At TMMi Level 5, the Quality Control process area becomes relevant as it focuses on statistically managing and controlling the test process. Since the organisation is already at TMMi Level 4, moving to Level 5 involves ensuring that the test process is fully predictable, measured, and statistically controlled. Quality Control is a key process area in achieving TMMi Level 5 compliance, alongside other areas such as Defect Prevention and Test Process Optimization.
Reference:
"TMMi Level 5 includes Quality Control, a process area aimed at statistically managing the test process and making it more predictable".

The Advanced Reviews process area, which is part of TMMi Level 4, is concerned with measuring product quality early in the lifecycle. It aims to enhance the test strategy and test approach by aligning static testing (reviews and inspections) with dynamic testing (execution of test cases). The results and data from static testing are used to optimize the dynamic testing approach, making the overall testing process more efficient and effective.
TMMi Reference:
Advanced Reviews at TMMi Level 4 focuses on integrating static and dynamic testing approaches to optimize test strategy and product quality evaluation.

The specific practice "Maintain horizontal traceability with requirements" is part of the Test Design and Execution process area in TMMi. This process area ensures that there is traceability between test conditions, test cases, and requirements to ensure comprehensive test coverage. Horizontal traceability guarantees that test cases can be traced back to the specific requirements they are intended to verify, which is critical for managing and ensuring the quality of the testing process.
TMMi Reference:
The Test Design and Execution process area includes practices that ensure test artifacts are traceable to requirements, supporting effective test coverage.

Valid reasons to perform a TMMi assessment include identifying areas that need improvement (2), determining which accomplishments have been made (3), and using the assessment as a basis to become formally TMMi certified (4). Assessing individual tester performance (1) is not a typical objective of TMMi assessments, which focus more on process maturity and improvement rather than individual performance evaluation.
Reference:
"TMMi assessments are used to identify improvement areas and assess progress against maturity goals, not individual performance".

A key business reason for initiating a test improvement programme is to improve product reliability, which is directly related to the quality of the final product delivered to customers. Enhancing reliability through systematic testing can lead to fewer defects, higher customer satisfaction, and reduced costs associated with fixing issues post-release. This is often a priority in organisations where product quality and reliability are critical success factors, such as in industries like healthcare, automotive, or aviation.
The TMMi framework recognises that a focus on improving product quality, including reliability, is one of the major drivers for test process improvements. Testing processes that evolve and improve reliability provide value by reducing the risk of defects and ensuring that the software meets the defined quality criteria.
Reference:
"Improvement in product quality including reliability is often one of the primary drivers for initiating a test process improvement programme".