Nextel Technology Lab - Improving the QA Process

Nextel instituted a new lab for testing hardware and software releases that are received from suppliers for its wireless communications services. They wanted the ability to manage the testing process as well as the documentation related to the tests. They also needed a process to maintain the information gathered during the tests so that they could continuously learn from previous tests. They designed the workflow processes for managing and documenting the test cases. All documentation is in the form of PDF, Word, Notepad, Excel, and Visio files that are in electronic format. But they still needed a technical solution for the implementation.

Problem

Nextel's timeframe was thirty days to implement the system and train the users before the first major test case arrived at the lab. The majority of the vendors reviewed for the project indicated that it would take 60 to 90 days to implement.

Document Management Solution

DocuVantage® with its many years of delivering Document Management and Workflow solutions to clients, guaranteed that the application would be completed within the 30-day time frame.

The application involved several workflow processes. The majority of the work to be done was tracking and documenting the hundreds of test cases performed in the lab. The system also required the ability of managing a process for modifying lab configuration diagrams and ensuring that the necessary people had reviewed the proposed changes while making certain that the user only accessed the latest version of the diagrams.

DocuVantage® installed the EDM system, assisted in finalizing the workflow processes, implemented the processes, and trained the users in less than 30 days. This allowed Nextel to focus on the tests instead of the processes for managing the test. During this time, DocuVantage® also recommended and implemented an issue tracking workflow to facilitate the communication and resolution of issues that arose in the lab during testing.