it: 58.1%
Don’t know: 5.9%

Who is responsible for internally developed application-performance testing and monitoring in your company? (Please check all that apply)
Software/application developers: 68.2%
Software/application development management: 54.2%
Testers: 52.3%
Testing management: 43.9%
Systems administrators: 34.9%
IT top management (development) (VP or above): 29.3%
Networking personnel: 25.2%
IT top management (non-development) (VP or above): 24.6%
Line-of-business management: 21.5%
Consultants: 20.2%
Service providers: 19.0%
Networking management: 18.1%

What is the state of software security testing at your company? (Please check all that apply):
Software security is checked by the developers: 41.2%
Software security is checked by the test/QA team: 31.6%
Software security is tested by a separate security team: 26.9%
Software security testing is done for Web applications: 25.7%
Software security is checked by the IT/networking department: 25.4%
Software security testing is done for in-house applications: 24.1%
Software security testing is done for public-facing applications: 21.7%
We don’t have a specific security-testing process: 20.4%
Software security is checked by contractors: 9.3%
Software security testing is not our responsibility: 3.1%

At what stage is your company, or companies that you consult, using the cloud for software testing? (Please check one only)
No plans to use the cloud for software testing: 42.3%
We are studying the technology but have not started yet: 21.2%
We are experimenting with using the cloud for software testing: 16.0%
We are using the cloud for software testing on a routine basis: 10.7%
Don’t know: 9.8%

Lots of good data here! What do you think? Write me at alan@camdenassociates.com.

Alan Zeichick, founding editor of SD Times, is principal analyst of Camden Associates.