Testing readiness before deployment

Context and role

During negotiations for a joint venture, the business was developing a replacement retail operating system. The joint venture was still awaiting final agreement, while hardware had already been purchased.

I spent six months designing test steps and testing simulated transactions. My store and operational experience led to my appointment as test lead for eight members of the development team. Business stakeholders explained what their areas needed to achieve; I brought practical knowledge of how a store had to operate.

Working through the problems

Testing identified gaps between the proposed processes and real store activity. A number of processes were redefined and fixes deployed. The stock team developed a stock-movement solution, which I assisted with.

After a large number of errors had been addressed, I was asked to run the test lab as a store for five days. The simulation covered opening and closing, receiving stock, transferring stock out and selling products. We could not complete a single trading day from opening to closing without errors.

Judgement and recommendation

The supplier pushed defects back as chargeable change requests under a contract that favoured the supplier. Further correction therefore carried an escalating cost as well as unresolved operational risk.

At a final progress meeting, the VP asked for my assessment. I said the system was not fit for purpose, had overspent and, in my judgement, could not be recovered with that supplier. I recommended stopping and revisiting the design at a later date.

That was an operational and commercial assessment grounded in the testing and supplier position. The deployment decision remained with the VP.

Outcome

The VP decided to mothball the project. It was not revisited for about three years. My contribution was the realistic testing, leadership of the test team and direct assessment that informed the decision.