Migros Bank
Migros Bank automates software testing for banking experts with UFT One
Products and services
Outcomes
- No scripting enables easy creation of test cases by banking experts
- High visibility of software development quality as a result of integration of key testing solutions
- Automated testing eases the burden on testers
Challenge
Migros Bank AG is a reliable, no-nonsense, expert Swiss universal bank and full subsidiary of the Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund. As a cooperative bank, it considers itself the friendly alternative, offering attractive banking products and terms.
“For us as a bank, it is extremely important that our core banking applications run smoothly at all times without any errors or disruptions. We can’t tolerate a single error on account of the impact this would have on customer confidence,” explains Rebecca Schadegg, Testing Team manager at Migros Bank AG.
The standardized … test environment has genuinely helped us to achieve quality improvements. One major advantage for our banking experts has been the automation of tests.
Two years ago, prompted by a need to improve the quality of its software and exert a direct influence on testing processes, the management at Migros Bank made the decision to insource its software testing, which had previously been outsourced to an external service provider.
To this end, Schadegg set up an internal team which today has twelve members. The team is responsible for the regression testing of Finnova Banking Software, the core banking application used by Migros Bank, as well as key peripheral systems and interfaces. The bank receives updates and new functions for the Finnova software once a month, which its departments then analyze for relevance.
If the decision is taken to implement the modifications and updates, the testing team includes these in the regression tests to identify defects and possible side effects. The desired updates, sometimes up to 2,000 changes in total, are then implemented in a major release every three months—after they have been tested thoroughly.
It was important to us for our testers to be able to create automated tests without an in-depth understanding of IT. Ultimately, after comparing the various tools available, this was the main reason we opted for an end-to-end…environment.
In the run-up to the resumption of testing activities in-house, it was clear to Schadegg that the business needed a solution that would document all test cases, both manual and automated.
Details
Solution
The testers in Schadegg’s team are not IT professionals, but banking experts with a thorough understanding of business processes at Migros Bank and are therefore able to create realistic test cases.
“It was therefore important to us for our testers to be able to create automated tests without an in-depth understanding of IT,” comments Schadegg.
“Ultimately, after comparing the various tools available, this was the main reason we opted for an end-to-end…environment,” recalls Schadegg.
End-to-end support means that even requirements management is completed in OpenText™ Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) at Migros Bank. This is also where all the test cases are documented, irrespective of whether these have been run manually or automatically. Functional tests are created on a component basis using OpenText™ Business Process Testing and, if required, are automated using OpenText™ UFT One.
“Whilst achieving a high a level of automation is not our key aim, in the case of regression tests, we always check whether automated testing will be useful—in order to increase both testing efficiency and quality. The reason behind this is that if you always test the same thing manually, it is easy to become ‘test blind’ and overlook errors,” stresses Schadegg. “This can’t happen to a test robot such as UFT One, which is why we are fully behind test automation.”
Professional Services supported Migros Bank with the implementation of the solution and its migration to in-house processes. “I am delighted to report that, thanks to the professional assistance of Professional Services, the test team were able to hit the ground running,” comments Schadegg.
This assistance included training the testers and creating a decision matrix, which Migros Bank uses today to determine whether or not to implement automated regression tests. Nine months in, Migros Bank has already automated approximately 70 test cases for business processes, such as incoming payments or stock market purchases. A figure that is set to rise to 120 over the next three months. “And that’s not the end of it,” continues Schadegg. “Eventually, we estimate that the bank will be able to automate up to 20 percent of all test cases with UFT One.”
Results
Schadegg is convinced. “The standardized test environment has contributed to real improvements in software quality. While it is too soon yet for reliable figures, the first three major releases that have gone live since we implemented the solution were of a very high quality. We have not experienced any serious software failures in that time. However, identifying quality problems, their potential impact on business, and rectifying these, should a failure arise, is much faster for us thanks to ALM.
“At the end of the day, we now have much greater transparency over testing than we did before and are able to work more efficiently because all the information is available. The real advantage for us is that the test automation is being done by banking experts and not IT experts.”
About Migros Bank
Migros Bank was founded by Gottlieb Duttweiler in 1958. Today, with more than 800,000 customer relationships and 67 branches, Migros Bank is one of the leading banks in Switzerland.
