Setting up shared service centre application testing
Client’s request
At this financial institution, software testing took place at 9 local sites and not in a standard manner. Each of the small test units hired in a large part of its capacity, both in view of quality and capacity considerations (high peak capacity with large-scale application implementations). The staff size amounted to around 125 FTEs internal test capacity, and 100 to 200 FTEs external capacity. The limited size of the local test units amplified the traditional distance between project management and developers, on the one hand, and testers, on the other. Test managers could not offer sufficient professional counterweight against developers and project management. Bonne Datema, director of Van de Bunt, took the line responsibility for the implementation of this case.
Our Approach
Initially, the separate test units were merged in terms of their organizations and their budgets. This immediately created the following opportunities:
- one standard approach for improving and executing the test process; in this case TMap;
- three external suppliers instead of the previous number of >15, of which one party was the leading business partner;
- the leading business partner supplied “free” management and process improvement capacity in exchange for the strongly reduced acquisition costs;
- due to size and standardisation, peak loads could be better absorbed internally;
- due to the size, increased career opportunities for test professionals, which improved the quality of test professionals significantly;
- due to the new status as main department, better balance of powers between developers and testers focused on reducing business risks (introducing Risk-Based Testing).
Result
In a short period of time (1 to 1.5 years) the following results were achieved:
- capacity reduction due to better workload balancing;
- process maturity from TPI 3 to TPI 6-9;
- increased pride of test professionals in their professional field, resulting in higher quality, commitment, and motivation;
- reduction in costs of hiring staff due to economics of scale;
- reduced risk profile of application implementation for the business.
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