© 2004 SENTEL

Improving Software Quality Through Communication

Kanchan Bajaj, SENTEL CorporationKbajaj@sentel.comwww.sentel.com972-308-1880

© 2004 SENTEL

Overview

• Project Overview

• Customer Needs

• How SENTEL improved quality through communications

• Results

• Q & A

© 2004 SENTEL

Speaker Information

About Me?• Kanchan Bajaj

• Software Project Manager, Quality Assurance Analyst

• 8 years of Engineering experience

• Numerous projects in Defense and Commercial Companies

• Software Development and Project Management experience

© 2004 SENTEL

Company Information

About SENTEL Corporation• SENTEL is an engineering services company that

develops, tests, implements, and supports innovative technology that improves defense, enables communication, and protects lives.

• Founded in 1987, SENTEL has garnered numerous awards for its work.

• SENTEL was assessed as a Level-2 software development organization in accordance with the Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model (CMM).

© 2004 SENTEL

Project Overview

RGS – Report Generation Software• Automates the examination process from case-building

and assignment to assessment and archiving

• Computes tax, penalties, interest, and adjustments

• Provides taxpayer an accurate, legible, and easily understood audit report

• Allows for timely responses to taxpayer correspondence

• Automates the No-Reply process from case creation through case closure

© 2004 SENTEL

Project Overview

Customer Base • Used by approximately 26,000 users in all Business

Operating Divisions, Appeals, and National Research Program (NRP).

© 2004 SENTEL

Customer Needs

RGS in the Past…• Communication problems between client and team

• Poorly defined requirements = poor product quality

• Scoop creep – lots of late requirements

• Multiple build deliveries – squeeze in one more critical change

• No credibility with their upper management

• Unwanted stress

© 2004 SENTEL

Customer Needs

The Customer Wanted to…• Control Scope creep – fewer late requirements

• Control Schedule – be knowledgeable when to test

• Improve overall Program image

• Decrease stress

© 2004 SENTEL

What SENTEL Did

How did SENTEL Improve RGS?• Changed the Management

• Revised Methods

• Changed the Overall Process

© 2004 SENTEL

What SENTEL Did

Management Changeover • Hired a new Program Director

Had credibility of being successful in Government environment

Knew that customer wanted to improve their status in organization

© 2004 SENTEL

What SENTEL Did

Methods Revision• Implemented portions of XP (Extreme Programming) with

the SEI-CMM Level 3

Emphasis on customer involvement and team work

Introduced pairing with XP

Team analysis and estimation process

Building nightly builds

© 2004 SENTEL

What SENTEL Did

Process Improvement with Customer Communication

• Made improvements within the team

• Changed all-in-one build mentality; new changes go in the next build

• Changed the Testing Process

• Improved customer relations

• Implemented Peer Reviews

© 2004 SENTEL

Making Full Use of the Tool

Implemented a Tool that Helped us

• Track requirements – # submitted and # delivered

• Track estimates – helped in creating realistic schedules

• Track development status – accurate prediction on % completion in real time

• Control development – traceability

• Control test plans and test data – all under source control

• Supply schedules that clearly showed a defined critical path

© 2004 SENTEL

We Continued to Communicate

Improvements Made within the Team

• Improved planning process – customer sign-off

• Baselined requirements

• Improved estimation process – all in the tool

• Baselined RGS schedule

• Integrated schedule with the customer’s end-game schedule

• Tracked schedules weekly with customer with collected actuals

© 2004 SENTEL

Improvements: Planning

Source-Controlled Everything

• Requirements

• Design documents

• Source code

• Test plans and Test cases

• Test proofs at each level of testing

© 2004 SENTEL

Improvements: Testing Process

Changed Testing Process

• Test plans independently written by Test developers

• Test plans peer reviewed by customer analyst

• Common-sense approach to regression testing No full regression testing on all platforms all the time

• Test proof created for each level of testing

• Eliminated test level that added no value

• Implemented threshold for system end-to-end testing

• Common sense approach to test automation

© 2004 SENTEL

Improvements: Peer Review

Implemented Peer Reviews

• Customer analyst peer reviewed design docs

• Customer analyst peer reviewed test plans

• Developer-to-Developer peer review during team level testing

• Developer-to-Tester peer review during system level testing

© 2004 SENTEL

Improvements: Customer Relations

• Held Weekly/Daily Change Control Board meetings for current release cycle

Prioritized new requirements Prioritized re-work on defects Analyzed impact on schedule Negotiated build deliveries

Negotiated build quality

• Opened lines of communication between the customer analyst and developers

• Got involved early to plan next release cycle

• Proposed changes to applications – new technology

© 2004 SENTEL

Results

What did we Get out of Improved Communications?

• On time delivery for each scheduled build Achieved customer trust and credibility

• Fewer nights and weekends worked

• Better Quality product using improved testing and peer review process

• Open communications with the customer management

• Open communications between customer analyst, developers, and test team

• Learned – always say YES and then give alternatives

© 2004 SENTEL

Results

Statistics for Product Released Before 09/15/02 – 01/30/03)

• Planned 3 Build deliveries – Delivered 16 builds

• Delivered 285 requirements

• Held 9 formal CCB meetings with stakeholders

• Customer found defect 28%

Statistics for Product Released Now (09/15/03 – 01/30/04)

• Planned 4 Build deliveries – Delivered 8 builds

• Baselined with 102 requirements – Delivered 217 requirements

• Held 45 formal CCB meetings with stakeholders

• Customer found defect 7% - all non critical

-- We communicated it all!

© 2004 SENTEL

Questions

Email me at

kbajaj@sentel.com

Portions of this presentation were provided by Tresia Eaves and Brian Blackburne.