Major Car Manufacturer
How to Test 1,500 Applications in 3 Days: A Major Car Manufacturer’s Story
In an industry where technological innovation is key to productivity and safety, one of the world's largest car manufacturers needed to keep its extensive application portfolio in sync with continuous Windows updates. Automating application testing before deployment was essential to ensure the reliability and security of global manufacturing operations.
Challenges
Manual testing was the primary obstacle of the manufacturer's efficiency. The time-consuming and error-prone manual work involved installing and validating each application for compatibility with every new Windows OS feature release.
The approach was unsustainable, especially with the manufacturer's diverse set of applications. Manual testing led to prolonged rollout timelines, increased the risk of introducing vulnerabilities, and delayed the adoption of new, potentially beneficial OS features.
Additionally, the lack of performance measurement for applications on each OS version meant decisions were often made without a clear understanding of the potential impacts on application functionality or user experience.
Objective:
- Accelerate the adoption of security and patch updates
- Test a large sample of applications in a short period of time
- Reduce current months-long rollout timelines
Key challenges:
- Windows 10 end of life support driving a new OS feature release adoption
- Manual application installation and testing on each target OS took weeks of time for a team of human testers
- No measurement of application performance on each OS, causing user error through manual input of testing results
"Manual testing led to prolonged rollout timelines, increased the risk of introducing vulnerabilities, and delayed the adoption of new, potentially beneficial OS features."
Solutions
To address these challenges, The Rimo3 platform helped modernize how the car manufacturer approached OS updates and application testing.
- Completely Automated Testing: the Rimo3 platform enabled the car manufacturer to automate the entire testing process of the application portfolio, eliminating the need for manual intervention and significantly improving efficiency and accuracy.
- Repeatable Application Testing Against Future Operating Systems: The solution facilitated ongoing, repeatable testing against both the current and future versions of the Windows operating system, ensuring long-term compatibility and performance.
- Provision of Launch Data and IST Data: Using the Rimo3 patented Intelligent Smoke Test (IST) comprehensive analysis allowed the manufacturer to make informed decisions regarding the best OS version for their application portfolio, optimizing performance and compatibility.
Results
Using The Rimo3 platform transformed the car manufacturer's approach to managing its application estate in the face of constant technological change.
- Continuous Testing: the Rimo3 platform allowed continuous testing of the application estate, effectively managing the constant technological change and ensuring compatibility and performance across all applications.
- Time Savings: By automating the testing process, the manufacturer saved an entire month of testing time that would have been required for manual testing by a staff of ten, marking a significant improvement in efficiency.
- High-Volume Testing Capability: The automated system tested approximately 1,500 applications through the Intelligent Smoke Test process in just three days, achieving an impressive rate of 20 applications per hour.
- Reliable Data for Informed Decision-Making: The process generated reliable data, facilitating informed decision-making regarding application updates, deployments, and OS migrations, thereby reducing the risk of compatibility issues or performance degradation.
Key Results:
- Continuous Testing
- Time Savings
- High-Volume Testing Capability
- Reliable Data for Informed Decision-Making
Conclusion
The car manufacturer used the Rimo3 platform as a tool to overcome challenges presented when maintaining a large application portfolio. The car manufacturer not only streamlined its testing and deployment processes but also enhanced its operational security and efficiency.
Through innovative automation solutions like the Rimo3 platform, companies like this car manufacturer can navigate the complexities of workspace transformation.