Apply Lean Methodology-VSM to Improve IT Regression Testing

Transcription

1 Apply Lean Methodology-VSM to Improve IT Regression Testing QAI STC 2013 Vandana Singh Quality Analyst Eaton Technologies EON Free Zone, Cluster B, Wing 3, Plot no. 1, survey no. 77 MIDC, Kharadi Knowledge Park, Pune, Maharashtra , India

2 Introduction Eaton is a diversified power management company providing energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company is a global technology leader in electrical products, systems and services for power quality, distribution and control, power transmission, lighting and wiring products; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulic and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton acquired Cooper Industries plc. in Eaton has approximately 100,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit Eaton Electrical sector has different Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system environments operating in various manufacturing and inventory management facilities. These ERP systems come from different ERP vendors. Differences in these systems and processes from location to location affects the ability to consistently plan production, manage inventory, and deliver accurate promise dates to end customers. The Enterprise Common Platform (ECP) is a program designed to solve these issues by creating and deploying a standard set of processes and applications. Key Features of ECP Develop standard business processes that support each mode of manufacturing: Make-to-Stock (MTS), Make-to-Order (MTO), Configure-to-Order (CTO), and Engineer-to-Order (ETO). Implement a platform that supports these processes ERP implementations utilizing Oracle. Create an organization and procedures that maintain standard processes and systems o Standard business processes o Standard business process roles o Links to key performance indicators (KPIs)

3 Current State of ECP Build a working foundational baseline with operations running in different regions and covering order management, material planning & inventory management, manufacturing, procurement, service & project business, logistics, and finance. Build Interfaces to standard systems: Financials, SCM Applications, PLM Application, istore (web commerce) and business intelligence Interfaces linked to ECP platform is implemented on single global instance. The SGI Architecture however poses its own challenges in terms of managing business continuity of the ECP platform for all entities on the SGI when: o New sites are being added OR o Changes/enhancements/customizations are made to existing sites setup Regression Testing needs to be conducted for the unchanged sites to ensure that working functionality of those sites is not affected when any change is made to the overall platform Regression testing can be used to test the ECP platform efficiently by systematically selecting the appropriate minimum set of tests needed to adequately cover a particular change Problem Statement: The current process for regression testing across the sites is manual which is time consuming and effort intensive considering the total sites in scope. Most of the testing requires support from the Business Process owner at the sites which in turn impacts the business targets. There was huge dependency on Business, other production support teams and Process teams to provide feedback and support during regression testing activity. This paper discusses about how Lean Methodology Value Stream Mapping is applied to IT Regression Testing to identify the pain areas and waste in current regression process. Two Solutions were identified to Improve Regression Testing Solution 1: Following Risk Based Approach: Due to large number of sites applicable for regression, representation of sites with similar implementation was done. E.g. If Site A and Site B both were applicable for regression, having similar implementation and following similar Key Business Processes, then either of one site was considered for regression by representing the other one. Solution 2: Identify the Pain areas and improvement opportunities in current regression testing process to reduce the dependency on different teams, increase the test coverage and ownership of testing activities. Also to reduce the Risk of sites not performing test.

4 Solution Derivation Lean and Six Sigma are highly effective continuous improvement methodologies that help achieve longterm customer satisfaction and cost savings. They offer tools for improving processes, reducing variation, and optimizing material and information flow. Within Eaton, the combined methodologies are part of the Eaton Business System (EBS) and are deployed in a standardized manner as Eaton Lean Six Sigma (ELSS). Key Objectives and Benefits of applying Lean methodology Value Stream Mapping has led to Continuous learning Improvement Opportunities in internal processes followed for regression testing and within the team Value Stream Mapping is methodology of creating one-page picture of all processes/activity that occur in regression testing process. The main goal was to identify how information flows across and throughout all Value Added Processes that were required to complete the testing deliverables as requested by project team or implementation team. Value Stream Map documents all the processes used to Requirement Gathering (Impact Analysis) till Test Closure, both Value-Added and Non-Value Added (Waste) Processes Approach Deployment 1. Step # 1 :Defined and picked the regression testing activity based on Implementation roll out before implementing VSM. Figure 1.Testing Process for Regression Testing before Implementing VSM

5 2. Step # 2: Created the Current State Value Stream Mapping (CSVSM) Defined the scope of the Value Stream Map. o Walk the process from End to End Agreed upon the symbols, icons and data to use. Brainstormed an initial Map. Determined the missing information that the VSM requires Made assignments to gather and create information, the followed Go See the process o Collected as much information about the cause of waste as possible Built the Current State Value Stream Map (CSVSM) on Paper Made the list of Lightning Bolts of potential improvements Figure 2. Current State Value Stream Mapping

