Shaw Trust is the UK’s largest third sector provider and one of the government’s lead partners in the delivery of employment programs for disabled and disadvantaged people.
The client came to Qualitest for advice in how to approach the testing of a complex, customized CRM solution that was being delivered by an offshore, Vietnamese supplier. The project was working to a tight deadline that related to a new service launch. The CRM system would be used by both in house teams and partner organizations. It is a critical component to both the service offering and the client revenue collection. The project was partway through when the client approached Qualitest , and the software had proven to be very complicated and they had experienced an unexpectedly high number of issues in the first two releases.
In order to achieve the goals within the given time frame it was important that a clear and pragmatic test strategy was created. Qualitest engaged its onshore analyst with an offshore team to meet the requirements of test volume and budget restrictions. We also incorporated managed crowd testing to the final solution.
The solution comprised of deliverables from the Qualitest onshore and offshore teams including:
The test team worked closely with the on-site Shaw Trust business analysts and technical architects as well as the offshore development team to ensure clear communication and efficiency in delivery.
The delivery from Qualitest was secured under a fixed price agreement, where Qualitest took on some of the inherent project risk. Payments were made against deliverable milestones and upon successful completion of the assignment.
Following a fast and efficient test process, the Shaw Trust launched as planned to meet with Government guidelines from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). The complexity of the STEP1 system meant that there were still a number of issues to be resolved, but the functionality was deemed acceptable by the Business. Subsequent development and test activities are planned to address all outstanding issues. The Shaw Trust were impressed by Qualitest control of the project and the ability of their offshore team to deliver high test volumes and get up to speed so quickly, despite only having a limited timescale and documentation available from the previous test phases. A strong cultural alignment exists between the client and Qualitest which has lead to a long term strategic relationship.
“Qualitest provided the Shaw Trust with an impressive offshore team to provide additional testing efforts to those we were able to produce in-house. The offshore team were efficient, dependable and able to pick up the system testing at very short notice with excellent results. Qualitest took on a unique challenge by joining the project at a very late stage and were able to provide their testing services even under adverse conditions. Qualitest offer numerous service arrangements and we continue to use the offshore resources as required by our development activities.”
Lenna Webster – IS Delivery Manager at Shaw Trust
