Product Line or Service

Software can be tested in two primary ways: “end-to-end” testing and “component” testing. End-to-end testing requires that the application being tested is essentially complete so that a QA Specialist (normally not a programmer) can actually run the application and study its responses. Companies like Mercury Interactive and Segue have “capture and playback” tools that QA Specialists can use to capture their keystrokes and mouse clicks for future automated playback during repetitive (“regression”) testing. Unfortunately, since end-to-end testing only helps identify defects once the application is largely complete, the cost of re-work is extremely high and delivery schedules are most at risk. Such testing also does little to help the organization determine exactly where the defect has occurred within its complex programs, since the application may use hundreds of components behind its Graphical User Interface. 

Component testing, on the other hand, allows software development organizations to begin testing an application the day they start building it. Each program (called a “method” in modern programming environments) in an application can be independently tested by the programmer. While many development organizations perform this function on an ad hoc basis, it remains an inconsistently applied process and is very labor intensive if regression testing is desired. Class I.Q. has developed IQTest to automate the process of component testing. IQTest can read and interpret a programmer’s methods, prompt the programmer for input variables, run the method using those variables, and display the results of the process for the programmer’s review. If the programmer indicates that the results match what he or she expected, IQTest then stores the input variables and the results as a “test case” for that method. These test cases can then be linked together into “test suites” and run and re-run for the life of the application. If future runs result in different results, the QA Specialists and programmers can pinpoint the problem area instantly. By finding defects as they are created, the cost of rework and the potential for delays are minimized. The application can then be delivered with quality literally built in!

Class I.Q. provides IQTest today as an installed product, with implementation consulting services being used to help customers improve their testing and quality assurance processes. Class I.Q. will begin to offer IQTest as an Internet-based service for Java in 2001.

Technology/Proprietary Rights

Class I.Q. has developed its proprietary products using Sun Microsystems’ Forté development environment. Our IQTest adapters can be used today to manage applications that are written in Forté TOOL code and in the Forté FUSION environment, two tool sets in wide use in international Fortune 500 companies for mission-critical EAI applications. IQTest can also be used with XML (“Extensible Markup Language”) based solutions. XML is the most prevalent technology and protocol communication for B2B, B2C, and Enterprise Application Integration. In June, 2000, Class I.Q will introduce the IQTest adapter for the JAVA programming language, making the product almost universally applicable for Internet development organizations.

Class I.Q. has been selected as a member of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), Conformance Technical Committee. Class I.Q. and the OASIS group’s goal is to provide standards and test cases so interoperability and conformance will exist for all XML-based solutions. Ultimately, Class I.Q. and OASIS will formulate the standards that are going to be the cornerstone for companies that invest in XML. Companies like GM, Ford and Chrysler are investing billions of dollars to co-develop XML-based applications to share costs for their respective auto supplier divisions, but need standards in place to make software applications acceptable to the entire industry. In spite of our size, Class I.Q. is considered a leader in providing this guidance and experience because of our ability to deliver testing solutions that solve very complicated testing problems.

Market Opportunities

B2B, B2C, and EAI are exponentially growing facets of business, worth tens of billions of dollars. Class I.Q. provides component testing solutions into markets that today spend almost $1 billion a year for end-to-end testing tools. Our Internet-based testing portal will increase market awareness and capitalize on Web-based services that can provide access to all types of customers. Class I.Q.’s ability to address increasingly complex testing needs and provide customers a return on their investment creates an excellent opportunity for the Company. 

Marketing/Sales and Distribution

As a Sun Microsystems partner, Class I.Q. is currently successful in selling IQTest, our component level testing solution for Forté, Sun’s 4GL product. As Class I.Q. customers expand to other technologies, we can leverage our existing relation ship and effectively implement our new testing products and services. With the release of our JAVA, XML and Fusion solutions, and the implementation of a testing portal later this year, we expect a significant increase in sales opportunities for our company. Our major focus over the next year will be the expansion of our sales and marketing organization to successfully promote the new products. The sales strategy will change from an individual project sale to an enterprise sale due to the critical mass of products and services available to customers. Class I.Q. expects this to significantly increase our license and service fee revenue from new and existing customers. In 2001, as we add the ASP-based service to our product line, we will partner with other companies and portals marketing products and services to large, multi-national development organizations.

Competition

Our market strength is component-level development and integration testing to satisfy the needs of the EAI, B2B and B2C markets. There are few competitors that provide component level testing, but none provide the enterprise solution by supporting multiple technologies and languages. We do have three main competing companies that focus on functional and performance testing for applications - Mercury Interactive, Segue Software, and Rational Software. Class I.Q. differentiates itself by (1) leveraging our relationship with Sun Microsystems to quickly and effectively promote our new products; (2) continuing to focus on the enterprise component-level testing market, in which we have no direct competition; and (3) expanding our relationships with competing companies since our products are seen as largely complementary.