Keith Drexel, Jason Gregory, Weimin Hou,

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GDHM

• Keith Drexel, Jason Gregory, Weimin Hou, CD
  Martin

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A Little Background

• GDHM has experience with
• Design documentation tools
• Workflow management solutions
• Training management software
• Various image utilities

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Specializes in training methods such as

• Instructor-led
• Multimedia CBT
• Interactive distance learning
• Self-study

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The Overall Problem

• Cause
• The QA process for tracking and testing of issues
  is not handled efficiently and promptly
• Effect
• Loss of money due to wasted person hours
• Redundancy complacency

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Problem List

• Call support work time being wasted by logging
  in issues that have already been logged.
•  Engineering work-time being wasted by
  resolving issues and testing fixes that have
  already been resolved.
• Issues are being dropped (not addressed) due
  to not being logged or log entry ignored due to
  log non-use.
•  QA work time being wasted in creating Test
  Cases that had previously been created for
  other similar problems.

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Problem List cont.

• Issue resolution being slowed by QA not creating
  Test Cases until Fix needs to be tested.
• High-cost Engineering work time being used on Log
  input issues when other departments bring issues
  to them.
• Call support work-time being wasted by QA /
  Development staff asking for more detailed
  customer problem issue information from
  the Support Log.
• Engineering work time being wasted by arguments
  between QA and Development over whether a
  reported problem should be fixed.

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Requirements
Reduce duplicated logging of Issues Facilitate
the reuse of Test-Cases Allow Engineering Direct
Access to Support Log Info Eliminate some of the
steps between Issue Receipt and Resolution No
More than 16 hours of training per person for
Call Support personnel
SYSTEM MUST
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Constraints
Fall Within 250,000 (One-Time) Must Break-Even
Within 2 years Full Implementation 12-31-2001.
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Alternatives

• Alternative One
• Outsource Maintenance
• Alternative Two
• Policy Change
• Alternative Three
• Policy Change, Modified Database, Additional
  Software

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Alternative 1 Outsourcing Maintenance

• OUTSOURCE ALL ACTIVITY DEALING WITH ISSUES
• TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALREADY OPTIMIZED SYSTEM
• CALL SUPPORT WILL FOCUS ON HELP DESK
• DEVELOPMENT / QA WILL FOCUS ON NEW RELEASES
• ESTIMATED COSTS OVER CURRENT (ANNUAL)

1,008,038
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Alternative 2 Policy Change

• CHANGE POLICY
• DEALS PRIMARILY WITH FORMALIZING LOGGING
• MINIMIZES DUPLICATION OF
• LOGGING / DEVELOPMENT / TESTING
• DOES NOT ADDRESS TEST CASE RE-USE
• ESTIMATED COSTS (ONE-TIME) 15,113
• ESTIMATED BENEFITS (ANNUAL) 148,807
• BREAK-EVEN TIME lt2 MONTHS

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Alternative 3 Policy Change, Modified Database,
Additional Software

• ALL BENEFITS OF POLICY CHANGE, PLUS...
• INSTALLATION OF QA TEST ASSISTANCE SOFTWARE
• TRANSFERRING SUPPORT LOG ISSUE INFO FUNCTION
• INTO ISSUE LOG
• ESTIMATED COSTS (ONE-TIME) 166,354
• ESTIMATED BENEFITS (ANNUAL) 214,202
• BREAK-EVEN TIME lt10 MONTHS

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Requirements Constraints Comparison
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Our Recommendation

• Alternative 3 Policy Change, Modified
  Database, Additional Software
• Falls within the desired budget
• Recover employee time that was previously
  wasted
• Alternative 1 Outsourcing Maintenance
• Shown to be cost-prohibitive
• Alternative 2 Policy Change
• Does not address Test-Case reuse or
• Engineering access to Support Log information

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Questions?