50% Reduction in Manual Testing Process of Telco Application

Background

Before integrating new features, ensuring a system’s stability and functionality is critical, not only to prevent costly failures but also to maintain competitive advantage in fast-moving markets. Industry analyses show that digital transformation and automation technologies have become central to modern IT delivery, with organizations embedding automation and AI in quality assurance (QA) to accelerate workflow efficiency and reduce errors.

According to a recent research from McKinsey, organisations that effectively transform their software development practices, including automation and AI‑assisted tools, are seeing up to 30 % improvements in productivity, and up to 45 % gains in software quality compared with others that refused to modernise their processes. Yet despite the clear potential of automation, the surge in software releases and growing expectations for quality continue to overwhelm traditional, manual testing processes.

Our client, a major network operator, serves millions with a comprehensive range of communication solutions via a single integrated application. Given the dynamic nature of customer demands, regular updates and additions are essential.  

The client wished to validate the existing applications’ compliance and readiness levels before upgrading them. However, the surge in test cases posed challenges for timely releases using manual testing methods alone. To overcome this hurdle, the company has engaged three vendors, including GEM, to implement automated testing procedures. The client expected the quality control phase to be completed within a year to move on to the next development phases. 

Solution

GEM had sent a team of 7 members to work on-site. For each product, GEM’s QC team contacted the management and manual test team to collect relevant documents and verify the requirements. GEM and the client worked closely together to ensure that the documentation and guidelines complied with the application’s latest version. This step was crucial for establishing a reliable foundation for the testing scripts and ensuring that they were aligned with the current functionalities of the products. 

Regarding data insufficiency, GEM solved the problem by creating a sample database through the API to test the needed functions. After that, the team started building automation test scripts for each application. It took the team around 20 sprints to finish the test scripts for all assigned products. 

Output

• Automated testing process completed in approximately 50% of the originally allocated timeline.
• Streamlined the testing process through a clear execution roadmap and meticulously developed automated test scripts.
• Improved consistency and efficiency across testing activities.
• Enhanced visibility and control over multiple interconnected data systems during testing.
• Established a scalable testing framework for managing complex system environments.

Impacts

• Achieved a test pass rate exceeding 85%, demonstrating the stability and quality of the delivered solution.
• Leveraged automated testing to reduce testing time by 50% compared to the original project estimate.
• Maintained high testing accuracy while significantly improving testing efficiency.
• Accelerated validation and quality assurance activities through automation-driven test execution.
• Enabled the client to proceed to the next phase of their system modernization program ahead of schedule.