Case Study Ocado Ltd retail Fast facts: Client: Ocado Ltd Industry: Retail Capita Services: Functional and acceptance testing Executive summary Ocado is the UK’s leading online grocery retailer, providing a fast, effcient, home delivery service from its fxed warehouses and hubs across the UK, rather than the basket-fll model from local stores. To achieve maximum effciency from its hubs, Ocado has invested heavily in automated warehouse management technology integrating the web front end ordering system with warehouse management, stock control and despatch systems for thousands of individual products. Ocado’s growth plan involved the building of a new major warehouse facility in Dordon, Warwickshire. In order to ensure maximum throughput and effciency of operation, Ocado designed new control systems for this facility which were piloted in an expansion project of the main distribution centre in Hatfeld. Ocado had previously used its own in-house developers for software testing, and wished to free up developers from their testing commitments in order to increase the productivity of the systems development function. ©2014 Capita PLC All rights reserved Follow us: @CapitaITPS Capita ITPS Capita ITPS Capita IT Professional Services Capita was engaged in Hatfeld and the new facility in Warwickshire to provide functional and acceptance test resources and expertise to ensure the projects delivered on time and to an acceptable level of accuracy and effciency. By engaging a mixture of experienced test resources and Novus graduate test analysts, Ocado planned to improve the structure, control, coverage and effectiveness of testing for both software and warehouse operation. Capita was selected because of the depth and focus of its testing experience and its consultancy leadership in acceptance testing principles. Capita has successfully supported Ocado across both the pilot project and the new facility commissioning projects and helped Ocado achieve more comprehensive testing within the original delivery timescales. Capita has also helped in the management of workload balancing and the inevitable tensions which exist in such multi-supplier projects. Capita has demonstrated real value in independent testing and has contributed hugely to the productivity of our developers. In addition, Capita was a key element in our ability to deliver a large warehouse solution on-time and with a high level of quality through their ability to work alongside and integrate with our complex supplier relationships. Alex Harvey- Head of Project Management, OcadoChallenges and goals Ocado wished to further develop their structure, control and process in the acceptance testing of their new end-to-end warehouse system. This provided a number of signifcant challenges with Capita needing to adapt its usual software testing approaches applying them to a fully live warehouse control system. Further challenges to structured testing arose from the inevitable implementation process of continuous tuning changes applied at short notice. Ocado required Capita to help strengthen and improve its control of both the implementation process and the effectiveness of the fnal warehouse set-up. Much of the testing was repeat testing following parameter changes to ensure the warehouse operated at maximum effciency which was measured by the capacity of the facility to fulfl customer orders. The key success criteria for engaging external testing expertise were: Increased developer productivity/reduced testing demand on software developers Comprehensive, structured, consistent testing of warehouse system Reduction in post-live support incidents in new warehouse implementations Maintaining the go-live plan ©2014 Capita PLC All rights reserved Follow us: @CapitaITPS Capita ITPS Capita ITPS Capita IT Professional Services Our approach The Ocado system consists of signifcant warehouse hardware (large cranes, picking machines and conveyor systems), routing software, scheduling software, and the integration of these systems with order intake systems and despatch, route planning and vehicle loading systems. Capita provided a flexible testing team structure in which a core team consisting of a mix of experienced resources and Novus Junior Test Analysts was supplemented by additional experienced resources as the project demanded. The project was divided into sub-projects focusing on the different functional areas of the warehouse (goods in, warehouse operations, temperature controlled [perishable] area, picking stations, order consolidation and loading/despatch), with the Capita team allocated to sub-projects on demand. Software testers found themselves in unfamiliar territory donning high visibility jackets and safety equipment to work in the warehouse as it was being built and ftted out, in order to apply their testing knowledge and experience to a range of unfamiliar environments and technical challenges.For further information about these services please contact: Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 8456 077466 www.capita.co.uk/itprofessionalservices Case Study Results and benefts Ocado was able to commission its new warehouse system in Warwickshire successfully and on time, with greater test coverage. Ocado now routinely separates development and testing work, employing specialist testers for all stages of testing. ©2014 Capita PLC All rights reserved Follow us: @CapitaITPS Capita ITPS Capita ITPS Capita IT Professional Services Further information about the Capita Group can be found at: www.capita.co.uk The system was implemented by Ocado’s external hardware and control systems partners, so Capita staff worked closely alongside these partners to ensure that all required testing was completed. The Capita team provided the flexibility required by adjusting their working hours as necessary, including working in the evenings or overnight as the peaks of the project demanded. Acceptance test cases were designed by Ocado business and IT project managers and executed by the Capita team. Much of the implementation work consisted of constant tuning of the system through adjustments to system control parameters. Test cases and scenarios were often executed multiple times following a series of minor adjustments and updates by the manufacturing partners. The Capita test team improved the productivity of the Ocado development staff by undertaking all necessary test execution and reporting duties, but also through improved bug tracking and reporting allowing developers signifcantly greater focus in addressing the issues. Capita staff also assisted the project managers by the extension and interpretation of test cases to increase coverage and depth of testing from each scenario.