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echnology
more software than previously while at the same time improving its quality. Original Software has also helped
Midcounties implement a new and more effective way of working and a methodology geared for business benefits. Previously, Midcounties used a waterfall
software development methodology, where the product was delivered at the end of the development process. Now the QA team is moving towards testing in iterations. This has allowed Midcounties to be more responsive to the market and to meet regulatory authorities’ demands for traceability. “The Original Software products are very
easy to manipulate to the way you want to work,” Massingham said. “This has allowed us to comply with ISO guidelines, and deliver products to both internal and external customers faster. “For example, one of our T&A systems
previously took 10 days to test manually. Now using TestDrive and TestDrive Assist this can be accomplished in three days.” The automated regression testing
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capabilities of the Original Software products have also enabled Midcounties to lift the quality of and confidence in their company’s business applications. “Regression testing was key for us
because without it you can never be sure there aren’t defects,” according to Massingham. “There has definitely been an
improvement in quality since Original Software. One way we see this is in the decline in incident calls to our service desk for systems exclusively tested using Original.” With 40% of regression testing now
automated and conducted overnight, processes have become much more efficient. And the improvements and efficiencies gained have laid the foundation for better communications with stakeholders. Now, not only is quality assured, but
Midcounties has the visibility of its software environment it previously lacked. This makes it easier to demonstrate
results to project managers and external auditors. “We work closely with project
managers throughout the business software development lifecycle. It’s important for us to be able to keep the sponsor of a project up-to-date on how the testing is going – what percentage is complete, how many defects and so on,” Massingham added, while the QA products make it easy for him to tailor the reports by audience. Whether a one-day task or a three-month
project, Midcounties now uses Original Software for all testing, which is expected to total 24 projects over the coming year. In the future, Massingham plans to use more of the available functionality to make his team even more efficient. The next feature to adopt is resource management. “Resource management gives us an
overview that helps us plan ahead and identify shortfalls of resources – it’s a massive advantage,” he said. “We chose the Original Software
products because they had the flexibility and efficiency we needed. But also because the people behind the products showed us a path to the future,” Massingham concluded.
Spring/Summer 2014 47
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