Launching GMAC.com System Test: A Major Fortune 50 Financial Organization
The Client
Major Fortune 50- Financial Organization
The Business Challenge
The immediate challenge was to design a comprehensive,
real-world test that would give GMAC the information necessary to launch
their site with confidence.
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Solutions
GMAC’s goals included assurance that their site functioned properly, was well designed, and provided the consistent, high-quality user experience that their web savvy clients expect from an industry leader. GMAC’s marketing team had devoted much time and effort to revamping their corporate web site. To augment their internal testing procedures, GMAC decided to outsource this testing project.
GMAC selected Wability to conduct comprehensive web testing to ensure
that the site was ready to launch. Wability’s professional testing teams
were able to quickly design and execute the end-to-end real world
testing GMAC needed to launch their newly designed site with confidence.
The Wability team determined that testing would need to cover these four
areas.
Compatibility Verification Testing (CVT)
The compatibility verification test was used to determine whether the new GMAC web site is accessible and functioning from a variety of different platforms, operating systems, and browsers. This portion of the testing was designed to provide accurate information about how the site performs when accessed using the most typical combinations of hardware and software in use today. The 25 most common test cases were used, where each test case consisted of a platform, operating system and browser. Additionally, the various browsers were installed with and without the Flash plug-in, and it was determined whether the different browsers could detect and install the Flash Plug-in.
Functionality Verification Testing (FVT)
A Windows 98SE system, using IE 5.5, was the platform for this end to- end test. The entire site was reviewed page by page with links, Flash content, and Shockwave content being tested to assure that it functioned properly. This comprehensive testing was necessary to assure a good user experience on the site.
User Interface (UI) Design
Consistency
In this portion of testing, the uniformity and accuracy of page formatting, layout, font usage, Graphical optimization and spelling were evaluated. Completing this portion of the testing meant that every page was manually reviewed. Browser and plug-in performance testing was conducted. GMAC selected the different browser platforms and operating systems to be used on this portion of testing. This in-depth review of the site assured the final product would have a professional look and feel.
Coding Best Practices
This testing was designed to evaluate the programming elements of the GMAC site in reference to "Best Coding" practices. It included checking all pages for coding errors, tag problems, improper use of cascading style sheets, and java script problems. This testing was completed using automated tools as well as manually checking every page to assess whether there are any coding issues that may hinder the loading or display of the site. By verifying that best coding practices were followed in the design of this site, and correcting any deviations, GMAC is assured that updates to the web pages can be made easily and efficiently, without introducing new bugs due to faulty coding.
The Solution/Test Phase
Because of the in-depth nature of the testing required,
an extra day and a half was spent on planning. Five teams of experienced
testers were selected and assigned a piece of the test. Each team
developed the protocol and reporting structure for their area before any
testing started. Automated testing tools were selected. This extensive
pre-planning allowed Wability to streamline many procedures.
Wability’s unique approach to designing this test enabled us to complete
the test in 83% of the time allotted. As a result, GMAC was able to bank
74 Wability staff hours towards future work.
Open communications prevented any bottlenecks in this project. The
Wability team used the tracking system, which allowed GMAC developers to
view the tester’s findings in real time over the Internet. This allowed
for immediate bug fixes and on-the-spot regression testing. Also to
facilitate team productivity, the testers completed their work in a
group workspace, where bugs could be crosschecked immediately. The use
of identical machines allowed Wability’s results to be recreated by any
member of the teams, for reliable crosschecking.
Wability SERVICES
Wability is the premium provider of testing services that enable technology companies to release proven enterprise-scale applications on a worldwide basis.