Test management

The success of the large projects undertaken by Telecom and Service Providers is to an increasing degree determined by the speed and predictability of the integration and the test phase. Unfortunately, these often leave something to be desired and the test and integration costs sometimes mount up to more than 50% of the total project budget.
In our view, to get a real grip on this first of all requires knowledge of the Telecom and Service Provider domain. The reason for this is that this knowledge makes it possible to rapidly identify the key risks inherent in a project in consultation with the domain experts and to translate them into the design of a proper testing strategy. Furthermore, risk categories can generally be reused in similar Telecom projects.
In addition, to create a predictable test program it is important to prepare clear test plans and to coordinate these with users and the suppliers providing testing services. Elements, such as the project scope and the previously mentioned risks must be incorporated into this process, as well as standard progress reporting, test deliverables, entry and exit criteria and of course the required test environments.
Finally, reviews and automated testing must be included to heighten predictability and control costs.