6 3. Step # 3 Created the Future State Value Stream Mapping (FSVSM) Below Lighting bolt in green are continuous improvement made in regression testing. Figure 3. Future State Value Stream Mapping

7 Figure 4. Testing Process for Regression Testing after implementing VSM 4. Step # 4: From CSVSM to FSVSM Key learning in VSM process and a plan on how team will progress from CSVSM to FSVSM was shared with Senior Management in a non-threatening manner. Structured team was defined to work on problem solving and to complete tasks which continuously focused on progress on goals and support required. This information was collected and periodically reviewed with Top Management ECP QA team was involved in work on various improvements thus putting right members on a team to complete projects Information was posted to senior Management in effective Way and Implemented a Top-Level Report- Out o Post three Value Stream Maps in a conspicuous way The Original Current State The Desired Future State The Virtual Current State Where the team stands now o A simple and visual comparison of the three value stream maps spoke the progress.

8 Benefits: Applying Lean Methodology of Value Stream Mapping has resulted in below continuous improvements QA Activity Before VSM Process Implemented After VSM process implemented Test Design No Standardized Mode of Communication for regression request Test case were not available for RICE component in structured manner Employed usage of Standard Regression Test Template to capture the RICE Component details Created of new test case repository for RICE components for future reuse and regression testing Test Execution Defect Management Testing Ownership was majorly with Business User which was impacting their Core business activity Lack of Oracle Knowledge in QA Unable to track defects due to lack of knowledge in Defect Management Life Cycle among users Build QA Knowledge to test the regression request in ECP SGI instance Increased Testing Ownership increased to more than 80% Deployed usage of automated test suite for increased coverage and reduced execution time for patch Regression Testing Employed effective usage of Bugzilla and HP ALM tool following Defect Management cycle to report the issues during Regression Testing. Communication Plan Gap of regression communication to Stakeholder well in advance Communication of Quarterly Plan well in advance for Regression testing to all Stakeholders Standardized and quantitative status reports for consistent & timely communication with Stakeholders

9 Conclusion Eaton cannot afford to have major issues in Production which may potentially impact Sales, Growth and Profit of an Organization. By Applying Lean, the optimized solution has helped in getting wider test coverage in a shorter time frame thus helped in finding more issues in ECP before going LIVE and improved regression testing absolutely reduces the risk of issues Earlier multiple business users were involved in regression activities, now with this ownership shift to QA team (80% ownership is now with QA) this is being done in a more process oriented and optimized manner. Earlier, the time spent by Business owners and Functional Analysts was close to 2870hrs; however this has been reduced to 1435hrs after QA team s involvement leading to almost 50% savings on effort spent Continuous improvement identified through implementation of VSM in QA regression process has helped in identification of gaps between Business and QA team. This in turn has improved the On Time Delivery with 95% completion of Test Coverage Bridging Gap between QA and Business has helped in decreasing the burden on Business user who was required during regression testing activity. Thus helping them to concentrate on their Core Activities Effective Regression Testing Status highlighted potential risk which may have impacted ongoing business Activity Highlighted incomplete information in Design Document during regression testing activity Employed usage of Issue Resolution Template for each regression cycle which has helped in effectively communicating Issue and build the knowledge bank on resolution. Effective Usage of Bug Tracking tool helped in Defect Management Allowed site BPOs to focus on core activities by shifting primary responsibility of regression testing to QA team Reduced dependency on site BPOs resulting in increased probability of completing regression testing activity on time Consistent process followed for regression testing at all sites when managed & conducted by a centralized QA team Better management of Regression Testing activity when accounted for in the overall project plan Above these all implementation of process and potential benefits has eased on job activity for QA as well as Business User which has increased productivity and confidence level in QA testing By Applying Value Stream Mapping- a Lean Technique, value added and non-value added waste in process can be identified which can be eliminated further by taking appropriate actions. This technique can be applied in IT world for any process followed by team internally.

10 Author s biography Vandana Singh Quality Analyst- Eaton Technologies (vandanasingh@eaton.com) Vandana work as Quality Analyst with Eaton Technologies and is responsible for Regression Testing activity on ECP SGI.She has close to 6 years of experience in functional testing, Regression Testing and System Testing of Oracle ERP with mix of manual and automation approach. Prior to Eaton she was with L&T InfoTech working as Functional Tester for Oracle ERP.She completed her Bachelor of Computer Science from Mumbai University

11 Appendix Sr NO Name 1 ECP Enterprise Common Platform 2 CSVSM Current State Value Stream Mapping 3 FSVSM Future State Value Stream Mapping 4 QA Quality Analyst 5 IA Impact Analysis 6 VSM Value Stream Mapping 7 BPO Business Process Owner 8 SGI Single Global Instance 9 ALM Application Life Cycle Management 10 SCM Supply Chain Management 11 PLM Product Lifecycle Management