© 2004 SENTEL
Improving Software Quality Through Communication
Kanchan Bajaj, SENTEL [email protected]
© 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
Portions of this presentation were provided by Tresia Eaves and Brian Blackburne.
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