A state public employee retirement fund sought a partner to co-lead its benefit administration replacement project. Linea provided intensive test management and test execution support through all phases of project testing. Planning and execution started well before the first round of verification testing. In fact, we began the test planning process as each business and technical requirement was confirmed with the client's SMEs, Linea analysts, and the implementation vendor. Each phase of the client's testing included a thorough review and reconciliation of requirements, including linkage and tracking of where the requirement would be delivered into the testing environment. Linea ensured that each requirement was represented in appropriate testing scenarios while tracking execution status, defects and criticality, as well as test acceptance.
For this engagement, verification testing was defined as the initial guided walk-through of applicable functionality. This activity is an extension to the prototyping process and iterative design and delivery approach that the the client's implementation vendor employed.
During the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) phases, Linea guided the development of test scenarios and test cases driven by information gathered through As-Is process documentation, requirements confirmation, and design sessions. For validation testing, we compiled lists of standard business scenarios and common test cases, then held confirmation sessions with the client's SMEs and business area users to confirm and refine. These scenarios were used to write step-by-step user test scripts. Linea also managed tester scheduling which required balancing operational needs, personalities, and individual capacities.
The scenarios developed during validation testing were adapted and expanded for UAT, incorporating information gathered during business process improvement activities. We adapted tests to mimic complete processes including non-system-related, procedural activities. As Linea analysts expanded the scope of scenarios and test cases, SMEs again reviewed and confirmed test content and expected results. Throughout all phases of testing, Linea supported the client's testing activities and defect-tracking, including initial bug-validity evaluation and prioritization, as well as defect-retesting scheduling.