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Room B2506D MW
DSS, Longbenton
Benton Park Road
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NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
NE98 1YX
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2nd Floor °
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King Edward Street NY . 7
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EC] 1AA ge aes ~ ++, Date:,. _ 3, November 1998
Dear Dy
RE: TESTING - MANAGEMENT CONTROL AND REPORTING
ARRANGEMENTS
- TIP INTERFACE
It is good to see that most of the revised progress monitoring arrangements are now in
place for the current phases of testing. They appear to be working well and I am grateful I
to Simon Rilot for his hard work in this area and for being so responsive. I
However. there.are 3. issues where action remains outstanding. They are:- {
ci the provision of test condition analysis for End to End testing. (This is a
key metric in understanding how successful/complete this phase of testing
is; -
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[ii] analysis of PINICL clearance and prioritisation;
[iii] formalisation of the weekly progress meetings and pre-run checkpoint
process for start of testing. (Absolutely essential before we enter the final
runs of testing.)
Carol Jepmond is pursuing [iii] with Simon Rilot, who is aware that I am writing to you.
However we seem unable to make progress in [i] and [ii]. Without [i] it will be
impossible for you and/or Simon to report progress on E2E testing satisfactorily at the
next CAPS/Cards Programme Board.
Is there anything you can do to try to make progress on both of these issues?
I also understand that during current phases of testing significant problems are being
experienced with the TIP interface and that investigations are underway to determine their
severity. Could you confirm that my understanding is correct and if so what proposals are
being considered to address the problems and how will they impact on the current phases
of testing and on overall progress towards the NR2 release. It would be helpful to have a
response to this particular set-of issues before 13 November.
CAPS & CARD PROGRAMME
DELIVERY MANAGER
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Horizon Progonmne Deceit
Vince Gaskell
Caps and Card Programme
Delivery Manager
Room B25065 10 November 1998
DSS, Longbenton .
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
NE98 1YX
Dear Vance
MANAGEMENT CONTROL & REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
TIP INTERFACE
Thank you for your letter of 3 November which describes your remaining concerns
‘with the management and reporting arrangements for testing. This response
confirms the actions we are taking to mect your requirements in these three areas.
The three issues are as follows:
The provision of test condition analysis for End to End Testing
This week we will start to provide, on a weekly basis, an analysis of the test
conditions we have failed to cover, and those which we do not expect to be able to
test in this cycle. We are currently adjusting our scripting databases to facilitate the
production of the core statistics, which are then fed into a deeper analysis process to
determine the potential gaps in coverage. We already carry out this exercise on a
dynamic basis when we encounter problems, in order to ensure that we do not push
on without knowing the effect on test condition coverage.
The analysis of PinICL clearance and prioritisation
The full business impact process by Product Assurance has been established for all
incidents that, following initial analysis, are candidates for deferral. Access to this
analysis is available to you through Colin Oudot.
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10 November 1998
Vince Gaskell
Within testing the Horizon team give each incident a provisional business impact
which then informs the error correction cycle: This is augmented by the presence of
members of your own test team in Feltham, and provides a far improved level of
awareness of the nature and severity of incidents raised and prognosis for clearance,
particularly in the area of BES, which should be available to your managers.
Individual issues arise as a result of continued lapses in communication between all
teams regarding the detail of problems/ incidents raised - improvements from all
groups are expected in this area as a result of further management attention. I know
that Carol has been concerned about the level of resource and Simon Rilot has been
empowered to recruit to cover this gap.
Forialisation of the weekly progress meetings and pre-run checkpoint process for start of
testing
As you correctly describe, Carol and Simon are discussing this issue now.
The problems you refer to with regard to the TIP interface are of concern. Simon
Rilot has made that issue his first priority, in order to resolve any problems that may
prevent POCL and BA having confidence in the end to end accounting and :
reconciliation process. He has organised workshops later this week in Chesterfield,
_ and you should be aware that the output of those workshops may change the shape
of the final phases of testing. You can be assured that Carol will be directly involved
in these discussions. In addition, as I will not be at the CAPS Board on Friday, I will
ring you next week to give a personal update on the TIP issue.
. Ifyou need anything else please don’t hesitate to give me a ring.
Swd Fun
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