Sopra Group has been working with a Major Airline since 2006 as its Strategic Testing Partner.  In partnership with Sopra Group, the airline has implemented a robust testing strategy, which allows it to leverage the cost benefits of using a highly skilled offshore capability, while minimising associated risks through clear local ownership within the UK.

With continuous improvements and enhancements to the engagement based on our Totally Integrated Delivery Model (TIDM), the airline is assured that quality continues to improve and that testing costs are monitored and assessed on a regular basis.  The TIDM provides the organisation with a dedicated resource pool from our Group-wide onshore and offshore resources.  With clear local ownership in the UK, this delivery model ensures delivery of quality solutions using the right team, in the right place, at the right time and at the right price.

Background

The Major Airline is one of the largest long-haul airlines in the UK and one of the top five carriers over the Atlantic.  Its route network has grown rapidly since its launch in 1984 to include destinations in the US, Caribbean, Far East, India and Africa.  Carrying 5.7 million passengers in 2008, the airline prides itself on its commitment to continuous customer service improvement and has won many travel industry awards. 

The Airline industry is constantly evolving and changing, and the drivers are both business-opportunity and statutory driven.  The client's business drivers are based on constant service improvement and the need to adjust to a rapidly changing financial landscape.  To ensure its critical IT systems continue to support business needs and day-to-day business activities, the airline was looking for a Strategic Testing Partner to complement its business and IT departments.  Key requirements for the company's Testing Partner were that it could meet both the quality of service and Return on Investment (ROI) criteria, as well as being able to supply specific expertise to meet the varied demands of the its dynamic business.

To meet these criteria Sopra Group provides a proven, structured approach to gaining maximum ROI from offshore working, whilst mitigating the risks traditionally associated with using a direct offshore model.
Finally, the airline needed a partner with the vision to provide ongoing service improvement and optimisation of its testing processes.

"Our Totally Integrated Delivery Model uses experts from across the wider Sopra Group to meet the airline's testing needs.  This approach provides us with quality testing solutions.  By making use of a proven mix of onshore and offshore resources we provide the right team, at the right time whilst still at a sensible price."

Sopra Group Service Delivery Manager

Solution

With a mature Testing Company operating across the UK and India, and a reputation as a thought-leader in the testing industry, Sopra Group was the ideal fit for the airline's requirements.

Testing Approaches

Sopra Group has worked closely with the airline as its Testing Partner for the last three years to meet its needs. To achieve this model, Sopra Group utilises resources from its UK and Indian offices.  These combined resources are providing the client with various services such as Project Testing and Regression Testing capabilities.  Through experience and agreement Sopra Group has also transitioned key elements of its Testing capabilities to the Delhi-based Testing centre.

This means the airline gains the advantage of cost and time effectiveness by using offshore capabilities and has the assurance of innovation and clear local ownership being driven from the UK.  This approach also allows Sopra Group and the client to adjust resources according to the demands of the business, with the client only paying for the resources it actually requires.

The airline's IT also surveys its internal customers on Sopra Group's performance and these results are published at the joint monthly and quarterly meetings.  The results are then discussed, and recommendations to improve the service are implemented and reviewed regularly to assess the impact.

Risk-Based Testing Approach

As part of Sopra Group's strategy to optimise testing, we have successfully implemented a Risk-Based approach for the airline.  Rather than testing all of an application's functionality, an assessment is made based on impact and probability to determine what the highest risk areas are.  This ensures that all of the testing executed is adding value and is focused on the areas prioritised by the business.

Regression Testing Approach – Flexible Solutions

The implementation of the Regression Testing Service follows a three-phased low-risk approach:

Phase 1 – Sopra Group defined the specific delivery and business engagement model that included a pilot to prove the approach. This phase included implementation of the service delivery infrastructure and was carried out by a joint UK and India team onsite with the client.
Phase 2 - transitioned knowledge from the client's business to our joint team which supports development and validation of the regression scripts for each of their business critical applications.Using the Sopra Group Risk-Based Testing methodology, we work with the business to define the RBT Risk Register for each application.  In this way, we are confident that the work being undertaken in both the UK and India is geared to meeting business requirements and is delivered in the most cost-effective way.
Phase 3 - integrates the Sopra Group Testing service into the airline's Change Control Release Programme.  Using our RBT Risk Register we define the "right level of coverage" to optimise the testing effort providing the most effective ROI while mitigating business risks.

What Did We Do?

  • Designed a Regression Test Strategy using a Risk­Based Approach
  • During the last 3 years of working with the client, Sopra Group has provided Regression Testing on more than 20 business critical applications using the Totally Integrated Delivery Model between the UK and India
  • We are implementing continuous improvements through Sopra Group's Totally Integrated Delivery Model.
    Benefits
  • By appointing Sopra Group as Strategic Testing Partner, the airline has developed a robust testing strategy, allowing it to leverage the cost benefits of using a highly skilled offshore capability, while minimising the associated risk and ensuring that further innovation can be introduced to drive down cost and improve quality. 
  • The Testing model designed for the client is highly scalable so is flexible enough to adapt to specific project situations as and when required, providing maximum productivity levels and cost benefits on projects.

Way Forward

As part of our Strategic Testing Partnership, we continue to work proactively with the client to ensure that the team is best prepared to meet the fluctuating and evolving demands of the organisation.  Whilst assessing the last three years of this partnership, Sopra Group has and is still learning more about the needs of the client's business.  The airline can be assured that Sopra Group has the flexible options to ensure that readiness of its systems prior to launch will always be its number one priority.