It isn't always possible to measure improvement across an entire company, but Bingham had one clear example. One key application in the Fiserv suite, called Maestro, is updated every month (not quarterly). Four people would spend five days to test it, every time. Now, with the automated tests-which can run overnight in batch mode, since the IT department has them standardized-the process is done in six hours.

Because they knew how many resources were sucked up by that single application, says Bingham, it could be used to determine the five-month ROI for the TestPartner investment. Even though, he adds, the test automation tool had a big effect across the entire application suite (not just Maestro) and Arizona Federal's ability to deploy updates quicker.

But for Bingham, the software benefits and ROI are secondary to helping the business and serving the membership. Any time that a banker has to spend not banking is a problem, in his estimation. It's less time that they have available to do their real jobs. The real enhancements, in his view, are in streamlining IT to provide business benefits. "IT organizations are here to support the business," Bingham points out. "But sometimes they're more busy doing that than learning how to improve processes internally."

"I'm surprised that more companies don't use test automation scripts," adds Bingham. "It really makes your life a lot easier."