THE TEST SUB GROUP (TSG) A Cooperative Approach to Improve the Release Quality before Type Acceptance

摘要

The development of telecommunication market has increased dramatically during the last ten years, forcing mobile operators to introduce new services for the customers. To do so, the time available for testing decreases drastically, forcing the operators to request always more quality to the manufacturers providing their own network elements. In this scenario, a group called Test Sub Group (TSG) has been created among the mobile operators using ERICSSON CME 20 Switching Systems, with the purpose to bring the operators' point of view inside Ericsson System Integration activities. In this phase, in fact, the possible improvements have lower costs for both, the supplier and the operators, and high effects on release software quality. In this paper, TSG and its way to work inside the Ericsson process is described, highlighting the benefits for Ericsson and the Operators. The paper continues addressing the methodology used and its application in the context of the Switching Systems R8 release with an example related to GPRS testing. A set of measurements to evaluate process and product quality is described. Some considerations about the validity of the "TSG" model are made, and its applicability to various market situations is analysed.