The Test Center of Excellence (TCoE) is a concept that has gained significant visibility in recent years. Primarily due to the recognized benefits of this execution model. When thoughtfully planned and carefully implemented, a TCoE can substantially enhance the productivity and efficiency of the testing team. This document aims to outline key considerations for implementing a TCoE to facilitate a smooth and successful adoption process.
Firstly, let’s define what a TCoE is. A TCoE (Center of Excellence) is a team structure. Where multiple groups collaborate in a coordinated manner to share knowledge, best practices, and resources. This model maintains the specialized expertise of individual teams while fostering opportunities for cross-team collaboration.
TCoE Maturity Levels
You can’t just flip a switch and have a fully mature Test Center of Excellence while it’s a journey, not a destination. As you climb, here’s what the key stages typically look like:
- Level 1: Ad Hoc
Testing is project-specific, tools and methods vary wildly, and there’s no central oversight. Knowledge lives in people’s heads so when they leave, it vanishes.
- Level 2: Emerging Practices
You’ve started documenting processes, maybe adopted a shared tool or two. But adoption is uneven, and collaboration is still optional, not habitual.
- Level 3: Standardized & Integrated
Common tools, templates, and KPIs are in place. Testing is part of the SDLC from day one. Teams share learnings, and the TCoE actively governs quality practices.
- Level 4: Managed & Measured
Everything is tracked such as cycle times, defect leakage, automation coverage. You’re not just doing testing; you’re improving it based on data.
- Level 5: Optimizing & Innovating
The TCoE drives quality strategy, experiments with AI/ML, mentors other teams, and contributes to industry standards.
What really matters isn’t hitting Level 5 by next quarter — it’s making steady, visible progress. Too many teams get stuck in Level 2 because they buy fancy tools but skip the hard part: changing how people work together.
Start where you are. Fix what hurts most. Let the wins not the org chart — pull people in. Because real maturity grows from trust, not mandates.
Ideal Operating Model for TCoE
The optimal operating model for a TCoE should capitalize on the strengths inherent in the TCoE structure while minimizing additional overhead and bureaucracy. It should be designed to facilitate end-to-end collaboration, resulting in:
- Team load balancing
- Cross product knowledge
- Tools and process sharing
- Faster team ramp up
- Access to specialists
Core Teams and Virtual Specialist Teams
Dedicated core teams will be established for specific projects to focus testing efforts and ensure the quality standards are met for each initiative. These teams will be led by senior-level managers responsible for overseeing daily deliverables. Virtual specialist teams will handle specialized testing requirements such as performance, security, globalization, and accessibility/usability across TCoE projects.
Since specialized testing activities are not required at every stage of the Software Testing Life Cycle, they demand experienced resources when teams apply them. The organization assigns a shared virtual team to support all projects within the TCoE framework, rather than dedicating them to a single project.
Role of the Test Manager
All these leads, their respective teams and the virtual specialized teams will report to a test manager, who will manage the overarching TCoE. He/She will ensure:
- Projects share common best practices
- Teams understand the bigger picture and quality requirements at large so as to drive value upstream
- Teams are empowered with the required common training
- Buffer resources are maintained across projects to take care of flexible and dynamic project needs
A test manager in this role will collaborate closely with stakeholders from the product. Team and conduct quarterly reviews to assess work conducted under the TCoE framework. These reviews will facilitate clear communication and alignment among the product team regarding project and product status and health from a quality assurance perspective. The reviews will be proactive in nature, emphasizing forward-looking discussions to effectively implement objective quality assurance initiatives.
Team Collaboration Meetings
The test manager should encourage monthly meetings of the entire team, inclusive of all projects in the TCoE umbrella. During such meetings the following could be discussed. Project accomplishments, challenges, work arounds, presentations made by team members on specific products/new technologies. Such monthly meetings could also set aside 15 to 30 minutes for cross group bug bashes, allowing testers from other teams to test cross group products. This promotes cross product knowledge as well as helps find bugs that the core team may have missed. Such meetings bring in good team bonding which plays a major role in the TCoE’s success.
Training Setup
Set up email aliases for intra-project and inter-project communication. Helping share useful information to the required set of people on time. Trainers should conduct dedicated training periodically, either during monthly team meetings or outside of those sessions. Depending on the size and scale of the TCoE implementation, the test manager should determine the size of the buffer team to maintain. Such a team will quickly train and prepare to work on any of the TCoE projects. Typically a 10% shadow/buffer team of the overall team size is a good size to have. Providing the flexibility of the shadow team yet not being an expensive overhead to maintain.
Keys to Successful TCoE Implementation
Thus, a TCoE has its own nuances for a right implementation. A test manager plays a very pivotal role in its successful implementation. As a first step the test manager should get buy-in from the overall product team in educating them about the model, how it works etc. and then carefully implement the TCoE as a step by step process. Such a planned approach along with the test manager’s objective mindset open to feedback will help make the overall model a success and well received by the entire product team.
Conclusion
Establishing a Test Center of Excellence is focused on continuous improvement rather than perfection. When implemented effectively, a TCoE facilitates collaboration across teams, consolidates disparate efforts into cohesive strengths, and elevates QA from a mere checkpoint to a strategic partner within the organization. Key benefits include delivering consistent quality at scale is achieved through standardized best practices and tools and enabling a more agile response to change via flexible resourcing and cross-trained teams. This approach allows testers to allocate more time toward critical testing activities rather than redundant tasks.
For the company, the payoff is real: fewer production fires, lower cost of poor quality, and stronger alignment between business goals and delivery teams. And this is just the beginning. As AI, automation, and continuous testing evolve, the TCoE model is uniquely positioned to absorb, adapt, and lead — not just keeping pace with innovation, but shaping it.
