Scenario 6: Outsourcing R&D

Your Situation

You have been so successful in providing high-quality products that your company has had to outsource the R&D for your next project. The mangement have decided that your QC is an essential step in ensuring the quality of the new as-yet-untrusted supplier.

Solution

SVaT is a perfect partner - not only can you generate comprehensive test coverage to your own satisfaction, but you can also use the SVaT visual representation to refine the requirements in detail. Furthermore, you may also be able to use the SVaT visual representation to get product marketing buy-in, because they won't have to plough through mountains of text to understand the detailed behaviour. They may even use SVaT to define the product behaviour.

The steps you take, using SVaT, are outlined here:
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Preparation: Install SVaT
Run the provided SVaT installer and make a few decisions about where to install SVaT.

You need at least the Personal Edition of SVaT for this.

If you have not already installed Java you must install it before you can install SVaT. Java is included with SVaT, or you can use an existing installation if appropriate.

Time: 5 minutes.
Template Creation: Define the GUI structure and use it to refine the product requirements (more...less...)

From the initial requirements you may be able to define a temporary GUI structure of the windows in the application. However, you are likely to encounter things that need clarification from other groups, such as marketing or sales.

Time: Depends on the complexity of the application
From the initial requirements you may be able to define a temporary GUI structure of the windows in the application. However, you are likely to encounter things that need clarification from other groups, such as marketing or sales.

Finding such issues at this early stage means that you can give your outsourcing company a much more thourough specification to work from and therefore considerably reduce the risk of outsourcing your product development.
1. Create an initial GUI structure from requirements
  From the initial requirements you create a temporary GUI structure (a set of Templates) describing the GUI elements (and their type) that must be present in the final product. Creating this structure will most likely raise some questions about what exactly is to be delivered. Such questions must then be clarified with the other project groups, like marketing and sales.
  
  Time: 1-2 hours
2. Discuss with marketing and sales, etc.
  Once you have your initial GUI structure/Templates, you can approach marketing or sales, or whichever group is responsible for the requirements and get your questions clarified. This will undoubtedly raise other issues that these groups (probably) weren't aware of and therefore contribute to a better specification.
  
  As the visual representation in SVaT is so easy to understand, you might find it easier to use the SVaT design as the starting point for the discussions with these groups.
  
  Time: Depends on the complexity of the AUT.
Test Creation: Create the test scripts in SVaT (more...less...)

You are now ready to create the automated test scripts for the AUT. You do this by using the unique graphical interface of SVaT's Verification Designer to specify the expected behaviours of the AUT. This specification is called a Design.

Time: minimum 30 minutes

You are now ready to create the automated test scripts for the AUT. You do this by using the unique graphical interface of SVaT's Verification Designer to specify the expected behaviours of the AUT. This specification is called a Design.

Once you have your Templates and test scripts nailed down as much as possible from the requirements, you will have learnt a lot about what is expected of the application under test. You can now build on this, and other groups may actually begin to come to you for clarifications.

Time: depends on the complexity of the application
Await Candidate: Await a candidate from the outsourcing company.

When you have defined your test scripts in SVaT you are as ready as you can be until the test candidate comes along. You can therefore happily wait knowing that you have a thorough test of your product when the time comes.

Time: Depends on your outsourcing company!
Update Design: Update the design to reflect the actual structure (more...less...)

Once the product is delivered to you, you must update your GUI structure in SVaT and you can then generate and execute your test scripts against the delivered product.

Time: 1-2 hours

Once the product is delivered to you, you must update your GUI structure in SVaT and you can then generate and execute your test scripts against the delivered product.

To update you GUI structures you must compare a newly recorded GUI structure (from the delivered application) with the provisional GUI structure in your design, and change the templates in the SVaT Verification Designer wherever they differ.

If a GUI element has just changed its position (in the GUI structure) or name, then only the template element needs changing. But, if a GUI element is added or removed then you need to update the test scripts wherever this element is used.

Time: 1-2 hours
Generation and Execution: Generate test scripts, run them against the AUT (more...less...)

Once you have updated the GUI structure in SVaT's Verification Designer, you can generate a set of executable test scripts directly from your design. Such test scripts can then be executed directly by the Test Performer or another test automation tool.

Time: from 6 minutes
Once you have updated the GUI structure in SVaT's Verification Designer, you can generate a set of executable test scripts directly from your design. Such test scripts can then be executed directly by the Test Performer or another test automation tool.
1. Generate test scripts
  When your design have been updated, you can request the Verification Designer to generate a set of test scripts that can be executed by the Test Performer or another test automation tool. The test script generation only requires you to specify a few parameters about the properties of the generated test scripts, e.g. for which test automation tool, full or reduced set, etc.
  
  Time: 1-10 minutes (depending on number of test scripts generated)
2. Run the generated test scripts
  Once the test scripts have been generated, they can be executed using the automated test tool they were generated for.
  
  Time: from 5 minutes
Fault detection: Examination of Results (more...less...)

Once the test scripts have been executed, you can load the results back into SVaT and examine them in direct relation to the original Design.

Time: 5 minutes to 1 hour (depending on number of errors)

Once the test scripts have been executed, you can load the results back into SVaT and examine them in direct relation to the original Design.

The original design is overlaid with the test results, and errors highlighted there This can save a great deal of time because it draws attention directly to the failing steps and can eliminate the need to investigate duplicate errors.

Time: 5 minutes to 1 hour (depending on number of errors)
Outcomes
The benefits of this approach include:
- You have gained a much more thorough insight into what is expected of the application, and therefore the outsourcing company can get a much more detailed brief - and you can verify it matches what was expected.
- You may become a reference point when somebody is unsure of the expected behaviour of the application.
- You do not have to rely on the availability of a test candidate to create your tests.
- You now have a reusable set of test scripts that you can apply to each new test candidate - saving time for later test candidates.
- You can update a significant number of test scripts in a couple of hours.
- You have an automated trace of the tests you have made and executed, and can use this as documentation in your test reports and as an audit trail later, as needed.

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Scenario 6: Outsourcing R&D

Your Situation

Solution