Learn how an American automotive manufacturer uses Cycle® to reduce their testing time by 50%.
CHALLENGE
A manufacturing customer utilizing Kanban scheduling to support their lean manufacturing process introduces an average of 2 to 3 system changes per week. These changes are applied to a single code base that serves four distinct manufacturing facilities.
Each system change requires thorough regression testing to ensure that a modification benefiting one facility doesn’t negatively affect the others. Given their just-in-time manufacturing approach, any disruption to system availability caused by defects could significantly impact production. As a result, ensuring system stability across all sites is crucial to maintaining uninterrupted operations.
SOLUTION
Having previously experienced the benefits of automated testing with Cycle for performance testing in their warehousing systems, the customer saw an opportunity to extend Cycle’s capabilities to support their manufacturing processes as well.
They began developing Cycle test scripts for each system change, aiming to validate that updates performed as expected in the targeted facility and didn’t disrupt operations at the other sites, which all rely on the same shared code base. The use of automation allowed the customer to speed up testing for each change while ensuring comprehensive regression coverage across all facilities.
RESULTS
By leveraging Cycle, the customer achieved a 50% reduction in test cycle time for each system change. This was made possible by using standardized test scripts across all manufacturing facilities, allowing for faster and more consistent validation of system updates.
The automated test scripts ensure that changes work as intended in the facility requesting the update, while also safeguarding operations at other sites. This approach has not only reduced the effort required for testing but also instilled confidence in their ability to deploy frequent system changes without risking disruption.
Additionally, the customer now has a robust suite of regression tests that covers their frequent system changes, positioning them for the next phase of their testing evolution: continuous testing.
With further automation, they are set to realize even greater efficiencies and benefits through Cycle’s comprehensive test automation capabilities.
"By leveraging Cycle, the customer achieved a 50% reduction in test cycle time for each system change.”