Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) introduced the new version of its QACenter Enterprise Edition functional testing solution, Compuware TestPartner 5.4. This new release offers a tight functional testing integration with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team System and support for the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. By enabling development and testing teams to access the same testing assets to resolve errors more quickly, Compuware TestPartner improves communication and collaboration, allowing IT organizations to deliver high-quality applications more cost effectively.

"Microsoft is pleased that Compuware TestPartner 5.4 supports and integrates with Visual Studio 2005 Team System," said Ian Knox, group product manager of the .NET Developer Product Marketing Group at Microsoft Corp. "As IT organizations continually face the challenge to deliver high-quality applications, Compuware TestPartner allows organizations to functionally-test their applications earlier in the application life cycle.
By building test assets early on, IT teams have more time to thoroughly test their applications, which improves application quality."

Compuware TestPartner is an automated testing tool that accelerates functional testing of complex applications developed with Microsoft, Java and web technologies. TestPartner bridges the gap between development and testing teams while fostering a cooperative environment for problem resolution early in the development cycle.

RightNow Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, needed a test automation tool to assist in test automation planning for their CRM solution, RightNow CRM. Specifically, they were looking for a functional test tool that not only supports Visual Studio 2005 Team System and the .NET Framework 2.0, but also has exceptional object recognition capabilities, non-proprietary scripting language, is easy to use and allows for easy modular test design with a variety of verification testing checks and types.

"We evaluated nine other test automation vendors against our requirements, and Compuware surpassed the other vendors by a significant margin," said Duane Robinson, Test Automation Manager at RightNow Technologies, Inc. "Compuware TestPartner 5.4 recognized approximately ninety-two percent more of the standard .NET Framework 2.0 objects than our previous test automation product. This will save us hundreds of hours of custom test automation development."

TestPartner's easy script and test asset reuse also reduced script maintenance time for RightNow Technologies. "Using TestPartner 5.4, scripting a common block of functionality was fifteen percent faster than the previous product we were using," said Robinson. "Time-to-market is a critical factor to a product's success in the marketplace. With TestPartner 5.4, my testing team was able to shorten script development, maintenance and execution times, ensuring we can deliver a quality product to market on time."