The Challenge
Our client, a prominent provider of inflight entertainment systems for the civilian aerospace industry, was experiencing significant testing challenges:
- Variant Management Each airline client required customized web portals with unique UIs and workflows
- Test Coverage Limitations Manual testing couldn't adequately cover all variations before releases
- Scaling Difficulties As the client base grew, testing resources were becoming increasingly strained
- Configuration Complexity Minor UI changes across airline implementations required major testing script revisions
- Confidence Issues Limited testing capacity led to uncertainty about quality before deployments
- Time Constraints Testing cycles were extending deployment timelines and delaying customer deliveries
The client needed a scalable, automated testing solution that could adapt to diverse airline requirements while maintaining consistent quality standards across all implementations.
Our Solution
We developed a comprehensive, adaptable testing solution built on three key pillars:
Customized Automated Testing Framework
- Selection and implementation of best-of-breed end-to-end testing tools
- Development of a modular architecture to isolate airline-specific elements
- Creation of abstract test components that could adapt to UI variations
- Implementation of parameterized test flows for consistent verification
- Development of self-healing test scripts that could accommodate minor UI changes
Intelligent Test Configuration System
- Design of airline-specific configuration profiles
- Creation of a metadata layer to map common functions across different UIs
- Development of visual element recognition capabilities
- Implementation of dynamic wait and retry mechanisms
- Establishment of hierarchical test execution prioritization
Comprehensive Reporting Infrastructure
- Development of real-time test execution dashboards
- Creation of trend analysis for quality metrics over time
- Implementation of airline-specific compliance reporting
- Design of comparative analysis across different airline implementations
- Integration with deployment pipeline for automated quality gates
Results & Impact
Testing Efficiency
- Ability to test all airline portals on demand
- Dramatic reduction in time required for regression testing
- Comprehensive verification of all defined user flows
- Early detection of issues before they reached production
- Consistent quality standards across all airline implementations
Operational Benefits
- Increased confidence in deployment readiness
- Shorter release cycles with higher quality outcomes
- Ability to rapidly verify fixes for previously discovered issues
- More efficient allocation of testing resources
- Capacity to handle growth without proportional increase in testing staff
Strategic Advantages
- Enhanced ability to onboard new airline clients
- Improved customer satisfaction through higher quality implementations
- Greater flexibility to accommodate airline-specific requirements
- Competitive differentiation through quality assurance capabilities
- Reduced risk profile for new feature introductions
Stakeholder Impact
The solution delivered transformative benefits across the organization:
Management
- Greater visibility into implementation status for each airline client
- Data-driven insights into quality metrics across the customer base
- Improved resource forecasting and allocation
- Enhanced ability to set realistic delivery expectations
- Reduced escalations from quality-related issues
Testing Teams
- Transition from repetitive manual testing to higher-value quality activities
- Automated verification of previously identified issues
- More comprehensive test coverage with less manual effort
- Ability to focus on exploratory testing for new features
- Improved work satisfaction through elimination of tedious repetitive tasks
Development Teams
- Faster feedback on changes impacting multiple airline implementations
- Clear verification of fix effectiveness across variants
- Reduced context switching between airline-specific configurations
- More stable integration environments
- Improved collaboration with testing specialists
Airline Clients
- Higher quality inflight entertainment systems
- More responsive implementation of change requests
- Greater consistency in user experience
- Reduced service disruptions due to quality issues
- Faster delivery of new features and enhancements
Technical Solution Details
Our success with this client demonstrates the power of our approach:
Abstraction Layer Architecture
We developed a three-tier testing architecture that separated the core test logic from airline-specific implementation details
Adaptive Element Location
The framework employed multiple strategies to locate UI elements, including traditional selectors, visual recognition, and relative positioning
Data-Driven Workflow Verification
Test flows were defined as sequences of abstract interactions with parameterized inputs and expected outcomes
Continuous Verification Pipeline
The testing infrastructure was integrated with the deployment process, automatically verifying all airline implementations
Let's talk business!
Oldschool?
If you prefer plain ol' email, write us directly at: hello@arcanus.com