Zugl.: München, Techn. University, Diss., 2009.

This thesis deals with software testing and its possible automation and compares the pros and cons of automated testing with manual testing. In the automated approach is introduced tool for automated testing HP QuickTest Professional (HP QTP). The main objective is to analyze the advantages of using this tool in conditions of a real project, based on predefined criteria. In the theoretical section I introduce basic terms within the field of software testing and identify testing in the software development process. A comparison of manual and automated approach to software testing and introduction of tool HP QTP for automated tests follows. Target of practical part is to analyze the advantages of automation by using HP QTP on a real project according to defined criteria and recommend for what conditions the automation in this case worthwhile. In the practical part is also created manual which describing the basic functionality of HP QTP, which is demonstrated on examples. Manual, which is also the output of this work, has to help testers to quickly understand the work with this tool and therefore better plan process of tests automation.

In the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, the pressure to accelerate the deployment of 5G technology has created a new competitive environment for businesses. This technology not only enables lower latency, but also higher number of connected devices, higher amounts of shared data, and faster. The growing demand from customers is pressuring every stage of the supply chain to become more efficient. In this industry, achieving a short time-tomarket is vital to stay ahead of competitors and position the company as a trend-setter in the eyes of customers. Therefore, it has become necessary to overall shorten lead times and deliver products in a faster way. This study was performed in collaboration with Ericsson AB, more specifically in the Ericsson Outbound Supply EMEA. Recent escalations from customers have shown that Ericsson’s ways of working to handle customer purchase orders are not being efficient. In many cases, it is taking longer to process the order than the lead times agreed on the contract with the customer. As a result, this study investigates how automation technologies can improve end-to-end order flows, how these can affect Ericsson as an organisation and its workforce, as well as which factors must be taken into consideration when implementing automation. In order to support the investigation, an analysis of the issues most frequently affecting hardware deliveries to customers was also conducted through the Spiderweb program. The latter is an internal improvement initiative of Ericsson Supply, focused on improving Ericsson’s order handling flows for the Market Area Europe and Latin America. The study was based on the following research questions: How can automation technologies help to improve Supply’s performance? How does automation impact the company as an organisation, its culture and workforce? How can the improvement methodology followed in the Spiderweb drive automation discoveries? Qualitative data was primarily collected through meetings with Spiderweb program drivers and 11 interviews held with different stakeholders at Ericsson Supply. Conclusively, this study indicates that the four critical factors that will require further developments for automation in Supply to become a reality are: its culture; the establishment of a data-driven organisation; the coordination of different processes and communication between dependent stakeholders; and the technical implementation of automation technology and other tools used locally. It is also concluded that the full potential of automation will only be realised if accompanied by a corresponding development of the workforce, and a clear communication of the strategy from top management. Lastly, the main recommendation to Supply regards the need to standardise order handling processes and simplify order flows, prior to any automation implementation in Supply. / Inom informations- och kommunikationsteknologinäringen (IKT) har trycket för att påskynda implementeringen av 5G-teknik skapat en ny konkurrensmiljö för företagen. Denna teknik möjliggör inte bara lägre latens, utan också större antal anslutna enheter, större mängder delad data och snabbare. Den växande efterfrågan från kunderna pressar varje steg i leveranskedjan att bli effektivare. I denna bransch är det viktigt att uppnå en kort tid till marknaden för att ligga före konkurrenterna och positionera företaget som trendmässigt i kunders ögon. Därför har det blivit nödvändigt att övergripande förkorta ledtiderna och leverera produkter på ett snabbare sätt. Denna studie utfördes i samarbete med Ericsson AB, mer specifikt i Ericsson Outbound Supply EMEA. Nya upptrappningar från kunder har visat att Ericssons sätt att arbeta för att hantera kundköporder inte är effektiva. I många fall tar det längre tid att behandla beställningen än de ledtider som avtalats med kunden. I denna studie undersöks hur automatiseringstekniker kan förbättra ordningsflödena från början till slut, hur dessa kan påverka Ericsson som organisation och dess arbetskraft, samt vilka faktorer som måste beaktas vid implementering av automatisering. För att stödja utredningen genomfördes också en analys av de problem som oftast påverkar hårdvaruleveranser till kunder genom Spiderweb-programmet. Det senare är ett internt förbättringsinitiativ från Ericsson Supply, fokuserat på att förbättra Ericssons orderhanteringsflöden för marknadsområdet Europa och Latinamerika. Studien baserades på följande forskningsfrågor: Hur kan automatiseringsteknologier bidra till att förbättra Supply’s prestanda? Hur påverkar automatisering företaget som organisation, dess kultur och arbetskraft? Hur kan förbättringsmetodiken följas i Spiderweb-enhetens automatiseringsupptäckter? Kvalitativ data samlades främst genom möten med Spiderwebprogramdrivare och 11 intervjuer med olika intressenter på Ericsson Supply. Sammanfattningsvis indikerar denna studie att de fyra kritiska faktorerna som kommer att kräva ytterligare utveckling för att automatisering i Supply ska bli verklighet är: dess kultur; inrättande av en datadriven organisation; samordning av olika processer och kommunikation mellan beroende intressenter; och teknisk implementering av automatiseringsteknologi och andra verktyg som används lokalt. Det dras också slutsatsen att automatiseringspotentialen fullt ut kommer att realiseras om den åtföljs av en motsvarande utveckling av arbetskraften och en tydlig kommunikation av strategin från toppledningen. Slutligen beaktar huvudrekommendationen till Supply behovet av att standardisera orderhanteringsprocesser och förenkla orderflöden innan automatiseringsimplementering i Supply startar.

Big amounts of test data generated by the current used software testing tools (QA-C/QA-C++ and Cantata) contain a variety of different values. The variances cause enormous challenges in data aggregation and interpretation that directly affect generation of test metrics. Due to the circumstance of data processing, this master thesis introduces a database-centric test management framework for test metrics aims at centrally handling the big data as well as facilitating the generation of test metrics. Each test result will be individually parsed to be a particular format before being stored in a centralized database. A friendly front-end user interface is connected and synchronized with the database that allows authorized users to interact with the stored data. With a granularity tracking mechanism, any stored data will be systematically located and programmatically interpreted by a test metrics generator to create various kinds of high-quality test metrics. The automatization of the framework is driven by Jenkins CI to automatically and periodically performing the sequential operations. The technology greatly and effectively optimizes and reduces effort in the development, as well as enhance the performance of the software testing processes. In this research, the framework is only started at managing the testing processes on software-unit level. However, because of the independence of the database from levels of software testing, it could also be expanded to support software development at any level.