The Year 2000 conversion is a challenge to the economics of both testing and maintenance, but as a whole we are not responding with balanced priorities. Those looking for Year 2000 solutions typically allocate their first energies and budgets to acquiring automated analysis and conversion deals and services. This disturbing tendency ignores two facts that surface in virtually every analysis of the Year 2000 challenge: fifty percent or more of the effort will be in testing; and despite consuming a wealth of resources each year, current testing practices cannot satisfy the demands of current maintenance unrelated to the Y2K conversion. For the moment, most organizations continue to delay action on the Y2K Test problem while wading through the dozens of available analysis and conversion solutions. As a result, many Y2K projects have started on master plans that will need major revision once the true needs and benefits of testing automation become apparent. A growing number of those projects have already corrected course, revising strategy and reallocating budgets once they appreciated the nature of the Y2K testing challenge. Embarrassment will probably be the least of many worries for those that ignore the challenge much longer.
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