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Case Studies
Building a Strategic IT Road Map
About the Client
A leading specialty retailer of home goods and kitchenware was implementing Retek as part of a strategic long-term initiative to build an IT infrastructure for fast growth and multi-channel integration across all product lines.
Overview
The client's implementation was planned across multiple releases to gradually introduce added functionality and additional products and brands. The existing Quality Assurance (QA) team - comprising contractors with non-complementary skills, was unable to solve the coordination and scalability issues in testing the first implementation release. Further, the QA team's responsibility was undefined across all the impacted applications leading to additional complexities. The retailer's requirement, therefore, was for an IT partner who could test the implementation with 100% accuracy and ensure a quick roll out of the implementation. Infosys with its cost-effective Global Delivery Model, Independent Validation Services offering, Retek experience and a proven testing methodology was chosen as the ideal partner.
Challenges
- There were a large number of application touch-points (systems/applications) involved in the implementation
- The limited number of test environments, which led to non-test dedicated resources, resulted in conflicts of these environments
- There were schedule conflicts involved between the different applications
- Limited resource availability and limited functional knowledge of the test support teams was also a big hindrance
Infosys' Solution
To enable 100% accuracy and faster turnaround, Infosys' QA team adopted a unique testing model: 'Divide & Rule'. This model provided for functions to be logically divided into clusters to enable complete and non-redundant test case development with parallel test execution leading to minimum down-time. Each of these clusters was created as independent functional units which could be tested end-to-end using data-dimensional tests. Apart from taking into consideration the rollout plan, this clustering concept was adopted to mitigate the various challenges and complexities. Infosys successfully:
- Validated the client's Retek implementation while maintaining operational simplicity
- Covered over 150 interfaces to in-house and third-party applications
- Conducted end-to-end testing involving Retek suite and applications
Benefits
- Prevented down-time or breaks in continuity through methodical and comprehensive testing, using repeatable processes
- Defined standard testing roadmap and overall strategy for all subsequent releases to mitigate program risks
- Ensured in-time rollout of implementation by aligning test management with implementation goals to guarantee adherence to schedule
- Reduced costs significantly by leveraging Infosys' highly efficient Global Delivery Model
- Ensured high-visibility to quality parameters throughout the testing lifecycle, to enhance end-user satisfaction
- Freed resources to work on building strategic IT road map rather than maintenance/execution
Awards
Infosys named Sainsbury's 2006 IT Supplier of the Year
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Testimonials
"Without the help of Infosys, we would have had to postpone large projects for years. We would have suffered as a result."-Terry Morgan
CIO and Senior VP, IT
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In the News
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