Roq Implement Agile Transformation into Global Oilfield Service Provider

The Client 

The client is the world’s largest supplier of cargo carrying units to the global energy industry and is a leading supplier of modular systems, offshore aviation services and fluid management.

With a team of around 850 people operating in over 25 countries, the company has a presence in all major oil and gas regions. The client provides standard, specialised or tailored products to customers anywhere around the globe. Its extensive hire fleet of over 60,000 allows immediate access, to a comprehensive range of products.

Millions of pounds were being lost each year, with assets and equipment being either stolen, lost or condemned. Therefore the aim of the project was to design, plan and document the development of a Track & Trace portal which would be used by both internal and external customers.

The web based Track & Trace platform would provide users with the ability to identify, locate and track their assets and equipment across the globe. Using multiple auto-id and data capture technologies from barcodes to global positioning systems (GPS) and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, the portal helps customers improve their supply chain efficiency through enhanced visibility.

The client was also keen to implement an Agile transformation into their working practices; as tasks such as backlog management and sprint planning were somewhat chaotic, which was leading to daily status calls lasting up to 90 minutes.

Roq’s Solution

Roq was selected to manage the project through its UK Test Lab. Initially an Agile methodology was established, as well as providing professional assistance in QA, introducing quality gates and processes into the project lifecycle. Roq also introduced structured Sprint planning and Timebox stand ups, created a Test Data Management Strategy, executed Web Front End (WFE) Automation and carried out re-usable Exploratory Testing using the record and playback functionality of Visual Studio Online (VSO).

The introduction of VSO as the application lifecycle tool, led to improvements in all areas, allowing access to sprint boards and backlog items for the whole project team. Roq took ownership of the creation and maintenance of all product backlog items (PBI), ensuring all PBI’s contained sufficient and relevant information, which allowed for the lengthy status calls to evolve into a much shorter daily scrum.

Roq’s Automation Framework created a footprint for automating a large number of the functional tests. This executed more tests in a quicker and repeatable manner and resulted in an automated regression test suite. Test suites were also created in VSO, allowing greater visibility and traceability to the project team.

Once rollout of the portal to customers commenced, a greater demand for enhancements and new features grew. Roq advised the client on ways to maintain the look and feel of the portal, when designing and developing these solutions. A large amount of exploratory testing was performed on the new functionality, which was very successful ensuring minimal negative impact on existing live functionality.

The Outcome  

• The introduction of Agile and Scrum; enhanced communication ensured ownership and release dates became more realistic

• The Roq Automation Framework allowed tests to run much quicker and be repeatable

• The introduction of a defect management process improved the defect resolution time immensely and allowed for process improvement to be introduced. This also prevented future occurrences of similar defects

• Delivery from the Roq Test Lab meant the project benefited from; the experience and flexibility needed when introducing Agile working across continents, knowledge transfer capabilities when creating test scripts and the ability to test on alternative build combinations allowing testing to commence immediately

If you’d like to find out more about how Roq can support your business, please email us at ask@roq.co.uk.